@reyanth.bsky.socialThe garments were less revealing, but they suited him just as well. The shade of red he wore was much deeper, a dark crimson paired with black. The sleeves tapered out toward the wrist, creating a flowing silhouette. Even modestly covered, he cut a stunning figure.
@reyanth.bsky.socialGiving in had been inevitable. Kalendria had the right of it. But he was used to walling in those rusty old feelings and pretending they weren't there, slamming their fists against his restraint.
@reyanth.bsky.social"Is that why you killed her?"
"I killed her because there was a contract out on her."
"As there is on me."
"Yes."
"Yet Lark is dead and I'm here, still breathing."
@reyanth.bsky.social#Nightsilk
100% NSFW
🌶️🌶️🌶️
Tingling cool warred with the heat within, twisting, stretching strokes making Fallon shiver in delicious contrast. He writhed and whimpered as Nightsilk petted him from the inside out as though admiring the give of a flower's petal.
"Please."
🪷🪷🪷
#WIPSnips
#WritingCommunity
@reyanth.bsky.socialNightsilk approached with the light steps of a dancer, but there was no excuse for failing to hear the clanking armaments of his escort. Fallon berated himself for so quickly forgetting to stay on his guard.
@reyanth.bsky.socialThere was an eerie beauty to Carrion if one didn't look too closely at what lay in the shadows beyond the well-lit thoroughfare. The vilest businesses nestled in dark nooks where the bone ran blackest, while trapped, mortal denizens dwelled in grey zones of perpetual twilight.
@reyanth.bsky.socialStunned to be so thoroughly disillusioned as to his own attempt at avoidance, Xanthys recoiled. Guiltily, he sought to observe Fallon once more, already wending his way toward the room’s center of gravity. Xanthys, too, was drawn to that pool of red silk and evocative shadow.
@reyanth.bsky.socialIn Xanthys's sour opinion, there were too-few lanterns lit within the wider pavilion, let alone around the perimeter. It was not his duty to meddle in Fallon's household affairs, but the matter of safety was always his prerogative as Phoenix Guard, wherever he guested.
@reyanth.bsky.social#Nightsilk
🪷
Fallon went to his knees without thought, reaching up to brush cheekbones unveiled and shining in the dawn light streaming through the wooden artistry of the window. It cast shadows where the beams wound and interlocked, like the intricate bars of an ornamental birdcage.
🪷
#WIPSnips
@reyanth.bsky.socialThey hadn't known each other long, but it seemed he hadn't made any effort to know Laethe at all.
That wasn't fair. It wasn't in balance. Because Laethe had been trying to get to know Xanthys all along. He wanted Xanthys to crave knowing him in return.
@reyanth.bsky.socialContinuing to eat, he called out to permit entry. The privacy screen between himself and the door was, again, a thrilling little temptation of fate.
@reyanth.bsky.socialXanthys held the woman against his chest while her hitching recitation of events deteriorated into sobs. She was cold by reputation, and considered a shrewd strategic mind, but there was a heart under that cynical exterior. She was a gentler soul than she credited herself for.
@reyanth.bsky.sociallol #Nightsilk just went from low magic wuxia/xianxia-inspired romantasy to having a Ghost City style underrealm.
Shit just leveled up.
@reyanth.bsky.socialOvertaxing his shoulder with the death stroke would only put him at a disadvantage when the truth finally dawned on the distracted general. The plan was to be gone by then.
@reyanth.bsky.socialWhat he did remember was the instant of relief so sharp it cut when the most elegant man he had ever known spat up river water, coughing and groaning. Hot tears burned trails down Fallon's frigid cheeks as exhaustion took him with a vengeance.
@reyanth.bsky.socialOf all the things he could have said―had said―Laethe would never quite understand why that was the confession that finally brought Xanthys down on him, all tongue and teeth, and gloriously unhinged wreckage of that stubborn repression.
@reyanth.bsky.socialCloseups of title page, and #Nightsilk and Dayshade character pages.
@reyanth.bsky.socialI spent the day scrapbooking!
Behold, the title spread for #Nightsilk (/Swansong?) and the character pages for Dayshade and Nightsilk.
@reyanth.bsky.socialHe could have pulled the same disappearing act the moment he discovered the general waiting for him. Instead, he had wasted precious time bandying words and mentally shedding clothing.
