Unbeknownst to Phei, while he slept with his head resting on Maya's soft thighs and the weight of divine rewards slowly dimming behind his closed eyes, the party continued without him.
It did not continue with the same pulse.
That much was impossible.
Phei Ryujin Tiamat had a terrible habit of turning rooms into orbits, and once he vanished, the celebration lost the invisible force holding every hungry glance, every whispered speculation, every nervous smile, and every polished princess in place. People still spoke. Glasses still chimed. Servants still moved with quiet discipline through the penthouse.
The music still lingered gently beneath the conversations.
Yet some bright, dangerous pressure had left the air, and everyone who mattered felt it.
Melissa handled what remained.
