Annalise >>>
"Can I join?" I asked, turning to face Atlas. "The festival, I mean."
His brows lifted slightly before a slow smirk tugged at his lips. "Of course, Your Grace," he said smoothly. His gaze raked over me, deliberate and scorching, lingering on the way my dress clung to my body. "That is—if your body can handle the stress."
I shot him a glare, my cheeks flushing without care. "My body can handle it just fine."
His eyes glinted with amusement, but his voice was deceptively soft. "I only ask," he purred, stepping close enough that his shadow swallowed me whole, "because I care." The heat of his breath grazed my ear. "You've never traveled this far before, have you?"