As everyone began taking their turns toward the elevator, the hall slowly emptied of its warmth.
Laughter moved away first, drifting in clusters with the princesses, the boys, their women, the older beauties, the newer faces, the half-drunken teasing and the lingering shock of Sienna abandoning her own birthday in a midnight PcLaren like a girl who had finally found a reason to forgive society. The crystal rain above still shimmered. The black-silver floor still reflected violet light. The central platform still stood beneath the glow of the hall, but the heart of the gathering had begun moving upward toward the penthouse.
Phei should have moved with them.
He did not.
He remained near the stage, hands loose at his sides, gaze fixed across the hall on Dravenna after she signaled him something he did not understand at a all.
