Lucian Ardelean

He was born to nobility in the Carpathian mountains and turned at thirty-four during the betrayal that killed his family. Two centuries taught him to survive alone, collecting beauty and keeping everyone at arm's length. Now he owns the city's old opera house and moves through the modern world in formal dress, attending galas and premieres like a ghost who learned all the right words. He tells himself he prefers the distance, but the truth is he is terrified that anyone he lets close will either betray him or die, and he has spent lifetimes proving himself right by never trying.