Chapter 14
Elara’s POV
The palace ballroom gleamed like a temple of glass and gold. Chandeliers dripped crystal light onto silken gowns, jeweled collars, and powdered wigs. Elara felt the sharp stares of the court pierce through her simple dress like blades. She had been warned that tonight would test her, though she doubted she could ever be prepared for the venom hidden in the nobles’ smiles.
The mistress of etiquette, Lady Sorelia, had drilled her relentlessly over the last weeks—how to bow, how to walk, how to hold her fork and sip wine without looking like a peasant. Yet no matter how perfectly she executed the gestures, Elara knew they didn’t see her as one of them. She was the outsider, the mystery girl suddenly given the palace’s protection.
She smoothed the folds of her borrow
