After the first encounter, the rhythm of the journey changed—not in speed, but in the nature of everything around them. What had previously been cautious, almost silent observation, transformed into something more direct, more inevitable. The road that opened before them ceased to be merely a physical path and began to function as a warning line, a clear and impossible-to-ignore declaration: something was crossing vampire territory without asking permission.
That route was no ordinary path. It was an entry point.
And that meant something very simple within that realm—everything that passed through there… would be seen.
Carter knew this. From the beginning.
But now, after what had happened with the first patrol… it ceased to be a strategic detail and became an unavoidable problem. There was no longer the possibility of crossing unnoticed, not even under escort. The death of those five vampires would not remain confined to that point on the road. It was already spreading.
