People lunged in every direction. A single shout had turned the ballroom into a nest of startled birds, chairs screeching and crystal tumbling across the boards.
Kaelith remained anchored at the center of it, calm as a drawn bow, hunting for the hand that had fired the panic- not the hand that had died.
Corven was beside her, his grip that of a swordsman, and he hissed, We need to move.
She shook her head. This mess wasnt aimed at me.
His brow pinched. You know that?
They wanted spectacle, not a corpse, Kaelith replied, voice lower than the chatter around them. The noons light still felt too bright inside the hall.
A servant had collapsed near the dais. Guards crouched by him, murmuring about foam and a reek like overripe fruit.
Kaelith caught a flash of his fingers- blue, not shadow, blue as old ink.
Chrysavine. She barely breathed the word.
Corven tensed. That stuff is banned inside the enclosures.
Someone has a vendor with very few questions, she answered, already measuring steps toward the nearest table. The crystal decanter beside the bread plate gleamed, half-full but somehow still untouched by the swarm that had just mobbed the room.
One goblet sat beside it. And it had never borne her seal.
Kaelith turned, letting the crowd slice past her until a familiar figure snapped into focus. Thalia was pale, teeth slightly chattering, and cradling a glass that matched the color of the poison.
Kaelith drifted through the throng as if she were made of shadows. Enjoying the party? she shot at her cousin, voice frostier than the ice carvings flanking the hall.
Thalia nearly spilled her drink, fingers trembling in embarrassment. I-don-t know what happened. I never meant for-any of this.
Oh, she didn-t poison the wine, far too clumsy for that. The real question is who the cup was meant for.
They both stole a glance at the servant sprawled across the marble, breath moving in short, ragged bursts. He-d intercepted something nobody planned for his hands.
Color seeped out of Thalia-s cheeks like water through cracked parchment. I would never hurt anyone.
Kaelith leaned in, close enough for perfume and accusation to mingle. Don-t lie, cousin. You-ve skated on thinner ice. A drop of poison is just a final touch.
Guards crashed into the ballroom, swords flashing under candlelight. Corven bellowed the order that pinned every guest in place. Anyone caught lying? Imprisonment. End of story.
An indignant nobleman started yelling about his rights. A lady fainted dead away. A tuba hit a sour note and everything went quiet for a heartbeat.
In that pause Kaelith smiled, smile sharper than broken glass. Court is nothing without a little ruin, and ruin is secretly her favorite pastime.
Later, when the corridors were empty and moonlight spilled like water, Corven poured her tea-steamy, herbal, weighted with desperation. He understood her wariness, how trust gets scorched in nights like these.
You think whoever mixed that cup aimed straight at you? he murmured, voice barely brushing the silence.
She still didn-t answer, yet the stillness of her gaze supplied the reply. Something at the far end of the evening smelled too foul to ignore.
I dont think the poison was meant for me, Kaelith said, almost absently. It was aimed at someone with a name, someone important, someone who actually drank from that decanter.
Corven met her gaze over the rim of his cup. Who.
She pressed her palms to the table, steadying herself. I suspect the real goal was to pin everything on me.
He arched an eyebrow. And whod be reckless enough to try that at my own masquerade.
Someone who can rely on the fact that youre already watching, she replied, and slipped him a thin smile.
They held the silence until the air between them felt hot, crowded with mistrust and something edged that neither of them named.
You know, Corven said finally, you walk into fire like its a ballroom.
Kaelith leaned back, unruffled. Because I never burn.
She missed the dark shape sliding past the balcony cusp.
Or the second decanter pouring its secrets into the fountain below.
The next strike, meanwhile, was already waiting to be delivered.