The air in the garden was cool and crisp, carrying the faint scent of blooming flowers. Moonlight filtered through the trees, casting dappled shadows over the stone pathways and benches.
Lydia walked ahead of me, her gown shimmering with every graceful step, while I kept my distance, my movements deliberate and wary.
I didn't trust her.
Not her soft words, not her mesmerizing beauty, and certainly not the knowing glances she kept throwing over her shoulder.
Lydia had always been a force of nature, charming and dangerous in equal measure, but tonight I couldn't afford to be pulled into her gravity.
When we reached a secluded clearing, she stopped, turning to face me. Her eyes, piercing blue and filled with something I couldn't quite name, locked onto mine. For a moment, the silence stretched between us, heavy with unspoken words.
