Selene regretted lingering the moment he smirked.
There was something entirely too confident about the way Aeric Ravenshade held himself,as if the world bent itself to accommodate his existence. She had spent years dodging the laws that sought to erase witches from noble society, surviving in the fringes of the land's forgotten legends. And now, this man,'this infuriatingly fearless noble'stood before her like she was nothing more than an intriguing puzzle.
Dangerous. Reckless. Impossible.
"I could make you leave, you know." Her voice was calm, but her grip tightened around the dagger strapped at her thigh.
Aeric tilted his head, considering her words. "You could try."
That was it. No demand. No fear. A dare.
Something in Selene's chest twisted. Her magic coiled at her fingertips, waiting,eager to prove his arrogance misplaced. She had spent too long hiding her strength, masking her gift. But as much as the fire in her wanted to force him away, a deeper curiosity rooted her feet to the forest floor.
Instead of attacking, she took a single step forward.
"You should fear me," she murmured.
Aeric's lips curled. "I don't believe fear is the right word."
The gap between them shrank, moonlight brushing across his sharp features. His presence was overwhelmingly powerful, not in the way of magic but in the way of men who had never lost a fight. His gaze searched her face thoughtful, assessing as if he already knew she wasn't going to kill him.
Selene cursed inwardly.
If he was this reckless, what else was he willing to do?
"You don't belong here, Lord Ravenshade," she warned. "Your kind don't mix with witches. You know the law."
Something flickered in his stormy gaze,something dark, fleeting. A 'secret'.
"I'm quite aware of the law," he admitted, his voice softer than before. "But tell me, witch,do you know of the prophecy?"
A sharp breath escaped her lips.
The prophecy. The ancient foretelling that bound magic and royalty in blood and fate. It had been spoken in whispers for centuries, warning that 'no witch and noble could unite in love without unleashing the buried wrath beneath the kingdom'.
And yet, here he was. Standing before her. Looking at her like **he wasn't afraid to tempt fate.**
Selene swallowed.
She should have turned and vanished into the shadows.
She should have cursed him with forgetting this moment entirely.
But instead 'she stayed'