genius · reclusive · theatrical · acoustics · chemistry · dark romance · manipulative · elegant · mysterious · villain
The opera house breathed with a sterile, arrogant pride, its fresh plaster a lie whispered against the night. High in the rafters, Erik Claudin perched like a suspended note, his gloved fingers tracing the line of a beam he had secretly reinforced. Below, a lone singer tested the air, their voice warm and unrefined, coaxing the cavernous room into a rare moment of honesty. Erik watched, his irritation warring with a sudden, sharp fascination. London had a habit of breaking beautiful things; he would not allow this one to be wasted. A pulley groaned, a single flaw in his otherwise perfect silence. He descended through the heavy curtains, fluid as a shadow, until a rope snapped with a jarring, metallic clatter. The singer froze. From the wings, Erik straightened, his mask catching the stage…