The door creaked open and the freezing wind howled inward, biting at her skin and the moment she saw what lay before her, she froze.
Bodies.
Dead bodies.
So many dead bodies.
Dozens of them, strewn across the road like some sort of discarded dolls with their limbs twisted at unnatural angles and dark blood pooling beneath them in grotesque puddles.
Some were still twitching, not quite dead yet but at the brink of death. Others stared blankly at the sky, their faces frozen in eternal terror.
Her stomach lurched at the scene before her as she kept staring dumbly , she felt so numb that she didn't even know if she was still breathing.
But she could tell from what lay before her that it was a vampire attack, just like she'd feared.
Her breath came in shallow, panicked gasps as she scanned the massacre, searching desperately for Orion's familiar face.
But he was nowhere in sight. Instead, her fleeting gaze locked onto a lone figure standing amidst the carnage with his back to her.
Tall.
Broad-shouldered.
Long curly hair.
Cloaked in a red coat.
And she immediately knew it was not Orion.
This man's long and dark curls swayed slightly in the wind, his posture unnervingly calm as if the sea of corpses at his feet were nothing more than fallen leaves.
He stood as still as a painting but his long curls and red coat that were dancing in the wind behind him stated otherwise.
Before him, two vampires suddenly lunged forward, their eyes wild with bloodlust but he stood still.
Princess Eleanor's heart almost stopped beating and she wanted to scream at him to watch out but her voice was long gone .
Then , the man suddenly moved in a flicker of motion which was too fast to follow.
His hands immediately shot out, fingers piercing through his attacker's flesh with a sickening precision.
The vampires' snarls died in their throats and their eyes widened. And so did the Princess who was watching.
And then she watched him pull out his hands.
In his bloody palms , there were two hearts, glistening and still pulsing.
The bodies crumpled and fell onto the floor lifelessly.
The he threw the hearts onto the floor calmly like it was a piece of trash.
Her vision swam at the sight of the bloody scene and a wave of nausea instantly crashed over her, bile scorching her throat.
She barely had time to turn away before she was retching violently, her body convulsing as she emptied her stomach onto the carriage floor.
Still, she couldn't help the words forming on her mind.
Monster.
Monster.
Monster.
This was exactly the kind of monsters that she'd been told horrifying tales about.
Her hands shook so badly she could barely grip the doorframe and when she forced herself to look up again, the man was scanning the battlefield, his chest rising and falling with exertion as he scanned his surroundings.
Then, as if sensing her gaze on him, he turned and the moment he turned to look at her, the world screeched to a halt.
His eyes.
His eyes were red.
Not just red but bloody red.
Glowing like embers in the dark, searing into her soul with an intensity that stole the breath from her lungs.
This wasn't just a monster.
This was death incarnate.
A whimper escaped her lips as she scrambled backward, falling hard onto the carriage floor.
Liora, who had been praying with her face pressed to the opposite wall gasped and reached for her, but the Princess couldn't tear her gaze away from the nightmare outside.
The monster halted for a few seconds at the sight of her reaction and then took a step toward the carriage.
Then another.
Each footsteps sent a fresh wave of terror and panic through her and by the time he reached the door, she had already curled into herself with her arms wrapped tightly around her knees and head buried against her knees , her entire body trembling like a leaf in a storm.
He's definitely going to kill us.
He's going to rip our hearts out too.
She was lost in her wild thoughts when she suddenly heard Orion's familiar voice.
"Your Majesty."
At that , her head snapped up immediately and it was indeed Orion, alive and unharmed and despite herself she sighed in relief.
Then she registered his words and actions and her mind reeled. He was actually bowing deeply to the monster before them at the door of the carriage.
Did he just said "Your Majesty "?.
If the monster was the "Majesty " then did that meant that …
No.
No, no, no.
She shook her head in despair but the words still formed in her mind.
Was the monster the man she was supposed to marry?.
Orion then stood upright and handed him a napkin which he used to wipe the blood off from his hands and face.
At the sight of blood , the bile rose to her throat again but in her horror, he offered a hand to her.
She stared blankly at his hands, uncomprehending.
And when she finally dared to look up at him again, her breath hitched.
The red eyes were gone.
Like they never existed, like an illusion.
Now, they were a startling innocent blue, as warm as a summer sky, framed by unfairly long lashes.
His face was sculpted to perfection, high cheekbones, a strong jaw and lips that looked soft.
If she'd previously thought that Orion was handsome then this man beauty was out of description.
He was dangerously handsome.
And that was what made it worse.
Because she had seen what those elegant hands and handsome face could do.
"It's over, Love. I've got you ". He said, his voice deep, smooth and gentle. "There's no need to be scared. I've already gotten rid of the them".
She instantly flinched when he reached for her, her body recoiling on instinct.
Liora, who was now brave enough to peek, tapped her shoulder. "My Lady …?".
Looking at the turn of things, Orion stepped forward to ease the situation . "Princess Eleanor , this is the king. You're safe now".
The King.
Her betrothed.
The man who had just torn hearts out with his bare hands.
Her entire body screamed at her to run but there was nowhere for her to go.
Swallowing hard, she hesitantly placed her hand in his and gasped at the warmth he exuded.
Before she could say a thing , he pulled her forward, helping her out of the carriage.
But, the moment her feet touched the blood-soaked earth, her stomach revolted again. She barely managed to turn away before she was vomiting once more on the carriage floor , her body shaking with the force of it.
Liora immediately rushed to her side, rinsing her face with the bottle of water she'd grabbed in the carriage.
She raised herself up with Liora's help just in time for strong arms to slid beneath her, lifting her effortlessly in a bridal style.
She yelped as the King cradled her against his chest, his grip firm but careful. She was stunned at his beauty and immediately looked away but she couldn't look at the bloody ground either so she just squeezed her eyes shut.
"Breathe, Love". He murmured. "You're safe now."
Safe.
With the man who had just painted the road red and tore hearts out with his bare hands