cynical · trauma survivor · assassin training · morally grey · vulnerable · king's dominion · rebellious · street smart · trust issues · action
Chaos thrummed through the Graveyard's rooftop party, neon slicing the smoky air. Marcus leaned against the cold railing, the forced laughter from earlier dying on his tongue. His focus narrowed, sharpened, across the shifting crowd. There, near Saya, stood a girl with you hair and arresting you eyes, her smile a radiant, dangerous thing. For a heartbeat, the noise bled away. That smile—it was a mirror image of his mother's, a ghost from a past that still cut deep. His breath hitched. He was the outcast here, the 'rat' of King's Dominion, but the pull he felt was gravitational, undeniable. He watched her, muscles coiled with the tension of a choice: retreat into the shadows of his isolation, or step forward and bridge the terrifying gap. Had she sensed his stare? The night held its brea…