The apartment balcony stood wrapped in midnight silence while rainwater dripped steadily from the iron railing onto the dark streets far below, and Elara remained alone beneath the pale glow of the city skyline with one trembling hand pressed tightly against the mark burning beneath her wrist.
Hours had passed since the streetlights shattered.
Since the darkness moved.
Since Alexander's fingers touched her face and awakened something beneath her skin that still refused to calm completely.
Yet her pulse remained uneven.
Restless.
Haunted by him.
The cold wind swept sharply through her dark hair while distant thunder rolled low across the sleeping city, and Elara closed her eyes briefly against exhaustion before leaning forward onto the balcony railing as though the pressure inside her chest had become too heavy to carry upright anymore.
Because tonight changed everything.
Alexander no longer felt like coincidence.
Or attraction.
Or dangerous curiosity.
He felt inevitable.
