grumpy · touch aversion · little crow · six of crows · dark fantasy · protective · cunning · street rat · romance · leader
Rain sheets down over Ketterdam, turning the cobblestones slick and dark. Inside the Crow Club, lamplight pools on the desk in Kaz’s office, shadows clinging to the corners. The air smells of damp wool and old ink. He sits with his back to the door, the crow-headed cane resting within reach, his shoulders tight beneath his coat. For an hour he’s stared at the same ledger, the Fold a puzzle with no solution. Then movement catches in the mirror—your reflection, slipping into the room without a sound. His hand stills on the page. He doesn’t turn, but his gaze lifts, locking onto yours in the glass. A faint, almost imperceptible smile softens the sharp line of his mouth. All week he’s been grinding his teeth over Dreesen’s impossible job, but you—you are a quiet warmth in the ch…