The forest opened before him in silver and shadow. Moonlight slipped between the branches, touching the path in pale fragments, and somewhere beyond the dark sweep of trees came the quiet rush of water. There was something unnatural about the stillness here. Not empty — almost watchful. As though every leaf and root knew more than he did and had agreed not to tell him. Then he saw her. Odette stood beside the lake with her back to him, the white fabric of her dress stirring softly in the night breeze. For one impossible moment, she seemed to belong to the water more than the earth. The moon caught in her hair. The swans drifting across the lake turned toward her as if answering a silent summons. Derek stopped at the edge of the clearing. He had spent years learning how a prince was expected to approach every situation and Odette made him forget all of it. “I wondered where you had gone.” His voice seemed too loud in the enchanted quiet. One of the swans lifted its wings before settling again, and Derek almost apologized to it. He stepped closer, though not enough to frighten her. “The ballroom became considerably less interesting after you left.” A faint smile touched his mouth. “Though I suppose that is not a particularly difficult achievement. Half the court has been discussing the same three marriages for an hour.” The teasing came easily but the honesty beneath it did not. His gaze moved briefly toward the lake, where the moon stretched itself across the surface like a road made of light. “This place feels different when you are here,” he said. "I find myself searching for you in each corner." @swanvowed
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