A Ballad of Snakes and Shadows // A Dark Sebastian Sallow Romance

Chapter Forty Three: Unholy// Sweet Dreams

Unholy - Symphony Orchestra Version - Zymphonica

Sweet Dreams are Made of These - The Hampton String Quartet

Sebastian POV:

She'd walked in without even noticing him, so engaged with whatever nonsense August was trying to entertain her with. He was sure he was talking about the castle grounds, its history, and the efforts put into renovating it.

We rooted everything up, rebuilt it by scratch and made it something completely unrecognizable. It once belonged to blah, blah, blah.

None of that mattered to him, he thought as he threw back his firewhiskey, because none of August's little speech included how much of his blood would be spilt on the freshly laid floors by the end of the night.

Sebastian believed the color might do the tiles some justice.

He tried to appear utterly composed, not allowing himself to show even an ounce of his anger in front of the Court. They would see his ache as weakness, and he needed to remain tall.

So that they would never forget who owned them.

He was an extension of the King, and it meant that there was no room for showing or even allowing any sort of instability. Outside of the bloodthirst that stung the back of his throat, and he was aware of how that made him look.

A predator, a monster, a shadow full of teeth and hate. He was the goddamn Prince of the Court of Serpents.

And if only Hyacinth could be reminded of it, just like all of these fools were as he sauntered through the courtyard. He watched her as they walked, noting the way her lips would twitch upwards into a smile before a trickle of laughter dripped from them.

It was a smile he'd never seen before, until now. And it was for someone else.

What August did not know yet was that after this party was over, Sebastian had every intention of beating the shit out of him until he was nothing more than troll fodder.

Another glass of firewhiskey appeared for him, which he happily took as he shadowed them. They walked through the mass of party goers, all who were entranced in music, dancing their night away as they gawked at the finery that had been laid out for tonight. This was more than just a welcome for his master, more than just a little get together for the members of the Court to enjoy.

It was an announcement party, and Erebus hoped, a small victory.

The Savior had accepted the invitation to their world, even if it was only temporary. If she chose to back them, or to join them, Erebus believed he could not be stopped.

With as much power as he'd accumulated, he'd finally set his plans into motion after all those years of waiting.

The Ministry would fall, and chaos would descend. And he would be there to pick the pieces up and reshape it into something better.

Hyacinth and August had made it to the pergola where Erebus sat, and Sebastian leaned back on one of the pillars of the outer courtyard. Erebus' demeanor always made Sebastian feel as if his master was much older, but in truth, there was only another decade or so that separated the two.

Yet, even though there was a smile plastered to his face, he often chose to observe the festivities rather than join them. He had once encouraged Erebus to let loose a little, as he'd yet to find a match and Sebastian thought the Court could use one more member.