Chapter 34: THE WEIGHT OF PROMISES
The common area felt different now, stripped of the boisterous energy that had once filled it when the Ravager party gathered around the worn wooden table.
The flickering candlelight cast long shadows across the walls, dancing over the empty chairs where Thanir had once schemed, where Milner had boasted, where Raiven had commanded. Now only ghosts remained, their absence as heavy as the tension that settled over the four survivors.
Yomi sat at the head of the table, his storm-gray eyes studying the grain of the wood with the same intensity he might reserve for an opponent’s weakness.
The beast girl pressed close to his side, her wide eyes darting between the three adults as though expecting another storm to break. Across from him, Lirien sat with her hands clasped so tightly her knuckles had gone white, while Aeloria perched on the edge of her chair like a coiled spring ready to strike.
The silence stretched until Lirien finally lifted her head, her voice cutting through the oppressive quiet. "You said you had business with me." Her words were steady, but Yomi caught the tremor beneath them, the uncertainty she was fighting to conceal. "What do you want?"
Yomi’s gaze shifted from the table to her face, taking in the flush that had crept up her neck, the way her breathing seemed slightly uneven. His expression remained unreadable as he studied her for a long moment, weighing his words. When he finally spoke, his voice carried a quiet authority that seemed to fill the room.
"Come to me tonight. The largest room upstairs."
The words landed like stones dropped into still water, sending ripples of shock through the group. Aeloria’s chair scraped against the floor as she leaned forward, her eyes blazing with indignation. The beast girl shrank back further, instinctively sensing the shift in the room’s energy.
Yomi stood without offering any explanation, his movements deliberate despite the exhaustion that still clung to him from the chaotic Ki coursing through his system. His legs trembled slightly, a weakness he couldn’t entirely hide, but his spine remained straight, his dignity intact. He didn’t spare a glance for any of the three women as he turned toward the stairs.