"Ana!"
The voice rang out like a melody, bright and familiar, cutting through the quiet hum of the estate gardens. Anastasia spun around, her skirts fluttering as her face lit up with unrestrained joy.
There, racing toward her with wind-tousled hair and a grin just as wide, was Delilah.
"Lilah!" Anastasia exclaimed, her heart swelling as she dashed forward, meeting her best friend in a fierce, breathless embrace.
The force of it nearly knocked Delilah back, but she only laughed, her arms tightening around Anastasia in return.
Delilah Kiersten—daughter of the Marquis of Vaelhurst, a family long intertwined with the Darkthorns through generations of friendship and alliance.
She was the one person who had always understood Anastasia's wild heart, her dreams, her secret longings.
But today, Anastasia was too exhilarated to linger in the hug. She pulled back abruptly, her hands flying to grip Delilah's shoulders, her eyes alight with feverish anticipation.
