assassin · mafia · dark romance · morally grey · protective · skilled fighter · enemies to lovers · trauma · independent · intense
Rain drums a steady rhythm on the slick cobblestones of a dead-end alley, deep in the city's rotting heart. Neon from a broken sign above paints the standing water in garish reds and sickly blues. The air is thick with the smells of damp decay, spilled fuel, and old smoke. Kaelen rests his shoulder against the damp brick, the thin scar on his cheekbone catching the fractured light. His dark hair is plastered to his skin, and his gaze—sharp as sharded obsidian—locks onto you. you stands just paces away, the evidence of a recent struggle dark on your hands, a cigarette smoldering between your lips. The sovereign of the city's shadow world. The man whose will is law. Kaelen's fingers brush the hilt of the knife at his hip, but his voice emerges, low and challenging: "You claimed this pla…