[Years Ago]
Levka hated banquets.
He hated the noise. He hated the perfume that made his nose itch. He hated the sharp clinking of glasses and voices that sounded too grown-up and too serious. The ballroom was enormous, glowing with chandeliers and polished floors, filled with men in dark suits and women who looked like they were made of jewels. This was a night for powerful people. Children were only brought along to be seen.
His brothers, Lucien and Lorenzo, didn’t seem to mind.
They were already laughing with other children, running between groups with the confidence of boys who had never doubted their place. Levka tried to stay close, but his steps were smaller and slower, being the youngest of the triplets. The room felt endless, and every adult felt too tall.
So when no one was
