Serena stared down at the letter again, as if reading it a second or third time would somehow shift the meaning. But the script remained clear and firm, penned in elegant handwriting that bore no trace of warmth.
A garden engagement.
How polite. Of course, it was exactly what Charlotte had hinted at, Riven, the Dawnbreak delegate, would be in attendance, and so would she as well as Darius. As though it were all just a pleasant social gathering.
She exhaled and ran a hand down her face, the paper curling under her fingers. It was ridiculous how her pulse danced with nerves over a mere walk and conversation. And yet, the thought of standing that close to Riven again unsettled her. He was poised, intelligent, the sort of man who watches you in silence and only says goodbye after the conversation, whose eyes missed nothing. Paired with Charlotte's looming presence, it would be a test she hadn't asked for.
