✦ Chapter 20 ✦
"He looks more beautiful in person."
The voice drifted through Elian's consciousness like fog rolling over still water, soft and unhurried, neither dream nor waking thought. It settled at the back of his mind, close enough to feel intimate, distant enough to feel unreal. Warmth followed it — the gentle drag of a fingertip along his cheek, slow and careful, as though the person touching him feared he might vanish if pressed too firmly.
His lashes fluttered.
Light seeped in first, blurred and pale, then shape, then color. Honey-brown eyes hovered above him, close enough that he could see the darker flecks near the pupils, the long lashes casting faint shadows against smooth, pale skin. The man's expression held no alarm, no calculation — only quiet awe, as though Elian were something fragile laid in his hands.
Beautiful.
The word bloomed in Elian's mind without permission, settling deep in his chest like a truth he didn't know how to carry.
