Cassian’s smile flickered—barely there, but enough to betray him. His gaze had locked onto her the moment the night began, and it hadn’t let go since. She wasn’t loud, wasn’t trying. But gods, she didn’t need to.

She moved like dusk—graceful, deliberate, wrapped in a stillness that made the noise around her feel irrelevant. High Fae, no doubt. The kind of beauty that didn’t belong to this world. Mythic. Untouchable. And yet, something in her eyes made him wonder if she saw through the armor he wore like second skin.

Every tilt of her head, every glance, felt like a secret whispered in a language he didn’t speak but desperately wanted to learn. She didn’t just exist—she redefined the space around her. And when her gaze finally met his, Cassian felt it like a shift in the wind. Sudden. Inevitable.

He straightened, breath slow and deliberate. The moment felt fragile, electric. Like something ancient had stirred in him, something that remembered longing.

“Hello, I’m Cassian. I couldn’t help but notice how lovely you look in that outfit.”

It was a line. But not just a line. Not with her. Not tonight.