HEART OF GOLD | CORIOLANUS SNOW

𝘾𝙃𝘼𝙋𝙏𝙀𝙍 40

Indeed, having had every part of her pampered, Lilith felt transformed. Not only did she feel like a brand new person, she had a whole new perspective. It occurred to her now what had been nagging at her before: She had been dreaming—not remembering.

But had everything been a dream?

Had Snow's amusement been purely her imagination?

The more Lilith thought about it, the more she could believe it. The more she replayed the scene, the more she saw it differently. His chuckle became a scoff, his smile a mocking smirk, his shrug resigned, his brows incredulous. In truth, this seemed much more plausible, and the line between memory and impression was blurred to the extent she no longer knew what was real. The struggle to separate the two, however, was shoved to the backseat as Lilith surveyed herself in the mirror.

A miracle had been performed on her face—it betrayed all but no trace of her sleepless nights. Decked in Tigris's masterpiece besides, Lilith looked like one herself. The striking colour wasn't really her style, but it complemented her cast exquisitely, as if made just for it. The mesh, however, didn't do.

Gingerly, Lilith unbuckled the clasp and slipped the sling off the end of her elbow. Her ensemble was much more satisfying without the gauzy netting, and it wasn't difficult at all to hold her arm up on her own, so she left the accessory on the vanity, swapping it for the golden chain of her clutch. The glittering sphere bounced against her hip as she examined herself from every angle. That was when Athena's anxious gaze caught her eye.

"What is it?" asked Lilith, concerned.

Athena hesitated, glancing apprehensively from the sling to Lilith's cast.

"I'm not sure that's such a good idea, Lil."

Lilith flashed her a confident smile.

"It's fine. It doesn't even hurt anymore. I think I'm finally past the worst. Besides, it's just for a few hours. Don't worry about me—worry about being late."

All of it was true, from the painlessness of her fracture to the apparent lack of time. Somehow, they had two minutes to get to the garage and be on the road. It did not help that everyone on the streets seemed to be headed in the same direction. When they arrived at the Grand Palace, the entire Capitol appeared to have beaten them to it. The place, however, wasn't just teeming with life.

While Lilith was no stranger to opulence, she still needed a moment to drink in the majestic sight. This wasn't the Royal Ballroom she recalled from previous visits. Partitions that delineated it from smaller, adjacent halls had been removed, probably tripling its size and capacity. More than a dozen crystal chandeliers suspended from the lofty ceiling, but none were of traditional nature. The fixtures Cora had selected featured droplet-shaped glass bobbles arranged in a spiral amidst strings of others that vividly mimicked rain. Lilith was familiar with the contemporary and tasteful design, because one such light had only just replaced its predecessor in the Gold's foyer last summer. Experiencing it in bulk, however, was something else.

With Olympia and Athena trying to clear a wide enough path for Lilith and her arm through the crowd, it was awhile before they reached their table. Situated basically at the corner of the cavernous expanse, it suggested their level of unimportance. Neither contributing coin nor labour (not yet, anyway), the Gamestudiers were essentially freeloaders tonight. Not that they were exactly missing out.

Every patch of free wall had become a screen, displaying live footage of the stage currently occupied by the same string quartet that had serenaded Professor Gaul's farewell party. The two tables nearest to the front were included in the shot, and at first, Lilith didn't recognize her father amongst those enjoying their starters.