An elaborate reception followed immediately after the coronation ceremony, and Alex was dutifully ushered to the palace’s grand ballroom where she was expected to receive and welcome at least three hundred lords and ladies from throughout the Empire. The process was a long and tedious task, and by the time she was done the suns had begun their descent upon the horizon, her feet were hurting, and she was starving. She noticed that Treyan was not in the receiving line with her and the Councillor. In fact, she hadn’t seen him once since she entered the reception hall.
He found her first.
She was walking along the outer wall of the ballroom, attempting to take a break from the limelight as the party-goers danced around the room, when a hand grabbed her by the upper arm and pulled her behind
