Negotiations
Alathea prodded the slig on her plate with disdain, her appetite dwindling with each poke. Ah, the joys of culinary delight, she thought. Genetically impossible embryos, tortured women, and animals living their best dumpster-diving lives, all for the sake of this exquisite sauce. She couldn’t help but roll her eyes at the absurdity of it all. But she kept her head down, careful no one observed her eye roll. They were in enough danger already. Alathea’s gaze swept around the room, taking in the ostentatious display of opulence that was Beli’s dining room. Every surface was adorned with gaudy gold plating and intricate carvings, the decor so overbearing it felt suffocating, as if it were actively preventing any semblance of introspection. She focused her attention on the wall opposite her, where the dizzying golden embellishments danced in a cacophony of extravagance. Perhaps, she mused cynically, that was the whole point of this spectacle. To distract Beli and his entourage from any sel...