Juliette’s POV
The cave was colder than I expected. My breath came out in small clouds as I stepped deeper into the darkness, the sound of dripping water echoing off the stone walls. I held the flashlight tighter, its beam trembling slightly in my grip. My heart beat faster—not from fear, but from the strange pull this place had on me. I didn’t know how I knew, but I could feel it. This cave had something to do with me. With us.
Behind me, Dorian’s voice was steady but sharp. “Stay close, Juliette. We don’t know what’s down here.”
I didn’t have to look back to feel his eyes on me—protective, calculating, yet almost too intense. That same focus he used on the rink when facing his opponents. But here, in this quiet cave, it wasn’t strategy driving him. It was something else—something I wa
