The Gala was only hours away, and the manor had become a military operation on the eve of a battle only I seemed to be fighting.
Everywhere I looked, there was movement, a frantic energy that made my own heart beat too fast.
I stood frozen in the grand hall, a statue in the storm.
Workers swarmed around me, putting the final, terrifying touches on our stage.
They hauled towering ice sculptures that gleamed like frozen ghosts and hung crystal chandeliers that scattered light like a thousand judging eyes.
I had to tilt my head all the way back to see the top, and the sight made me dizzy.
My world had been so small for so long.
The dim stage of the Onyx Club, the four walls of my room, the desperate, daily fight for survival.
This… this overwhelming spectacle felt like someone else's life, a play I'd been forced into without knowing my lines. Yet, my name was on the program. I was the star of the show.
"Watch your step, Luna."
