Chapter 5
Iellieth executed the rolling landing she’d seen others perform nearly perfectly, thwarted at the last moment by an unseen, fist-sized rock that pressed into her right shin when she spun over it. A short gasp of pain escaped her, but she caught herself before she crashed into the stone floor. Her eyes cast around, following her own echoes. If there was anything unsavory nearby, it was surely aware of her presence now.
She carefully slid over to a place against the wall where the stone jutted out and created a sliver of shadow. Iellieth hid in the narrow column of darkness, sheltered by the fallen column to her left. The stairway that let out on the floor above would have to lie in the opposite direction.
Katarina, while they got ready for a particularly important gala, had exp
