The room had gone quiet in a way that didn't feel like shock anymore. It felt like people were afraid to breathe.
Xavier straightened and called Serpent's Fang into his hand. The blade answered instantly, forming with that familiar ripple, its weight settling like it belonged there.
Xavier raised Serpent's Fang and pointed it at Luther without shifting his stance. The reaction from the vampires around them was immediate, and it had nothing to do with Luther being threatened. They stared at Xavier like he was a problem their instincts could not solve.
A human who had just torn apart another human. A human who had transformed into a vampire and then stepped back out of it like it was nothing. A human holding a relic weapon that answered to blood and intent without hesitation. To them, he was wrong in a way that made their instincts scream. He wasn't supposed to exist. He broke too many rules at once.
Fear was written all over their faces.
