Chapter 63: At the edge of the room
The little murmur in the dining room flickered out, like the candle flame smothered between fingers. The two Halflings froze, their earlier bravado draining from their faces. Their backs stiffened. Their eyes darting in uncertainty.
"W–We’ll ask one of the servants to clean it up," one of them offered quickly, her voice high and trembling at the edges. "It was only a joke, really..." She glanced at Ruelle with a strained smile. "Right, Ruelle?"
"But I wasn’t." Lucian’s voice didn’t rise. He didn’t need to. Stillness hung on him like a tailored cloak. And yet, his dark red eyes remained narrowed and unblinking. "Wasting food is rude. And wasting my time...is something far less clever."
No one in the dining room dared to move. Their backs bent low over their bowls hoping to stay out of view.
Ruelle felt the tremor of fear ripple through not just the Halflings but also others in the room. The turned vampiresses swallowed, dread pooling in their eyes and their reluctance growing thin with time.
The Halflings sank to their knees, shoulders trembling. The one closest to Lucian pressed her forehead to the cold floor, words quivering,
"Forgive us! Being former humans, we should have been more mindful with food. Next tim—"
"Looks like your ears need to be checked, as you have trouble hearing," Lucian’s words were calm but held a quiet promise of consequence. The Halflings words were caught in terror when they saw him lift a polished silver fork from the table.
If there wasn’t motivation before, there was now as the vampiresses quickly crawled forward with shaking limbs and hands pressed flat against the cold floor. Hesitantly, the talkative vampiress was the first one to brush the sticky floor with her tongue. Each lick was mortifying. Across from her, the other followed suit—her cheeks hollow, as if each lick scraped away what pride she had left.
Ruelle watched them, her heart pounding. She wasn’t sure if it came from the sight before her or the truth of what happened when one crossed an Elite here.
Yet beneath it all was a strange undercurrent of power—Lucian’s presence had shifted the atmosphere, made everyone around small. His gaze remained steady. He showed no satisfaction. He watched the Halflings lick the floor clean until he placed the fork aside.
"I–It has been cleaned..." the second vampiress murmured, eyes cast downward and carried humiliation.