The Morne Auction Hall stood as a beacon of wealth and power, its towering columns and gilded architecture a blatant reminder of the gap between those who ruled the fortress and those who barely survived within it.
The grand chandeliers, made of genuine mana-infused crystals, shimmered with an ethereal glow, casting prismatic reflections across the room. Tonight, it wasn't just an auction—it was a display of dominance, a declaration of who held the reins of control.
And at the center of it all, the Morne family.
The heir of the Morne family had been revealed.
I take my assigned seat, barely paying attention as my date, Elysia, adjusted the hem of her pristine silk dress beside me. She had chosen something simple yet elegant, her blonde hair falling in soft waves over her shoulders. A perfect match for an occasion like this.
And yet, my mind was elsewhere.
I was thinking about him.
The anomaly.
The change.
The variable I never accounted for.
