[House Karzath—High Ensi Wine Chamber]
SLAM!!!!
The wine bottle crashed onto the polished cedar table, a crack of sound echoing through the chamber like thunder striking a tomb.
High Ensi Rakhane lounged back on a velvet pillow—robes loosened, hair disheveled, lips stained with wine. He held the last drop in his cup and swallowed it with a lazy satisfaction, his chest rising and falling with heat.
Golden braziers flickered in the dim room, shadows dancing over the carved serpent murals. The sweet scent of spiced wine clung to the air like a haze.
Across from him sat Captain Raevahn of House Karzath—back straight, posture rigid, expression cold as forged steel. He drank slowly, controlled, never indulging.
The contrast between them was stark. High Ensi Rakhane sighed, ruffling his own hair with drunken fingers, lips curling into a languid smirk.
"Tell me, Captain…" his voice slurred slightly, but desire sharpened it like poison dipped in honey. "…what do you think?"
