Gideon didn't immediately move and calm his heartbeat.
His eyes swept across the market as fast as possible, forcing himself to ignore the instinct that told him to pull out his sword and cut every threat down before it reached them.
No. That would be exactly what the parasite wanted.
Open fire to civilians—even when they were infected—would make Freebound's reputation worse and it would make the meeting and negotiation harder.
The people surrounding them weren't all infected either.
The crowd had already screamed and hurriedly closed their stalls while parents grabbed their children and ran toward the nearest alley.
Good. At least not everyone had become part of the colony.
His attention returned to the approaching civilians. Their movements were strange. Some walked stiffly while others dragged one leg across the frozen ground, but none of them looked frightened.
They simply kept moving toward the three of them with vacant eyes and faint smiles that made his skin crawl.
