For a moment neither of them spoke. The music drifting from inside the estate reached them softly now, distant enough to feel almost private beneath the moonlight. Then Kael turned toward her fully. “Dance with me.”
Kaelira blinked once, genuinely surprised. “Out here?”
“I don’t particularly like audiences.”
She studied him for a second before placing her hand carefully in his. His fingers closed around hers immediately, warm and firm, and something about the simple contact sent an unexpected tension through her chest. Kael stepped closer, the other hand settling carefully at her waist as they began moving slowly beneath the hanging lantern lights scattered across the gardens. There was no grand ballroom around them now. No watching nobles. No expectations but just quiet music floating
