Davi looked entirely unconvinced by Lysander’s attempt at innocence, though the smile tugging at his mouth made it clear he wasn’t truly objecting to any of it. “Mm. Of course they did,” he murmured smoothly at the claim that the plans had stopped at the mirror. “Everything after that was simply a s...

Davi’s brows lifted slightly at the comment about luck, the smile that followed warm with amusement rather than surprise. “Not my luck,” he replied easily as he fell into step beside him again, dark eyes briefly flicking toward Lysander, “But I do like to push. Part of my charm, I think.” And perhap...

Davi’s grin turned positively wicked at that look, dark eyes never wavering from Lysander’s as he stepped closer again, close enough that the warmth between them threatened to start that fire all over. His gaze flicked briefly to the other man’s mouth before returning to his eyes. “Mm, I noticed,” h...

Davi watched him approach again, noting the steadying breath, the hand slipping into his pocket, the lingering tension still threaded through him despite the regained composure. It was oddly reassuring, knowing he hadn’t imagined the effect they had on one another. At the question of trouble, his sm...

The sound Lysander made at the bite sent another pulse of heat through Davi, and feeling the way his body tensed beneath his hands nearly made him lose the last threads of restraint he still possessed. Nearly . But then the bell rang. And despite the frustration that flashed through Lysander so open...

The sound that left Davi at the near-growl in Lysander’s voice was entirely involuntary. Soft. Breathless. Dangerous. Especially once he felt the subtle tug at the strings of his corset vest. “Oh, that’s unfair,” he breathed with quiet amusement against Lysander’s mouth, though the faint tremor in h...

The moment Lysander lifted him onto the desk, Davi felt another dangerous rush of heat coil through him. Not fear. Not surprise. Something far more willing. It was effortless for him too, and Davi would be lying if that didn’t affect him perhaps more than it should have. The solid grip at his waist,...

Davi absolutely noticed the shiver. And the realization that he had pulled that reaction from Lysander sent a warm thrill straight through him. But it was the shift in position that nearly undid him in return. The sudden pressure of the desk at his back, Lysander braced around him, broad and solid a...

The brush of pale hair against his cheek startled him just enough that Davi blinked when he pulled back, dark eyes immediately lifting to Lysander’s face again. And promptly forgetting how to breathe for a second time that evening. Without the glamour, there was something sharper about him. Colder p...

Davi listened in silence, the mirror still cradled carefully in his hands as Lysander spoke. That indicates that I’ve stopped doing that since I met you… The words settled somewhere deep and warm before he could stop them. For all Lysander’s confidence, his sharpness, his carefully controlled world;...

Davi went very still. Not rigid just… stilled, as if the moment had pressed pause on everything but thought. “…you’re…” he started, then stopped himself, a soft breath leaving him as he recalibrated. His gaze dropped briefly back to the mirror in his hands, as if confirming it hadn’t somehow changed...

Davi followed him up without hesitation, though the moment they crossed into the office space, something in him stilled. It wasn’t the books: though he noted them, the age, the care, the quiet reverence in how they were kept. It wasn’t even the desk, the order, the unmistakable precision of a man wh...

Davi’s attention shifted the moment the owl swept down, whatever he’d been about to say lost entirely to the sudden, graceful intrusion. His expression softened almost instantly, something genuinely delighted flickering across his features as he watched her settle. “Asphodel,” he greeted gently, voi...

Davi followed without hesitation, though there was a subtle shift in him the further they moved from the main room; less guarded, perhaps, or simply more himself now that the weight of observation had thinned. His attention lingered briefly on the doors Lysander pointed out, noting the heavier lock ...

Davi moved easily at Lysander’s side, his pace unhurried but attentive, dark eyes taking in everything without seeming to linger too long on any one detail. It was a habit: observe, catalog, understand and the Ebon Rose offered no shortage of things worth noting. The layout, the controlled access, t...

He didn't miss the way Lysander looked him over before meeting his gaze, the feeling was certainly mutual as Davi took in his own attire. It was decidedly less formal than he'd seen him dressed before and it gave so many more hints as to what else Lysander hid besides his white blond hair. And when ...

It hadn't taken terribly long, in fact Davi had been rather surprised at how quickly he'd received a message from Lysander. An invitation to the Ebon Rose? It wasn't exactly what he expected but he understood the location was important to the other man, while dueling wasn't terribly important to Dav...

Davi followed Lysander’s gaze briefly as they neared the edge of the forest, noting the subtle shift in his staff; the way tension eased now that he’d reappeared. He didn’t comment on it, but the awareness was there, filed neatly alongside everything else he’d learned tonight. At Lysander’s remark a...

Davi adjusted slightly under Huginn’s weight when the raven settled, his fingers lingering a moment in the bird’s feathers before dropping back to his side. The familiar contact grounded him, and by the time he turned to follow Lysander back toward the village path, the easy calm had returned to his...

Davi smiled faintly at that; not smug, not shy, just quietly pleased that Lysander understood exactly what he meant about guidance and its absence. Some things didn’t need to be spoken aloud to be shared. At the question about colleagues, he let out a soft breath that was almost a laugh. “Oh, I have...

Davi listened without interrupting, his stride easy, unhurried, as if the woods truly were nothing more than a park path to him. He gave a small nod at Lysander’s words about lines, appreciation evident rather than merely polite. “That’s… reassuring,” he said quietly. “Knowing where a line is and re...

Davi let out a breath he hadn’t quite realized he was holding, the tension easing from his shoulders as Lysander’s answer landed without sharp edges. If anything, it left him… intrigued. And a little off-balance in a way he didn’t mind. “That’s generous of you,” he said quietly, the corner of his mo...

Davi slowed not stopping outright, but easing his pace just enough that the space between them shifted. The forest seemed to lean in around them, sounds dampened, the world narrowing to footfall and breath and the man beside him. “Refreshing,” Davi echoed softly, tasting the word as if it were somet...

Davi chuckled softly at the observation, a low, easy sound. “If humans learned from their mistakes so easily,” he said, “they wouldn’t make them quite so often.” He gave a small shrug as he finished, but his attention had already shifted back to Lysander as the man continued speaking. Davi found him...

As they walked, Davi kept Lysander in his peripheral vision; close enough to be aware of him, distant enough to pretend it was accidental. The tickle of Huginn’s feathers brushed the back of his neck a moment later, the raven’s familiar signal that his anxious nature was showing. Davi chuckled softl...