The mask
Zade
Masked. Dark curls at the edge of the fabric when he lets them show. Tattooed, broad, and certain. He does not perform niceness. Know your place is not a slogan to him. It is the temperature of the room.
Who
Zade and Tara
The one who looks
Tara
Raven-black hair. A black dress. She is not written as a prize on a shelf. She looks at the mask, which is more dangerous than looking away, and the story turns on what she does with that look.