Bridging the Ancient ✓

Chapter 46

For the first time in my life, I'm not disappointed to lose myself in a crowd. I sink right into the group of visitors coming to celebrate the birthday of a Lord's wife. But that is hardly my focus, rather it's to the towering ceilings in the ballroom, the exotic music, the velvet-lined table full of desserts, and the stunning mixture of the crowd.

Dancers raise and lower themselves on delicate ribbons hanging from the ceiling that towers higher than I'll ever reach, domed and covered in artwork too faint for my eyes to make out. Candle chandeliers hang at varying lengths, some are higher while others seem low enough for me to graze my fingers across.

The mezzanine circling the entire room twists higher and higher with each floor and some of the guests have traveled up there already to get a better view on the mingling crowd below. Kitchen staff twists easily through the crowd, carrying trays high above their heads—full of chalices. One is handed to me and I sniff the liquid on the inside. Wine. I don't care for wine but I take a sip anyway and stand towards the back of the room, near the windows.

No one will notice me back here; their focus is mainly on the desserts or finding the right attention with different aspects of the company. These people aren't here to celebrate a birthday, they're here for their own reasons.

Everyone is dressed fancier than me, in gowns that shimmer and suits smoother than velvet. Their hair is polished, their jewelry shines, and their laughter booms with every terrible joke shared by someone already drunk.

Renit would frown upon a celebration like this. I can smell their selfishness coming off of the many moving bodies and I have no doubt the prince would be able to spot the fakes quicker than the exit points to get out of here.

But just as that thought runs through my mind, a familiar face shifts into view, seemingly appearing out of nowhere. I frown at Echo standing across the ballroom, smirking at me standing with a chalice of wine in my hand, leaning against one of the towering stone pillars holding this entire ballroom together.

He doesn't hesitate to make his way over to me in such an obvious strut that I wonder if he's trying to draw attention to himself. Stopping at the dessert table, he pops a truffle into his mouth and continues in my direction, shoving that free hand in the pocket of his charcoal-colored doublet that somehow shimmers against the candlelight.

"Look who showed up," he muses as he approaches. He doesn't stand in front of me, instead opts for resting his back against the wall and angling himself to get a view of the window. Echo is even lankier out here, not standing behind a counter.

Taking a sip from my chalice, I say, "You already knew I was coming. Don't act surprised."

Echo gulps down his own wine and smacks his lips before stealing another chalice off of a tray sitting on the dessert table. My mouth waters at the sight of those chocolate truffles—something that Echo figures out through looking at me or through his power—and one of those delicious desserts is dropped into my palm seconds later.

"How is the big plan turning out? I don't spot the prince anywhere." His dull eyes sparkle with amusement before that feeling is gone again. I can't tell whether or not he hates me, his eyes don't tell any stories and neither does the rest of him.

"That's the foundation of the plan. I'm going to sneak the prince in somewhere else. Not where he can be seen by everyone else in this ballroom." I keep the chalice hovered over my mouth so no one across the room can read my lips. They aren't paying any attention to me, anyway.

Echo rocks back and forth on his heels. "You aren't doing yourself any favors. No one comes here, stands in a corner, and then disappears to find a hidden entrance. Be smarter about your approach," he offers.