77 The Victory Feast

Crystal chandeliers glittered overhead, throwing a thousand shimmering reflections onto the jubilant throngs that filled the grand ballroom. Tonight, Coleridge celebrated. Against all odds, they had beaten back the vampire horde, and the air crackled with a giddy mix of relief and exhilaration.

Ethan, still raw from the battle, found himself thrust into the center of it all. Seated on an ornately carved chair next to Gabriel, at the front of the room, he felt strangely out of place amid the swirling silks and exuberant laughter. Across from him, King Declan sat rigid in his throne, a mask of forced cheer barely concealing his simmering resentment.