The ballroom had grown warm.
The heat of a thousand bodies, the press of conversation and perfume and enchanted light, had settled over Dominic like a second skin. He'd been navigating the room for hours now, and the weight of it was beginning to show.
Florence had peeled off to circulate, her sharp grin and sharper tongue making her a natural at the game of social warfare. Theresa had remained at his side, quiet and watchful, her golden eyes cataloging every face, every glance, every shift in the room's invisible currents.
It was Theresa who suggested they approach Lady Vex.
"She's the head of the Royal Mages' Collegium," Theresa said quietly. "She has resources. Facilities. Researchers. And she's powerful enough that I believe she could handle it if something went wrong." She paused. "If we're going to study the heart, we need help. She's the only person in this room I'd trust to have the discipline for it."
Dominic considered it. "You want to tell her about the heart."
