It was late, the castle swallowed by the silence of night. The only sounds were her own shallow breaths and the distant clatter of armor.
Her hand hesitated for a moment before she forced it to work.
Knock, knock, knock.
The sound echoed down the corridor, too loud for such an intimate hour. She waited, tension gathering in her chest, her heart pounding so wildly that she could hear it.
No answer.
She knocked again—harder, angrier, and more desperate. And then, she heard a faint sound: the rustle of cloth, footsteps.
The door creaked open slowly, and there he was.
Julian.
He stood before her, casually leaning against the frame, his nightgown open and revealing a glimpse of his bare chest. His deep blue eyes glinted in the dim light, his smirk already widening as he took her in—her green nightgown clinging to her figure, the fabric teasingly revealing her cleavage and stopping just above her knees.
