As the flickering candlelight from the silver candelabras cast long, dancing shadows over the handmade hamburger trays and cast-iron platters—a jarring, modern contrast sitting in the middle of the grand table—the air in the hall grew heavy, suffocating, much like the eerie stillness that precedes a devastating winter storm.
Varg, straightening his broad, towering shoulders, leaned slightly forward in his high-backed carved wooden chair. That single, minuscule movement was enough to slice through the noise, the whispers, and the clattering of cutlery like a headsman's blade. Silence fell upon the hall, absolute and suffocating.
