Anna felt it first.
A pull—sharp and unfamiliar—tightening in her chest, as though someone had reached inside her and tugged. She lifted her head slowly, against her better judgment.
Her eyes collided with his. The priest.
For a split second, the world around her dissolved—the guards, the murmuring crowd, even Arnold's suffocating presence beside her. There was only him. Tall. Still. Watching her as if she were a confession he wasn't ready to hear.
Carden forgot how to breathe.
She wasn't just beautiful—she was dangerous. Not in the way Arnold was, not loud or violent, but in a quiet, ruinous way that made him want to step forward and pull her out of the shadows swallowing her whole.
As they walked closer to where Carden and Fred were standing, Carden couldn't stop look
