The balcony of dukes' great hall lay swathed in twilight. Torches flared against the stone pillars, their flames shivering in the wind that came from the darkening lake beyond.
Music and laughter throbbed faintly from the feast below, muffled by distance, as though the merriment belonged to another world. Here, upon this height, silence weighed heavier than the air.
The scent of roasted venison and spiced wine clung faintly to Lady Shina's breath, but it was not the feast that made her flush.
It was him.
Aiden.
The man of white hair and golden eyes stood at the rail, watching the same horizon she pretended to watch.
The dying sun melted into crimson waters, the lake burning as if some ancient god had spilled blood across its surface.
Aiden's gaze was steady, as though he could see beyond light, beyond reflection, into the marrow of the world itself. Shina's hands trembled at her sides. Her goblet was empty, yet her body felt as though it brimmed with fire.
