The world tilted, and Isabelle crashed down the steps, her body slamming hard against the unforgiving marble. A sharp gasp tore through the crowd downstairs as the sound echoed, everyone watching dumbstruck as she fell.

Isabelle lay at the floor of the ballroom where she fell to, after the fall, her consciousness slipping for a moment. When the blur finally faded away, she was disoriented and her head kept ringing; she feared she had a concussion already. She could not see her own ...