The moment Renato pushed the door open and entered, he noticed that the room's layout had changed little since his last visit, but the number of Personal Guards had increased from four to eight.
They stood on either side, magical light shimmering all over their bodies as they guarded the Nightwind Matron at the center of the room.
Eight wary gazes locked onto Renato at once.
"Stay by the door," the lead Personal Guard said coldly, angling her halberd forward slightly. "Do not come any closer."
Renato stopped as ordered, his gaze passing over the Nightwind Guards on either side to settle on Matron Mother Quelyn.
She was still reclining on that broad sofa, languidly inhaling the pale purple smoke rising from the incense burner.
Amid the swirling smoke, she looked distinctly overstimulated. Fine blood vessels webbed the whites of her eyes, her pupils were slightly dilated, and a faint, almost manic smile lingered on her lips.
But what concerned Renato most was not her expression. It was the High Priestess's belly.
Her once-flat abdomen now bulged prominently, stretching her loose silk robe into a rounded curve.
Renato was no fool. The Nightwind Matron was probably pregnant again; even her voluminous robes could not conceal it. Judging by the shape and position of her belly, she was already close to giving birth.
As for the handsome young male servants in the room, they had vanished without a trace. Only the disfigured male Drow with those distinctive purple eyes remained, still serving as Quelyn's "footstool."
Bare-backed, he knelt on all fours before the sofa, his back covered in old and new scars left by sharp nails piercing his skin.
Judging by the color of the scabs and the blood coating the Drow's bare feet, these wounds had all been inflicted within