The same urgency that had pulled me to the shop lured me forward once more. I had no choice.
“Here goes nothing,” I whispered.
The Cog Prince
To my humiliation, my voice echoed inside the ballroom, snaring everyone’s attention as I stepped from behind my curtain. The music stopped. All movement stopped. I halted, but before I could change my mind and go back into hiding, everyone resumed their merry ways. Mortified, I stood there, hoping they wouldn’t look at me again. When I felt invisible once more, I crept forward on wobbly legs
Good, no one watched. Cautiously, I moved along the walls. High overhead, giant gears within the cover of shadow slowly moved. High above was the lazy swaying of a goliath pendulum. The walls, though ivory carved with flora, seemed to transform right before
