Elias's eyes flew open. His body went taut with startled tension.
Victor sighed; he had no intention of letting anyone or anything interrupt the moment he had waited so painfully patiently for.
His red ether curled by his arms, flared.
The air rippled once, clean and sharp, and the heavy lock on the door clicked shut with a sound that was more final than metal alone could be. Victor's divine signature, ancient and immutable, flooded the room.
"That can wait," Victor's breath coasted across Elias's skin, hot as it touched the damp shell of his ear.
"You can't."
Elias swallowed hard. His body, still tense from the knock, was suspended in that space between flinch and fall, but the moment Victor's ether spread, everything stilled. The air pressed warm and thick against his skin, and every breath he took carried Victor's scent, deep, spiced and overwhelming, like smoke curling around him.
"Ready?" Victor asked, his voice rough with need.
