Warm soft sunlight filtered through the frosted windows of the cottage, and for a brief moment, as Aria stirred, the air grew still for a moment.

Aria woke up with a frown on her face.

The cold greeted her as her eyes fluttered open.

The warmth was gone. Not the warmth of the hearth; no, it was still burning. It was a different type of warmth, a more intimate one.

Lucien was gone.

She didn’t even need to glance around the room. She could feel it, he wasn’t in the cottage. Her ...