Emma POV

The world didn’t go dark all at once.

It flickered.

First the lights above the ballroom blurred, sliding into long streaks of gold. Then the music thinned out, like someone pulled cotton over my ears. I remember trying to breathe—just one full breath—but my chest squeezed tight, tighter, like hands pressing into my ribs.

My throat burned.

My tongue felt thick.

Something was very, very wrong.

I reached for the table to steady myself, but my fingers shook so badly I missed the ...