Something was changing.
Elara felt it in the way Kael looked at her now longer softer, like he was memorizing every detail. She felt it in the way Lucian touched her, his cold fingers lingering on her skin like he couldn't bear to let go. The tension between them all was shifting into something deeper. Something inevitable.
It happened on a night when the snow fell heavy and the fire burned low.
They were all on the couch, Elara in the middle, Kael on her left, Lucian on her right. It had become their routine the three of them together, talking or reading or just existing in the same space.
But tonight was different.
Tonight, Elara couldn't stop looking at Kael's lips. Or at Lucian's hands. Or at the way they both watched her with hungry eyes.
"You're staring," Lucian murmured.
"I'm
