>>Aelin
At first, no one noticed.
It was only a faint dimming of the lights—a strange flicker in the magic lanterns that lined the domed ceiling of the ballroom. A subtle shift in the energy that stirred the hair on the back of my neck. I blinked up, confused. The music faltered, and then a sharp chord from the quartet snapped off mid-note. Murmurs rose, confused voices overlapping like ripples in water. And then—
A scream.
It echoed through the great hall like a whip crack. Panic bloomed instantly. Nobles in glittering robes shoved their way through the crowd. Chairs scraped against marble. Glass shattered. The crowd turned on itself, fear a living thing in the air, thick as the incense smoke now curling to the floor.
