The music slowed into something softer, a gentle hum floating through the room. The golden lights cast a warm glow over the crowd as laughter echoed faintly between the conversations.

Ivy stood quietly near the corner, Cassien by her side, still smirking from all the attention they had drawn earlier.

Her gaze drifted across the ballroom. People were watching her more openly now, not with curiosity this time, but awe. She could hear their whispers faintly beneath the rhythm of the ...