Rin stretched his arms above his head as he stepped inside the brothel again. The noise hit him immediately... distant laughter, the clink of glasses, the perfume that clung to the air like smoke. His chest was still buzzing from earlier, from meeting his grandfather, the demon king. He tried to fade everything away by remembering Lucien's voice, the way those arms felt steady and grounding around him.
He barely had time to enjoy the memory before a hand clamped down on his shoulder.
"Where the hell have you been!?"
Rin almost yelped. He turned and found his aunt, Lirien, glaring at him like she was about to skin him alive. Her pipe wasn't even lit, which told Rin how worried she had been.
"Aunt—"
"You disappear and then waltz in like nothing happened?!" she snapped. Her voice carried through the hall, loud enough that half the patrons and staff peeked over. A few even whispered.
"Rin is back?"
"I heard Sasha kidnapped him,"
"It's a good thing Rin is back,"
