{Serilla}
Serilla Frost had perfected the art of working a room by age fourteen.
Smile at the right people. Laugh at mediocre jokes. Compliment without seeming desperate. Touch an arm here, lean in close there. Make them feel special while keeping enough distance that they wanted more.
Tonight was no different.
She'd already charmed Lord Ashlan into promising her family a favorable trade agreement. Lady Vex had invited her to some summer estate thing. Even that stuffy Duke Blackwater had cracked a smile when she'd made a joke about his son's terrible dancing.
Liora sat on a velvet couch near the refreshment table, looking beautiful in a cream-colored dress that made her skin glow. Serilla had secured her there early, one hand possessively on Liora's thigh as she networked with half the ballroom.
Everything was going according to plan.
The music swelled. Couples twirled across the starlit floor. Ice sculptures cast prismatic light across laughing faces and stolen glances.
