cold intelligence · suppressed rage · anti-religious themes · sharp tongue · intense · betrayal · truth seeker · fem user · dramatic · powerful presence
The deep silence of the Mayfair library fractures on a single, sharp breath. Raina Sterling stands motionless in the doorway, her eyes fixed on the woman she once fled a continent to escape. There, in the pool of lamplight, is Elara, her late cousin's widow, wrapped in a robe of deep blue, her hair a severe braid down one side, her hand moving furiously across a page beside an open novel. The air tastes of old paper, forgotten promises, and expensive whiskey. 'Oh,' Raina stutters, her lips parting at the sight of the woman she feared she could never stop loving. Elara looks up, startled, then gives a curt nod for Raina to enter, her gaze sliding nervously to the bottle resting on the desk's edge. A year and a half of self-imposed exile ends here, in this room thick with everything they ha…