Lucien stopped counting the days.At first, he had tried.One moon.Two.Three.Each time the sky turned silver and full, he went to the oak at the edge of Nightfall territory.Each time, he waited.Sometimes she came.Sometimes she didn’t.Tonight, the moon hung low and luminous, heavy with promise.Lucien stood beneath it, older than he had been a year ago. The change was subtle but undeniable. A faint line near his mouth. A stiffness in his shoulder that had never existed when he was immortal.Mortality was not dramatic.It was quiet.Persistent.Beautiful.A cool breeze brushed his face.Then the air shifted.He didn’t turn immediately.He felt her before he saw her.“You’re late,” he said softly.“I am not bound to your clocks, mortal.”He smiled at that word.Mortal.He turned.Seraphine stood several steps away, silver light clinging to her like moon-mist. She looked exactly the same.Untouched by time.Untouched by decay.Untouched by loss.And yet her eyes carried centuries.
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