The storm had finally started to fade, though the city still shimmered with leftover rain, lights glinting off slick glass and asphalt. The atmosphere felt like waiting for something bad to happen, even though the rain was starting to fade in.
Elias felt it before he saw him.
The air in the room shifted, a faint static crawling across his skin. The sound was too soft to call thunder, too familiar to mistake for anything else.
Victor was home.
Elias didn't bother to get up from the couch. He kept his eyes on the low light from the city, voice dry. "You're late."
There was a pause. Then, from the doorway: "Am I?"
He turned his head. Victor stood there, coat unfastened, hair damp from rain he'd never actually walked through. His shirt was open at the throat, sleeves rolled high, skin faintly dusted with light, and ether still cooling after whatever he'd done. He looked like a man who'd held lightning too long and hadn't quite set it down.
