The celebrations lasted deep into the night.
Music echoed throughout the outer wall while nobles drank themselves senseless in honor of the king's victory. Dancers spun endlessly under golden lanterns, servants rushed from table to table carrying wine, and every lord suddenly acted as though they had personally fought beside Kaelis on the battlefield. Humans truly did love attaching themselves to success like desperate little parasites.
Kaelis endured all of it with the same cold expression.
He listened.
Nodded when necessary.
Spoke only when absolutely required.
But none of it reached him.
Not the music.
Not the cheering.
Not even the women staring at him like hungry wolves dressed in silk.
Because through the entire celebration, his gaze kept searching.
For her.
Everytime the doors opened, his eyes instinctively shifted.
Every flash of dark hair made his attention sharpen.
