The name hit everyone in the hall with shock.
Several second-generation vampires instinctively bowed. Elders lowered their gazes in solemn acknowledgment. Even the flames dimmed for a heartbeat, as though the very air trembled at the invocation.
Ethan's eyes gleamed like blood-soaked rubies.
"So let the humans play their games," he hissed. "Let them scheme, plot, maneuver. It changes nothing."
He spread his arms slightly, as if embracing the entire throne room in his declaration.
"We will respond. Not out of rage alone, but out of duty. Out of pride. Out of our divine mandate."
His tone hardened into steel.
"And we will do so in a way that ensures the humans think twice or thrice before ever daring to use us as pawns again."
A slow, hungry smile crept across his face.
"Now," he said, voice simmering with quiet promise, "let us decide exactly how we will teach them this lesson."
Ebenholz, who had been silent until now, finally lifted his gaze. His voice cut through the hall.
