dante brushed the snow off of his shoulders, shaking it off of his coat. he could hear the music playing in the ballroom upstairs. it sounded through the ceiling, faint but definitely there. giuseppe followed a few feet behind him, silent. angelo... he had no idea where the man was, quite frankly. he'd vanished a little while after they'd gotten inside. he could only assume he was off to see his secret lover. it wasn't a well-kept secret, of course. at least, dante knew. he knew everything.

he glanced in the mirror as they passed it, straightening his tie. he liked parties- more accurately, he liked his parties. not really if they were hosted by others, a few exceptions being the ones carlisle hosted. those were fun. he was a gambler, after all. his shoes clicked on the marble staircase as they headed to the next floor.

angelo opened the door to the ballroom. dante stepped inside with a slight nod of thanks. the ballroom was on the first floor. he'd been in the lower levels, at the gym, for the last few hours. then he'd bathed and gotten ready in his personal room down there. hotel rooms were on the higher floors. it was, of course, owned entirely by the accardi famiglia. why would they use it otherwise? he glanced around. carlisle was mingling- not surprising. dimitri and astor had retreated to the edge of the room as they usually did. isaia seemed as stressed as ever. nicolò... he couldn't see him immediately. he figured he was either late or hiding outside. neither would surprise him.