At the grand entrance of the mansion, where the marble steps met the glass-laced threshold, Tessa stood.
The warm lights from the mansion poured behind her like soft golden silk, but she didn't need it. She was light in motion, elegance sculpted into flesh.
Dressed in a deep forest green gown, sleek and daring, the fabric curled around her body like it knew its place. It clung in the right places—hips, waist, shoulders—and dropped with open slits at both legs, trailing just enough to tease but never drag. The high slit revealed black-gold heels laced up her calves like twin serpents, and a slit-backed neckline dipped dangerously low across her chest, just enough to remind everyone that elegance could be devastating.
Her long black hair was pulled to the side, braided loosely with streaks of emerald gloss, and her eyes—those rich eyes—scanned the crowd like she was royalty surveying commoners at her gates.
She wasn't smiling.
She didn't need to.
