Chapter 216: The Dance of Shadows

"How many do you think they are?" Dedari asked Jacob, his voice steady as he watched his sister and Prest vanish into thin air, leaving nothing but a faint ripple in the atmosphere behind them. Jacob remained silent for a moment, his gaze scanning the dense forest surrounding them. "I'm not sure," he finally replied, his voice low, almost a whisper, as though the trees themselves might be listening. "Maybe two or three." His body was tense, every muscle alert, poised like a hunter waiting to strike its prey. "You seem to have been hunting for a long time," Dedari remarked, mirroring Jacob's stance as his sharp eyes cut across the shadows cast by the thick canopy of trees. "How old are you?" Jacob swallowed hard, the question catching him off guard. What was it with people and asking about his age? He continued to survey the area for any sign of the undead lurking nearby. His mind raced, but not solely because of the vampires. He needed to be quick. There was something far more press