The late afternoon sun cast golden streaks through the rustling leaves of the great oak tree at the edge of the Hogwarts grounds. Lilith Nightingale sat beneath it, her back pressed against the rough bark, a book balanced in her lap. The crisp pages fluttered slightly in the gentle breeze, but she paid no mind, engrossed in the words in front of her. After the chaos of the day, she had needed this moment—quiet, undisturbed, hers.

Or at least, that had been the plan.

A shadow loomed over her, blocking the sunlight that had warmed her skin. She exhaled through her nose, already knowing who it was before she looked up.

"You really should consider reading in a less obvious spot, Nightingale," Elias Thorne drawled, arms crossed over his chest, a smirk tugging at his lips. "Makes it far too easy for me to find you."

Lilith sighed, not even bothering to mark her place in the book. "And yet, you still insist on bothering me."

Elias plopped down beside her with a dramatic sigh, stretching his long legs out in front of him. "What can I say? There's something so entertaining about ruining your peace."

She turned a page, feigning disinterest. "You must be truly desperate for entertainment then."

Elias leaned back on his hands, tilting his head as he studied her. "Not desperate. Selective."

Lilith's fingers twitched against the spine of her book. There was something different in the way he said it—something that made the air between them shift, almost imperceptibly.

She refused to acknowledge it.

"What are you reading?" he asked after a moment, leaning slightly closer to peek at the pages. "Something dark and brooding, I assume?"

Lilith sighed, nudging his shoulder away with hers, though not as forcefully as she could have. "It's a history book."

Elias chuckled. "Of course it is. Do you ever read anything for fun?"

She arched a brow. "Learning is fun, Thorne. You should try it sometime."

His smirk widened. "Oh, I have plenty of fun. Just not the Nightingale kind."

Lilith rolled her eyes but couldn't fight the small, amused twitch of her lips. He was impossible, but—Merlin help her—it wasn't entirely insufferable.

Elias, as if sensing her slip in composure, nudged her boot lightly with his own. "Admit it. You'd be terribly bored without me."

She gave him a sidelong glance, shaking her head. "I'd be at peace."

Elias leaned in slightly, his voice lower now. "But peace is overrated."

For just a second—one treacherous, fleeting second—Lilith felt her heart stutter. He was close, not unbearably so, but close enough that she could see the way the sunlight caught in the gold flecks of his hazel eyes. Close enough that his presence felt more than just an annoyance.

She cleared her throat, returning her gaze to her book. "If I ignore you, will you leave?"

Elias grinned. "No chance."

Lilith exhaled sharply, but this time, it sounded suspiciously close to a laugh.

A breeze picked up, rustling the pages of her book, but she wasn't looking at them anymore. Instead, she was acutely aware of how Elias had shifted, his knee barely brushing hers as he leaned forward, as if daring her to react.

"You know," he murmured, voice lighter now, teasing but still holding something heavier beneath it, "you look almost peaceful right now."

Lilith's gaze flickered toward him, lips parting as if she was about to retort, but something about the way he was watching her made the words stick in her throat. He wasn't smirking now. He wasn't playing a game.

For once, she didn't know what to do with that.

Elias reached forward suddenly, plucking a fallen leaf from her hair. His fingers barely grazed her temple, but she felt it all the way down to her spine.

Lilith swallowed. Hard.

"I should hex you," she muttered, taking the leaf from his hand just to give herself something to do.

Elias smirked again, though it was softer this time. "You won't."

And damn him—he was right.