Rozurial and Hanna's first kiss

Rozurial and Hanna’s first kiss grows out of an act of care: finding Hanna sleepwalking in guilt over her son, Rozurial quietly brings her to safety and stays beside her. Their intimacy begins not with a declaration but with recognition of the grief and family losses they carry in common.

Background and Timing

The scene, titled “First Touch,” is told from Rozurial’s point of view and takes place between Shadow Rising and Haunted Moon. Before the encounter, his sleep has returned him to earlier lives: childhood before Dredge destroyed his family, and the idealized years of his marriage to Fraale, the only woman who had fully won his heart. Waking, he has to gather himself again and remember the long centuries that have made him who he is, including how he became an incubus and his anger at Zeus and Hera.

Hanna’s Sleepwalking and Guilt

A creak draws Rozurial from sleep. Expecting a possible threat, he opens the studio door with a dagger ready, but finds Hanna pacing with the front door standing wide open. She seems unaware of him, her face fixed in fear. Recognizing that she is sleepwalking, he lowers his blade, removes his duster, and approaches quietly rather than startling her.

Hanna does not wake as she walks. Rozurial gradually makes out her plea for Kjell to forgive her and understand why she acted as she did. Her voice breaks with tears; her face conveys a guilt she cannot set aside even in sleep. Rozurial knows the history because Camille D’Artigo had told the others what happened: Hanna helped Camille escape Hyto’s lair, cared for her wounds, and supported her after Hyto’s torture. Hanna had also ended Kjell’s life to save him. There had been no other choice, but the memory remained a burden she carried, now driving her into a waking dream.

Care and Shared Loss

Rozurial puts an arm around Hanna’s shoulders and leads her into his room. His touch quiets her; he tucks her into his bed, where she sighs softly and falls into deep sleep. He then stays at her side holding her hand. In his understanding, Hanna is lonely after losing her husband, children, and home, and after following her conscience into a land far from where she began.

Watching over her, Rozurial recognizes a likeness between them. Both have lost everyone and everything they loved, and both live with memories of torture and family deaths. This recognition gives the scene its emotional turn: his response to Hanna’s distress becomes more than immediate protection, as her vulnerability brings his own history of bereavement into focus.

The First Kiss

When Hanna opens her eyes, she startles and pulls back. Rozurial leans down and presses a gentle kiss to her lips. Hanna hesitates briefly, then opens her arms and welcomes him. The moment is mutual, but it follows the care he has already offered without demanding anything from her: he has protected her while she was unaware, stayed beside her as she slept, and approached her gently when she woke. Their first kiss thus emerges from consolation and shared grief, marking the beginning of intimacy through a small, freely returned gesture.