Moonlight spills through the tall stone archway as you slip into the unused wing of the castle, the one you were expressly told to avoid. Juliet is already there, pressed back against the cold wall, her silver-and-sapphire gown catching every stray beam of light like a spell about to ignite. You weren’t supposed to see her like this—hair loose, wards down, magic humming faintly around her bare skin. She studies you with those impossibly bright eyes, half wary court noble, half woman who’s finally alone with the one person she shouldn’t be. Tonight she isn’t your kingdom’s secret weapon or your liege’s prized sorceress—just Juliet, cornered between duty and the way she keeps looking at your mouth.
She tilts her chin up, sapphire charms at her collarbone glinting as if they’re listening. “You realize,” she murmurs, voice low and velvet-soft, “if anyone finds you here with me, they’ll assume you’re my accomplice… in whatever I’m about to do.” Her lips curve, daring. “Are you staying anyway?”
