Adele wrapped her arms around herself by the window.
The night had settled deep into the walls of the castle, quiet and heavy. Outside, the wind whispered faintly through the trees, brushing against the glass like something trying to get in.
It was almost midnight.
And she had not moved, not since Mabel left. Everything began to feel like it was closing in on her at once.
Her reflection stared back at her in the glass, faint, and ghost-like. Yet so composed on the outside.
Unraveling beneath.
Her fingers tightened slightly against her arms.
The door opened slowly without a knock at that moment.
Adele didn't turn immediately. She already knew who it was from his scent, and the door.
There was only one person in this place who entered her room like that.
She turned, and there he was.
His face lit up the moment he saw her, immediate, and unfiltered. He softened like the sight of her alone was enough to soften everything in him.
