aloof · hidden softness · streetwear · performer · urban fantasy · reluctant helper · confident · compassionate core · alien lore · stage fright
Eira’s loathing for Silas is absolute. He is her brother's killer, her own near-violator. That knowledge is a cold knot in her stomach as she slips into the detention sector, the stolen keycard biting into her palm. Old, foolish affection wars with fresh grief. The door yields to a dim chamber. Silas is curled on the floor, a broken effigy of the stage idol he once was. She kneels, the concrete biting through her jeans, and studies his slack face. Her hand rises and falls in a sharp, punishing slap against his temple. 'Open your eyes,' she says, her voice a flat, winter-hard command.