The banquet hall Almond and Lily walked into was already crowded, and crowded, in this event, meant dangerous.
A dozen strangers moved between the long tables, quiet and quick, hands hovering over plates and goblets and silverware like the whole room was a held breath waiting to be broken.
Two of them broke it within the first minute.
A woman near the far wall closed her fist around a wine goblet and vanished into gold light before anyone could react. A man three tables over touched a folded napkin and dropped through the floor entirely, gone into a different dimension a heartbeat later.
Almond and Lily looked at each other, the same thought passing wordless between them. Two dimensions, two coins, and a room full of rivals who now knew exactly how fast this game moved.
"We need our own door," Lily said. "Now."
