A distant, smooth voice carried through the quiet patio, drifting through the snowfall with an unnerving, magnetic clarity that embraced his eardrums.
Lexel turned around slowly, his crimson eyes narrowing as he looked toward the shadowy archway of the adjoining terrace.
Stepping out into the falling snow was a striking figure with cascading, long blonde hair that caught the dim winter light, and piercing, deep blue eyes that locked onto him with dangerous familiarity. But it was her attire that commanded the space—she wore an ethereal, midnight-dark dress whose skirt appeared to literally burn, licks of small black flames dancing endlessly along the hem and consuming every snowflake that drifted near her before it could even touch the fabric.
A slow, knowing smirk spread across Lexel's face, his single fanged tooth catching the light.
"It's you."
The woman's rich, velvety chuckle drifted across the snow-dusted patio, clear and smooth against the sharp bite of the mountain wind.
