Colter's POV
My gaze lingered on her far longer than it should have, and I felt something dangerous stirring in my chest. The sensation was foreign, unwelcome, and completely beyond my control.
When had Cornelia become this stunning? She seemed to radiate an otherworldly luminescence, her crimson hair cascading in waves I had never witnessed before. Always pinned up, always restrained, but now it flowed freely past her shoulders, nearly touching her waist. The sight of it unbound did something to me that I refused to acknowledge.
The silken strands framed her delicate features, and an inexplicable urge consumed me to sweep them aside, to see her face without obstruction. My hand betrayed my rational mind, rising of its own accord with deliberate slowness. She remained perfectly still, watching me with those captivating eyes that held no fear, only curiosity.
