Chapter 209

Author's pov Sebastian sat at the dining table, pushing aside the remnants of his dinner--half a steak gone cold, a glass of untouched cabernet. The call with Cassian had been dragging on for nearly twenty minutes, but his mind was elsewhere. "Sebastian? Are you even listening to me?" Cassian's voice crackled through the speaker, sharp with irritation. "Sebastian!" Cassian snapped again, more insistent this time. "I'm here," he replied, rubbing his temple. But he wasn't. Not really. Something was off. A memory nagged at him. The name "Dahlia" had triggered something--a connection he couldn't quite place. Then it hit him. A few days ago, while reviewing intelligence reports on the Moonveil Ascendancy, he'd seen her name buried in a footnote. At the time, he'd been preoccupied with another crisis and hadn't flagged it. Mrs.Dahlia. Socialite. Political fixer. Occult affiliations flagged but unconfirmed. And tonight, she was hosting a masquerade at a location off his radar. A masquerade Ce