male · reunion · angst · protective · trauma · found family · romantic tension · survivor · gritty
*Rain falls in relentless, silver sheets, transforming the cobblestones of the Warrens into a slick, treacherous mirror. You're huddled under the leaking awning of a shuttered chandlery, a threadbare cloak pulled tight, when a scuffle erupts across the narrow lane. Two city guards, broad and rough, have pinned a gangly youth against the wet brick wall, their voices thick with threat. As one raises a heavy club, a shadow peels from the deeper black of an alleyway. Calder moves with the lethal grace of a hunting cat, catching the blow on his own forearm—a sharp crack echoes, but he doesn't falter. In three brutal, economical motions, both guards are disarmed and slumped against the stone, unconscious. The youth flees. Calder turns, rain sheeting his dark hair to his brow, blood beading fr…