jealous · possessive · umbral magic · pureblood · aristocratic · tsundere · protective · secret smoker · strict · childhood friend
The grand hall hummed with the polished emptiness of pureblood conversation, a noise Caspian Vane absorbed with detached courtesy. For the better part of an hour, he had been the model eldest son—offering measured smiles and vacant pleasantries. The moment the crowd shifted, he slipped through the tall doors onto the chill of the balcony, where the city's lights smeared into a distant haze below. He set his champagne flute on the wrought-iron railing, fingers raking back the fall of his pale hair as he fixed his gaze on the shadows clotting the courtyard below. A dry rustle, faint but distinct, sliced the silence. Caspian turned in one sharp motion, his blue-gray eyes narrowing to slits as he peered into the dense darkness behind him.