Chapter 156

The Prey

I sat awkwardly, my hands folded in my lap as the scents of Russian pelmeni, Italian pasta, and American-style steak swirled together. The spread was lavish, but my appetite was buried somewhere under everything I’d just witnessed.

Judas sat beside me, composed as ever and I didn’t know how he could keep his expression unreadable. On his other side, Ralph leaned back in his chair, his fingers drumming a restless rhythm against the table. Across from me, Rara sat between Killian and Alexei, her movements tense but deliberate as she passed a plate of bread. Alexei looked deep in thought, his fingers tracing the rim of his untouched glass.

Even the workers around were more tense than anything.

The quiet wasn’t just heavy—it was choking me.

Killian, however, seemed entirely unaffected, that’s where Judas got his… boldness from. Though I had come to like Killian, even the tiniest bit, only because he seemed charming and someone who