When Evangeline stepped into the ballroom, silence greeted her. It was not loud nor obvious, but she felt that split of second silence. The thin, fragile pause echoed so loud in such a crowded ballroom, as if the entire room had inhaled at once and forgotten to exhale. Conversations dimmed while the music seemed to falter, and for the briefest heartbeat, she could feel how every gaze turned toward her.
That suspended second startled her, but it quickly vanished as if it hadn't been there from the start.
The laughter resumed, mixing into one with the chatter while the orchestra swelled once more as though nothing peculiar had occurred. The change happened so quickly that she felt as though she had imagined the earlier silence.
Brushing her thoughts away, she steadied herself, knowing she has to find Hades.
