The invitation was not an invitation.
Sera understood that the moment she saw the dress laid across the foot of her bed.
Black silk. High collar. Long sleeves. No silver thread, no moon symbols, no visible spellwork. It looked simple beside the white gown Isolde had sent before, which made it more suspicious. Nothing in the Vex estate arrived without a purpose, especially not clothing chosen for a public gathering.
A card rested on top of it.
The Hunt Ball. Midnight.
No signature.
No explanation.
Sera stood in the center of her room with the card between two fingers and listened to the estate beyond the door. A guard shifted in the corridor. A servant passed farther down the hall. Somewhere below, music had begun, low enough that it barely reached her through the floor.
She checked
