Once the monster had been slain, Cassius ordered that all surviving civilians be gathered into a single large space, partly for easier headcounts, partly to bring structure to the chaos. The living were separated from the fallen, their names recorded, their wounds treated.
With Cassius's lead everything had gone smoothly and even the chaotic folks who was once in fear realizes that as long as their Crown Prince was presence, they were not in danger anymore.
He had offered Arabella rest, but her body refused to yield to exhaustion. Not while so much still pulsed in disarray around her.
From where she stood, she watched as vampires and humans moved side by side, tending wounds, carrying debris, even holding one another upright. Gone was the distrust, the silent contempt. In its place, a shared grief and a temporary peace.
It struck her, painfully and beautifully.
Perhaps it was true: only a greater enemy could unite people who were once divided.
