The night was unusually still, the kind of silence that felt alive, almost expectant. Outside the mansion, the world moved on in mundane rhythms, but inside, every heartbeat seemed magnified. Elara sat by the grand window in her chamber, the moonlight spilling across her skin, softening the edges of her anxious thoughts. The room was bathed in a pale glow, and for a moment, she allowed herself to imagine that the night belonged only to her.
She heard the faintest rustle from the corridor, a shadow moving with precision. Her breath caught. Adrian. He had been elusive all evening, disappearing from one gathering to another, always with that inscrutable charm that drew everyone’s attention. Yet tonight, the gravity of his presence seemed to pull her toward him, unspoken and irresistible.
Wh
