The moon hung low in the sky, half-shrouded by ragged clouds that clung like shadows. A hush had fallen over the Stormborn stronghold, save for the muffled steps of weary patrols pacing the walls. Aria slipped past them all, instincts honed from countless stealthy departures. She yearned for solitude and answers, but also for the wild, electrifying release she had found in Fane’s company.
After the council’s tense debates, after the gruesome revelations of new abominations beyond the mountains, she ached for a moment free of scrutiny, an hour where no one questioned her motives or the darkness simmering under her skin.
She found him in the grove just beyond the fortress boundary, a cluster of ancient oaks looming over moonlit grass. Fane stood with arms crossed, his lean silhouette outli
