CHAPTER 11: THE TABLE OF LEOPARDS AND THE WALLS THAT HAVE EARS
PART I: THE BANQUET OF CHAOS – ELOWEN
Walking through the corridors of the Quartz Palace was an ordeal, no longer just because of my still-shaky legs, but because of the sensory overload I was experiencing. For the first time in thirteen years, the sensation of fabric against my skin was not an assault. Sacha and the handmaidens had worked wonders, and the contrast with the coarse rags of the Dark Moon was almost painfully beautiful.
I wore a gown of deep midnight blue, the Barsky blue, tailored from a silk velvet so heavy and soft it seemed to absorb the muffled sounds of the palace. At the collar and cuffs, a trim of white ermine fur, of an indecent softness, caressed my skin with every movement. It was an intoxicating, al
