The balcony overlooked the banquet hall, sleek panels of glass and polished steel framing a view meant to impress. Ether conduits thrummed in the walls, feeding chandeliers that glowed like captured stars, every circuit hidden but pulsing steadily beneath the marble floors. The nobles below moved in neat currents, their jewelry catching the artificial light, their laughter lifted by sound projectors woven into the music.
Arik leaned against the railing, chin in his hands, eyes scanning the crowd with all the patience of a boy who'd already decided the whole thing was dull.
Noah, sitting cross-legged beside him, didn't even glance up. His new book flickered with pale blue script across its tablet screen, the soft glow painting his face. "You're restless," he said, not looking away.
"You're boring," Arik shot back, but the bite was missing. His gaze caught on the announcer stepping forward, voice carrying easily through the speaker arrays.
