Free ARC: The Seers by Julianna Scott Page B

proficient dancer, and was familiar with most of the traditional ballroom dance styles thanks to my Uncle Joe. He’d taken me with him to his dance studio for lessons all throughout middle and early high school, and I’d actually become pretty good. Besides, even if I had wanted to say something, the moment we came to the end of the hallway and stepped into the gallery, I was struck completely speechless.
    It was a sight I wouldn’t have thought was possible outside of a fairytale. The room was almost three times as long as it was wide, with a cathedral ceiling made of deep brown molded wood, a stained glass window that covered the entire far wall, and three enormous crystal chandeliers hanging down from the rafters. Beneath them was a glittering bustle of chiffon, gemstones, and silk, as breathtaking as the room itself. The women were floating across the room in exquisite gowns and dazzling jewelry that probably cost more than the average car, while the men were displaying all manner of medals, decorations, and sashes on what no doubt were the finest tailor made tuxedos. All we needed was a pumpkin carriage with a midnight curfew, and it would have been a storybook come to life.
    The four of us walked round the perimeter of the room until we found a grouping of armchairs and settees that were unoccupied and claimed them. Cormac, Alex and I sat, while Jocelyn remained standing, surveying the various clusters of people all chatting and laughing amongst themselves.
    “I see Oden Shawn across the way,” he said, nodding toward a group of men talking next to one of the huge fireplaces on the opposite wall. “I should go and say hello.”
    “You go ahead,” Cormac said, “I saw Oden this afternoon when we arrived.”
    As Jocelyn walked over to the group of men, I leaned my elbow on the armrest of the chair with a sigh. I wanted to look over at Alex and see what he thought of all this, but with our encounter in the alcove still fresh in my mind, I quickly decided that was a bad idea. If I looked over I would blush, and if I blushed he would blush, and if we both started blushing… Yeah, bad idea. So instead, I turned my attention to the center of the room and casually watched the ocean of glittering haute-couture and humming conversation ebb and flow around us.
    The spectacle of elegant mingling was much like it had been earlier that day in the lobby, with one notable difference: the addition of young people. Alva had mentioned there being other Holders that were closer to my age, but thus far all I had seen was the evil-eyed girl from the lobby that afternoon, the one Alva had called Shannon. But it looked like all the teenagers had come to the gala, each one looking like a perfectly primed and proper miniature of the adult they silently shadowed. At an event like this back at home, I would have expected to find all the younger people together, sitting in their own area, or maybe off talking in a corner, but not here. Here, they blended in seamlessly with the adults, conversing, circulating, and air-kissing like seasoned pros.
    I scanned the crowd to see if I saw Shannon anywhere nearby, hoping she wasn’t while simultaneously trying to act like I didn’t care. It took a moment for me to find her, but when I did somehow I wasn’t surprised that she was one of the most stunning women in the room. She was wearing a cobalt blue gown, and her auburn hair was done up like a modern Marie Antoinette. She was standing with her mother, also in cobalt, and an older man and younger boy – father and brother? – both of whom were wearing cobalt sashes.
    I looked their way just long enough to get a good look, then moved my gaze on to other groups as I was not about to let Shannon catch me staring… again. No way was I going to let her think that I was in any way impressed by her or her frou-frou hair.
    Seriously though, how the hell did she get it to stay up that high…?
    Reminding myself that I didn’t care, I turned my