DEREK
The Masquerade Ball was a different kind of spectacle than the Alpha Ball. Where last night had been about power and alliances displayed openly beneath the amphitheater’s vast sky, tonight was meant to be a night of mystery, of fresh starts, of the Moon Goddess weaving her golden thread between lost souls.
The playhouse had been transformed into a world of whispered possibilities—masked figures gliding through candlelit halls, soft laughter behind velvet curtains, stolen glances in shadowed alcoves.
It was designed for mystery.
For second chances.
For fate.
I hadn’t come for any of those reasons.
I’d come for her.
I lingered near the balcony overlooking the dance floor, the golden glow of chandeliers flickering off the polished wood below. The air was thick with the scent of
