FIA
I heard the noise first. Voices rising in waves from the courtyard below. The kind of sound that pulled people from their rooms and made them forget whatever they had been doing before. Sharp and urgent and impossible to ignore.
Thorne looked up from where he had been sitting near the window. Maren stopped mid-sentence. We all exchanged glances that said the same thing.
Something had happened.
I crossed the room quickly and pulled open the door. The hallway outside was already filling with people moving toward the stairs. Servants pressed themselves against the walls to let others pass. A guard rushed by without acknowledging anyone. The noise grew louder as I started down.
Thorne and Maren followed close behind me.
