CELINE

I slipped into the dining hall and sat in a discreet corner, pulling down my hood under the cover of darkness and ordering my meal—I was starving.

Around me, the loud chatter of drunken men filled the room, laughter booming as barmaids with their breasts nearly spilling out served drinks, getting groped left and right.

I didn't like this place. I’d spend the night and leave at dawn.

"Hey, they say the Lycan King is on the move. His men are advancing through the southern border..."

"You think we’ll be ruled by Aldric Thorne now?"

"I doubt it. The sorcerers need to beat the vampires to take control of the castle. Whoever controls the castle controls the Realm..."

"But what about the curse? It activated after the Vampire King died, and now no one can enter the palace..."

Bits and pieces of conversation floated around me, fragments of information I had been collecting.

I couldn’t care less about the internal struggle for power in this Realm, but I was heading south to meet Beof.

Th