LUST~NIKLAUS MIKAELSON(book 1)

Chapter 24 A toast

As the evening drew to a close, the atmosphere in the grand hall was one of contentment and festivity. The laughter had subsided into a warm, comfortable hum as guests prepared for the final toast. The rich aromas of the feast lingered in the air, mingling with the sweet strains of the orchestra.

Esther, with a touch of hesitance, approached the center of the room. She carried a silver tray with a delicate, intricately designed decanter and a collection of crystal glasses. Her movements were precise but tinged with an edge of anxiety that I couldn’t quite place.

As she began to pour the wine, I noticed a brief, almost imperceptible tremor in her hands. The wine flowed smoothly into the glasses, a deep, crimson hue that caught the light beautifully. Esther’s smile was warm, but her eyes betrayed a flicker of unease. I dismissed my concern, attributing it to the stress of the day and the weight of the celebration.

The guests gathered around, raising their glasses in anticipation of the toast. Esther cleared her throat, her voice steady but carrying an undertone of tension. “To love, family, and a future filled with joy,” she proclaimed, her gaze sweeping over Klaus and me, as well as the rest of the guests.

As the glasses were lifted and clinked together in a chorus of cheers, I took a sip from my glass. The wine was rich and flavorful, but as soon as it touched my lips, a wave of unease washed over me. I sensed a strange and unsettling presence—a dark magic laced into the very liquid I was drinking.

My heart pounded as I tried to make sense of the sensation. The dark magic was unmistakable, a malevolent force that seemed to seep into my very being. I had thought I had managed to avoid the dark past of how the Mikaelsons were turned and had hoped to alter the course of events. Yet, here I was, confronted with a reality I had hoped to escape.

I turned to Klaus, desperate to warn him, but found that my voice was caught in my throat. I struggled to speak, to articulate the danger I felt, but no words would come. It was as if an invisible barrier had been placed around me, preventing me from sharing what I had discovered.

In a moment of desperation, I remembered Ayana’s words. She had warned me that even if I could try to change things, not everything was within my power to alter. The realization hit me hard: there were forces at play that I could not control, and I had been unable to prevent the dark magic from taking effect.

As the effects of the wine began to take hold, my mind clouded with confusion and fear. The sense of helplessness was overwhelming. The dark magic worked its way into my system, making it difficult to think clearly or to act on my growing panic.

Despite my attempts to reach out to Klaus, the words remained trapped within me, and the dark magic’s influence deepened. The celebration continued around me, oblivious to the sinister undertones that had tainted the evening. The joy of the wedding feast had been overshadowed by the hidden dangers that had now begun to unfold.

In the midst of the revelry, I was left grappling with the unsettling truth that I had been unable to protect the Mikaelsons from the darkness that seemed to encircle their fate. My attempts to change the past had failed, and the consequences of the night’s events were beginning to reveal themselves in ways I had not anticipated.

I was left with the haunting realization that some forces were beyond my control, and that the night had taken a turn that would forever alter the course of our lives.