Clinging to that hope, Eileen carefully recounted mundane stories and trivial conversations she'd had with the knights, deliberately omitting anything of significance. Cesare listened with a faint smile, giving no sign of suspicion.
***
The hunting festival had ended abruptly, its ominous events leaving the forest and its sacred grounds in disarray. Evidence of the chaos remained untouched, a grim reminder of what had transpired.
Cesare stood before the ruined altar, once adorned with fragrant cedarwood and flowers. The offering had never been burned; its purpose left unfulfilled.
Though an attempt had been made to rebuild the altar after it was desecrated with blood, the festival's ritual had ultimately been abandoned. For the first time in the empire's history, the hunting festival had gone incomplete.
