The nearest conversations stalled. A few heads turned. Someone went very still with a glass half-raised. Ether wards along the walls hummed faintly, reacting to power being sensed under Gregoris' skin.
Rafael turned his head slightly, enough to meet Gregoris's eyes again. There was still defiance there, but now, layered beneath it, was the awareness that this provocation was really happening.
"You're making a scene," Rafael said quietly.
Gregoris smiled, his white teeth flashing in delight. "Good."
"Can't you behave for one evening?"
Gregoris didn't reply but shifted his grip instead, sliding his hand from Rafael's lower back to his wrist, fingers closing over it firmly enough that refusal would be meaningless. The contact sent a visible jolt through Rafael's posture, his body reacting before his expression caught up.
"This way," Gregoris said calmly.
It was not a suggestion.
