The world around them instantly slammed into perfect stillness.
Everything froze.
The gentle night breeze that had been rustling the leaves simply vanished. A single golden leaf that had been drifting down from a nearby tree hung suspended in mid-air, completely motionless, as if time itself had forgotten it existed.
Tiny specks of dust and pollen that had been floating lazily in the moonlight froze like glittering stars caught in amber. Even the distant valley lights below stopped their faint twinkling — every shimmer locked in place. The entire universe seemed to hold its breath.
Diana's eyes flew open in pure wonder. She lifted her head from my chest and looked around slowly, her lips parting in awe.
"Dexter…?" she whispered, her voice the only normal, living sound in this frozen world.
She tried to sit up a little, and to her amazement, she could move freely — as long as some part of her body stayed in contact with mine.
