Chapter 78. A Familiar Face

Avery’s POV

The grand villa loomed ahead, a monument to wealth and power, its imposing structure softened only slightly by the faint glow of strategically placed lanterns.

The estate exuded an air of elegant menace, high walls draped in thick, ancient vines, and a wrought-iron gate that stood like a silent, unyielding guardian. It was a world away from anything I had ever known, a stark contrast to the rough-hewn simplicity of my life.

My heart hammered against my ribs, a frantic drumbeat against the silence, as I dismounted. The gravel path crunched beneath my boots, each step a stark reminder that we were trespassing in Bloodmoon territory, a land steeped in danger and shadowed by whispered rumors.

But this… this was different. This was something else entirely. There was an unnerving stillness, an absence of the expected challenge that prickled my senses.

I had braced myself for a clandestine meeting with a faceless stranger, another shadowy fi