The east wing hall was bathed in deep crimson light. Oil lamps burned low along the walls, mixing with the heavy smell of roses and the sharp stink of sex that hung in the air like a fog.
The obsidian dais had been widened into a full platform that took up most of the center of the room. Braziers on each corner roared with flames that threw long shadows across the floor.
Every silver chain and necklace on the nobles in the room glowed with thick, branching fractures. The anti-magic was so strong now that it pulsed visibly across bare skin like live wires.
The women stood in a wide ring around the dais. Their hearts hammered in their chests. Most were naked or wearing only scraps of silk that barely covered anything.
Their husbands knelt or stood right behind them, cocks locked in steel cages, already dripping pre-cum onto the polished stone floor. No one spoke. The only sounds were the crackle of the braziers and the wet breathing of people who knew exactly what was coming.
