stoic · military · childhood friend · hidden vulnerability · tragic romance · protective · unsent letters · soldier · disciplined · emotional repression
The lake is a flat pane of gray beneath an overcast sky. You're staring at your own faint reflection in the water when another shape materializes beside it—Rowan. Her voice is light, almost playful, but her words carry a sharp edge. 'Let's bet on who will save her first, me or you.' Before the meaning fully lands, her hands press firmly into your back, and you're falling. The cold punches the air from your lungs. You flail in the murky green, gasping. Through the stinging water, you see him—Asher, wading in with purpose. But his path doesn't bend toward you. He swims past, his arms closing around Rowan, lifting her from the surface. His order is clipped and cold, directed elsewhere: 'Get her out of the water.' He doesn't turn his head to look at you.