"Tell us what Cornelius will do now." Moonsinger broke the uncomfortable silence.
Sebastian's expression remained neutral. "He'll gather forces from allied houses. Not just soldiers, but their best hunters and tacticians. The death of Cassius will be taken as a direct challenge, not just to House de la Sang but to vampire authority itself."
"Because of how you killed him?" Ironfist asked, his eyes sharp with interest.
"Yes." Sebastian didn't elaborate, but Boarstaff understood. The method had been as much a message as the act itself.
"Was that display necessary?" Thornmaker asked bluntly. "The brutality of it?"
Sebastian turned his gaze to the spearmaster. "Yes. They needed to see what happens to those who come for me."
"For you?" Rockbreaker interjected. "Or for the village?"
"Both," Sebastian said without hesitation. "My interests and yours are aligned."
"For now," Thornmaker muttered.
"For as long as Cornelius lives," Sebastian corrected. "And likely beyond."
The questioning continued, moving from Sebastian's predictions about vampire tactics to their broader strategies.
"How soon will they come?" Thornmaker’s hostility tempered slightly by practical necessity.
"Three days at minimum," Sebastian replied. "Longer if Cornelius decides to gather forces from the northern houses."
"And their numbers?" Ironfist pressed.
"Fifty, perhaps a hundred from House de la Sang itself. More if allied houses commit their forces."
Rockbreaker stroked his beard thoughtfully. "It's been days since you escaped the citadel. Why hasn't Cornelius attacked already? He knows where you are."
"He won't risk killing me," Sebastian said. "Not until there's absolutely no other choice."
Stonehammer looked skeptical. "Does he love you that much?" The dwarf's tone made clear how unlikely he found this possibility.
Sebastian laughed, a short, harsh sound without humor. "No. I highly doubt Cornelius loves anyone." His expression grew more serious. "But to vampires, killing someone you created is the ultimate sin."
"Yet you killed your brothers," Thornmaker pointed out.
"Which is a grave crime," Sebastian acknowledged. "Killing your maker, which I will do to Cornelius, is worse." His eyes grew distant. "But for a vampire to kill their own creation? That's reserved only as a last resort. It violates everything in our culture."
"A convenient protection for you," Ironfist observed.
"Perhaps," Sebastian conceded. "But it also means when he does come for me, he'll try to capture rather than kill. That creates opportunities."
"Or complications," Rockbreaker countered. "If we're caught in the middle of your family's politics."
"Not politics," Sebastian corrected. "Religion. The prohibition against killing one's creation is the closest thing vampires have to a sacred law."
Moonsinger leaned forward. "And yet you believe he’ll eventually try to kill you?"
"When he realizes I cannot be reconditioned. When I've destroyed enough of his allies. When his reputation among the houses suffers too greatly." Sebastian's voice remained steady. "Yes. Eventually, he will try."
"Your father won't underestimate you like Cassius did," Moonsinger observed.
Something flickered in Sebastian's expression. "No. He won't."
"What will he bring against us?" asked the desert warrior. "Besides numbers."
