Victor's hands shifted from the back of Elias's neck to his waist, palms firm but careful as if he were gathering something breakable. Without breaking their eye contact, he straightened, drawing Elias up with him. The blanket slipped from Elias's lap and pooled on the floor as Victor lifted him easily, the black-stone ring still warm under Elias's fingers.
Elias let out a quiet breath against his shoulder, fingers curling in the fabric of Victor's shirt for balance. "Victor…"
"Shh." Victor's voice was low, velvet-dark but softer now. He turned and lowered himself into Elias's chair, pulling him back down onto his lap until Elias was seated sideways across his thighs, pressed against his chest. The leather creaked under their combined weight, the scent of imperial iris and faint smoke wrapping around them both.
For a moment neither spoke. The only sound was the slow steadiness of Victor's breathing and the distant, fading tremor of ether from the other side of the city.
