//CLARA//
We rode back to the stables in silence, the only sounds the soft footfall of hooves and the distant call of night birds. Casimir's hand found mine in the dark, squeezing once before we rounded the final bend.
"We need to be careful," he murmured.
"Let me guess. I sneak in, you sneak in later, we pretend we didn't just spend the evening in a forest clearing." I tilted my head. "Very mysterious. I like it."
His mouth twitched. "I thought you might."
I raised an eyebrow. "And then?"
"Just as you said. Fifteen minutes."
"Very romantic."
"Survival."
I kissed him once—quick, fierce, and entirely too short—then slipped toward the manor before I could talk myself out of it.
The servants' corridor was dark, thank God, which was either incredibly fortunate or deeply ominous depending on how paranoid I was feeling. I crept along the wall, counting doors, my ruined lavender dress rustling with every step. Nearly there. Just a few more feet—
Footsteps.
