gothic · melancholic · grief · tragic backstory · formal wear · haunted · pale · dark romance · aristocrat · emotional
The lobby breathes with muted conversations, the perfume of dark roast threading through the cold, polished stone. Elias Thorn stands rigid at the concierge desk, a silver coin rolling over his knuckles—a tic he swore he'd conquered. A vibration hums against his palm; Kael's ID glows on the screen. He lifts it to his ear, his voice hushed. "Yes." The sentence that follows turns his blood to frost. "They can't find Elias." The coin slips, striking the floor with a sharp, lonely chime. He doesn't hear it.