“You are far too good to me,” she sighs dramatically, placing a quick, affectionate kiss on my temple, just above the edge of my mask.
The barmaid chuckles under her breath at Sera’s gushing, a knowing glint in her eyes.
“Best in the region,” she boasts, as if Sera needs further persuasion.
“Perfect,” Sera says, leaning back with a delighted sigh.
I slide four silver coins across the table, careful to keep my gloved hands low. “Thank you,” I say quietly.
The woman pockets the coins with a knowing nod and disappears into the crowd. As soon as she’s gone, Sera leans back in her seat with a contented sigh, her smile as bright as the tavern itself.
“This place is incredible,” she says, gesturing to the swirling dancers, the boisterous laughter, the warm light glinting off polished wood. “It’s so alive.”
“It’s loud,” I counter, my gaze darting around the room.
Sera groans, propping her chin on her hand. “Not everything hasto be a battle, Lailah. Sometimes it’s nice to just enjoy life. You should try it.”
“I enjoy life just fine,” I reply. “Preferably when no one’s looking.”
“Too bad, because someone is looking,” Sera whispers, her tone turning playful as she tilts her head toward the bar.
My breath hitches. That feeling from earlier—the weight of unseen eyes—rushes back, intense and undeniable.
“What?” I ask, pulse quickening. Before I can stop myself, my gaze lifts, following the subtle tilt of her chin.
That’s when I see him.
Leaning against the bar with a presence that feels almost supernatural, he doesn’t just command the space—he bends it around him. The dim lantern glow flickers over him like it, too, is caught in his gravity. His broad shoulders stretch the fabric of his black shirt, the sleeves rolled just enough to reveal forearms inked in intricate patterns. Even from across the room, I can tell he’s tall. Towering. A presence meant to be noticed.
And, gods help me, I notice him.
It’s his face that snatches the breath from my lungs, his defined jawline kissed with stubble that only adds to his effortless, lethal beauty. His dark hair—just unruly enough to look careless—curls slightly at the edges, creating a soft contrast that makes my fingers ache with the strangest, most reckless longing. But it’s his eyes that ensnare me, that make my stomach drop as if I’m standing at the edge of a cliff, the ground unsteady beneath me.
Theyburn.
Not with warmth, not with anything remotely gentle, but with an intensity so consuming that it feels like they could strip me bare without ever touching me. There’s something ancient in them, something dark, something that feels like a whispered warning. But more than that—more than the peril that lingers there—I feel a pull.
Fierce. Familiar.
Like my soul already knows him. Like it’s been waiting.
“Lailah,” Sera sings, dragging my name out in a whisper filled with delight. “You’re staring.”
I rip my gaze away, my heart pounding, my skin burning as though she’s just pulled me from a dream.
“I wasn’t?—”
“You were.” She grins, leaning closer, her blue eyes alight with mischief. “And honestly? I don’t blame you. He’s… gods.”
“Sera, stop,” I whisper, my stomach twisting at the thought that he might hear her. But the second I look back toward the bar, I know it’s too late.
He’s still watching me.
His smirk deepens—slow, deliberate, as if he knows exactly what he’s doing to me. As if he sees straight through me. Heat unfurls in my chest, creeping up my throat, impossible to ignore.
Sera doesn’t miss a thing.
“Oh, he’s definitely looking at you,” she murmurs, her grin widening as she props her chin on her hand. “You should go talk to him.”
