Like the courtyard in the prison, this floor was glass-covered with thousands and thousands of diamonds buried beneath it. Guests in thick furs and silk dresses moved in groups toward a platform set up at the back of the ballroom. Their dresses swayed above the floor, blocking her view, but nothing could hide all those diamonds. The death toll in the war had been tens of thousands, but only now, seeing the gems held here, did the number truly strike her.

The balcony where she’d fought Kohl lined the back wall of the ballroom, with the black curtain spread behind the stone banister. She cast a quick glance behind her at the clock. The outline of Olaf’s body was visible slumping against the clock face, but no one else seemed to have noticed yet, so she turned away and continued on. A band played on classical instruments in the far corner, but the music slowed as someone on the stage clinked a utensil against a champagne flute to call for the crowd’s attention. Keeping an eye out for Teo, Aina slipped between the chattering guests, her blood-stained clothing brushing against their fine dresses and suits.

As she approached the front of the crowd, she noticed the five members of the Sentinel gathered on the stage behind a dark plinth. A velvet cloth covered the top of the plinth and a gleaming, ruby-red box sat in the center of the cloth.

A contingent of Diamond Guards as well as additional guards the princess must have brought from Linash surrounded the stage. The princess, Saïna Goleph, waited off to the side and in front of Mariya Okubo and Raurie. Ryuu stood closest to the plinth at the front of the stage. He smiled politely, but Aina could see the tension in his shoulders as his eyes scanned the crowd and the balcony surrounding the ballroom. She willed him to look at her as she neared the front of the room, and just then, he caught her eye. He let out a breath and a cautious smile tugged at his lips.

General Bautix stood on the stage too, with pearl-coated epaulettes and a crimson sash resting on his fine gray suit and clashing with his red hair. His beard was held at the end by a silver clasp that matched the cuff links of his suit and the watch at his wrist, all of them engraved with Sumerand’s sword-and-pickaxe symbol. His eyes kept flicking up to the balcony, but his face was unreadable otherwise.

Aina caught sight of Teo standing near the front rows of the crowd. She stepped between the guests until she reached them, tapping Teo on the shoulder.

“You’re okay!” he said, pulling her into a bone-crushing hug next. “I knew you could handle Kohl.”

She shook her head. “I injured him, but then I had to stop Bautix’s backup assassin. One of the Jackals, Olaf, was ready to shoot if Kohl failed. I killed him, but Kohl got away by then. Tannis fought with me—”