The dining hall had transformed completely compared to earlier.
Before, the enormous room had felt elegant and almost intimidating in its quiet luxury.
Now it was alive.
Warm golden lantern light flickered across the polished stone floors while countless voices blended into a constant low murmur that echoed softly beneath the high ceiling.
The sound no longer resembled noble restraint but something far more natural — beasts gathering together after the tension of the banquet had broken apart into smaller circles.
The buffet stretched through nearly the entire center of the hall like a royal marketplace of food and color.
The scent alone felt overwhelming.
Roasted meat.
Honey.
Sweet fruits.
Warm spices.
Fresh herbs crushed beneath fingers.
Alcohol.
And underneath it all lingered the heavier natural scents of the beast people themselves — fur warmed by body heat, sweat, pheromones, smoke, leather, forest, earth, and magic.
