Beneath the Moonlight

Evelyn stood in the center of the garden, her pulse drumming in her ears. The fragmented memory tugged at her, urging her to remember. Something had happened here—something more than a whispered promise. But the harder she tried to grasp it, the more it seemed to slip through her fingers.

Lucien knelt beside the wilted roses, brushing aside the overgrown vines that had crept over the stone pathway. "There used to be a fountain here," he murmured, almost to himself. "It was the heart of the garden."

Evelyn turned, scanning the area. The outline of a circular stone basin was barely visible beneath the tangle of ivy and fallen leaves. She stepped closer, crouching beside Lucien as he pulled away the debris. The faint glimmer of water shimmered beneath the moonlight, reflecting their faces like ghosts of the past.

She reached out instinctively, dipping her fingers into the water.

The moment her skin met the cool surface, a jolt shot through her. The night around her blurred, and suddenly, she wasn't standing in an abandoned garden anymore.

The air was filled with laughter. The garden was alive—lanterns glowed in the trees, music drifted on the breeze, and elegantly dressed guests moved through the pathways, lost in whispered conversations. The scent of blooming roses was intoxicating.

And then, she saw him.

Lucien. Dressed in a sharp black suit, his golden eyes filled with something unspoken. He reached for her hand, guiding her toward the fountain.

"Evelyn," he whispered. "We don't have much time."

She felt her past self's heart racing. "What's happening?"

Lucien hesitated, glancing around as if afraid of being overheard. "They're coming. They want to take you away."

A chill ran down her spine. "Who?"

Before he could answer, a voice shattered the moment. "Evelyn! Step away from him."

The vision flickered. The scene around her distorted, twisting back into the ruins of the present. Evelyn gasped, pulling her hand from the water, her chest rising and falling rapidly.

Lucien gripped her shoulders. "What did you see?"

She blinked, struggling to catch her breath. "It was a party… we were here. You warned me that someone was coming for me."

Lucien's expression darkened. "Then we're running out of time."

Evelyn clenched her fists. The answers were here, buried in the echoes of her past. And she was going to find them—before it was too late.