"What did you find?" Cordelia asked once they found a safe corner, folding her arms across her chest as she waited for Arne to reply. Everyone was back in the ballroom and other than Cordelia, Arne, and the quickly approaching Jonah, not another soul was in sight.
"This was found in the corridors by the contestants' wing just an hour ago, Your Highness," Arne reported, holding out a tiny red ruby.
Cordelia took hold of it, her eyebrows knitting tightly together as she examined the small jewel. It was oddly familiar, and it took her a second before she connected the dots. When she spun it around, she could see an odd mark at the butt of it, but with the naked eye, it was impossible to make out the pattern. Nevertheless, she already had a feeling about what it was.
"Jonah," she calmly said once he arrived at her side, handing him the ruby. "Have a look at this."
Carefully, he did as told, taking hold of the small gem before squinting his eyes at it.
