"Hiss-"
"When exactly did you get here?" Lorne lowered his voice until only the two of them could hear him. "There's no reason I shouldn't have noticed you all this time."
They were both Sequence 5 Beyonders. Even if he had devoted most of his attention to his speech and socializing, there was no reason he should have failed to notice anything unusual for so long.
Especially since the Monster pathway was particularly sensitive to supernatural phenomena. His spiritual intuition couldn't possibly have remained completely unresponsive.
"I wasn't following you."
Hazel's lips parted, but the voice that emerged was Sharron's ethereal, icy one.
So you actually came in with Hazel?
At that, Lorne's expression grew a little odd, but a moment later, he understood.
Right. That would explain it.
At Hazel's level, she certainly couldn't have detected a Wraith following her. As for Councilman Macht, that went without saying-he was only an ordinary person. Besides, even if Sharron had been discovered, it wouldn't have mattered. She had leverage over Hazel.
All right, that explained how she had gotten here.
But Sharron's actions tonight left Lorne deeply puzzled. This was far too risky, and far too... lacking in temperance.
Swaying along with her steps, Lorne continued in a low voice, "You're taking far too much of a risk. There are people from the Official Forces here. Aren't you afraid of being discovered?"
"I performed divination and investigated beforehand-" Hazel's tone was as calm as ever.
"What about the Royal Family? Two members of the Royal Family are here. Even if everything inside this hall is normal, what about outside? There must be Beyonder bodyguards protecting them from the shadows."
"There might even be a Sequence 5, or a demigod!"
Lorne's meaning was clear: her actions tonight were far too risky. If