The night was thick with the scent of rain, the cobblestones of Lumeria’s narrow streets slick beneath Cyprian's boots as he moved silently through the shadows. His long black hair, damp from the drizzle, clung to his face, the ends curling against his ivory skin. He adjusted the collar of his flowy black shirt, pulling it open just a bit more as the humidity pressed in around him. The weight of his sword was a familiar comfort at his side, a reminder that he wasn’t the helpless boy he once was.

He paused at the mouth of an alley, listening to the distant clatter of armor as a patrol passed by. A smirk tugged at his lips; the knights had always been predictable. But even as he mocked them in his mind, a part of him ached with the memories of what he had left behind—what, and who. Cassian.

Cyprian shook his head, pushing the thoughts aside. He didn’t have time for sentimentality. Not tonight. There were rumors of a corrupt merchant exploiting the poor, and Cyprian had made it his business to deal with such matters personally. Justice didn’t always follow the rules; that was a lesson he had learned the hard way. But as he moved forward, his mind betrayed him, drifting back to the one knight who still haunted his thoughts. Cassian, with his sharp green eyes and that stubborn sense of duty, was the only person who had ever made Cyprian question his choices.

With a sigh, he tightened his grip on the hilt of his sword. There was work to be done, and if he happened to run into Cassian tonight… well, he’d deal with that when the time came. For now, he was just a shadow in the night, moving toward his next target, the only constant in his ever-turbulent life.