He could not act outright. Too many people present, and a single misstep would turn the chamber into a slaughterhouse. Fighting the Lustful Death here would be an instant mission fail. Necros had not asked him to cut her down in this place. Only observe. Only walk the edges of a blade without letting it drink.
Ludwig turned to the redhead without ever quite turning his back on the presence at his side. He let his attention split, one half for the prince whose scent of steel and politics clung even through simple clothes, the other half for the woman whose nearness pressed like warm breath through a veil. The Death at his shoulder was getting far too touchy for someone who was already married to the crown and to the palace walls. The air around her tasted faintly of sugar cooled on marble and of something older that lived under locked doors.
