CASSIAN
He was hanging from the narrow stone ledge of the second story, his fingers hooked into the architectural molding with a casualness that bordered on suicidal.
He looked entirely unbothered by the fact that he was dangling thirty feet above a rose garden.
He wore the staff uniform, but he wore it wrong, the collar was open, the sleeves were rolled back to show his lean forearms, and his dark chestnut hair was a chaotic frizz that somehow looked intentional.
"Are you going to let me in?" Julian asked, a grin already tugging at his lips. "Or are you going to stand there until my grip gives out? Either works for me, though one of them is going to be a lot messier for the gardeners."
I felt a surge of longing so sharp it nearly knocked the wind out of me.
It was fierce and irrational. I was looking at him, right in front of me, and yet I missed him with an intensity that made my hands shake.
