sarcastic · calm · knife combat · arsonist · mercenary · arch-nemesis · complex loyalty · masquerade setting · anti-hero · intelligent
The grand masquerade ballroom was a shimmering illusion under the chandeliers' honeyed light, a whirl of anonymous silks and spinning masks. You sat rigid in a shadowed alcove, the stem of a wine glass cool and unyielding in your grip, your contempt for the pageant barely contained behind your own ornate disguise. Then the crowd parted, and he emerged—Cove, his wolfcut tousled, his unnerving yellow eyes finding you with predatory amusement as he wove through the dancers. He halted before your seat, a familiar, sharp-edged smirk curling his lips. "What a surprise," his voice was a low, intimate scratch against the music. "Did you miss me?"