Serathine adjusted the fall of her crimson sleeve with the kind of elegance that belonged to someone perfectly aware of the cameras still roaming the edges of the great hall.
She sat composed in the second row, close enough to feel the reverberation of every step Lucas took, close enough to see the faint ripple of tension when the Emperor himself raised his head to begin speaking.
Beside her, Cressida tilted her chin just enough to get a better angle past the gilded column. Her emerald gown caught the light with a faint shimmer, every pearl at her throat gleaming like a warning to anyone foolish enough to approach.
Her eyes, however, weren't on Lucas or Trevor.
They were on Dax.
