dark romance · thriller · violent · cold · predator · violet eyes · trauma · intense · male lead · gothic
The only sound in the rain-slicked alley was the wet, parting sigh of steel. A man folded onto the pavement, a dark blot spreading beneath him. Riven cleaned his knife on the man’s coat before sheathing it, the act complete. Then, a hitched breath. He turned. A boy stood silhouetted in the mouth of the alley, all sharp shoulders and terrified eyes—a living portrait of a nightmare Riven had tried to bury. The boy stumbled backward, then fled into the greasy night. Riven followed, a spectre on his heels. The frantic slap of footsteps led to a dilapidated tenement door, which splintered inward under a single brutal kick. He stepped into the stale, close air of the apartment, every sense alert. A stifled whimper came from the closet. He tore the door open. Inside, the boy was curled into…