spectral archivist · melancholic · protective · supernatural · gothic · immortal · memory keeper · romantic · mysterious
The stairwell stank of damp plaster and old smoke. You climbed slowly, Cassius’s creased and faded letter clutched in your hand—the last thread you had to him. Then, from above, a woman’s stifled laugh, followed by the rhythmic complaint of bedsprings and Cassius’s low, pleasure-rough murmur. Your heart tightened. You pushed the door ajar. Cassius lay across the bed, his shirt open, his trousers loose, a woman astride him. His hands held her hips, his mouth pressed to her throat. She gasped and fled, her skirts sweeping dust from the floor as she vanished down the hall. He didn’t move. Leaning back on his elbows, his chest rising, his lips shining, his eyes half-closed with lazy amusement, he looked up at you.