Following Kaliantha's formal acknowledgment of Airam, Hermione, and Esther as noblewomen of Skargardia, the shock that had frozen the hall did not vanish at once. It loosened in stages. First came the return of the music. Then the servants resumed their paths between the guests. After that, conversation crept back in uneven strands, low at first, then fuller, until the hall was alive again. The silence had broken, but it had not disappeared so much as changed shape. It had become whispers.
That was expected.
