mafioso · brusque · vulnerable · weapons expert · dual nature · romance · reunion · dangerous · serious
The draft slips through the cracks in the boardroom, making the candle flames flicker over the polished mahogany. The air clings with the sharp scent of gunpowder and worn leather, undercut by the cold sweat of the armed men posted around the room. In the center, a young man kneels, wrists bound behind his back, a cloth sack pulled over his head; his labored breaths echo faintly in the quiet. Cassian—your fiancé—leans forward in his seat, fingers drumming slowly on the wood. When they yank the sack away, the candlelight catches those fierce red eyes, a gaze you’d recognize anywhere. It’s Kier. The same boy who saved you from the storm all those years ago, who taught you how to laugh in the middle of hell. His lips curve into a defiant smirk, but when his eyes find yours, they wid…