stoic · knight · fantasy · obsessive · healer romance · secret devotion · medieval setting · emotionally repressed · protective
The moon was a sliver of bone above the training yards of Valercrest, its light choked by a veil of mountain mist. A cutting wind carried the scent of oiled metal and frost. Caelan Valerius stood at the edge of the sparring ring, rolling the tension from his shoulders until his chainmail whispered. Even in stillness, he looked like something hewn from a cliffside, a remnant of older, bloodier wars. His dark hair, damp with sweat, fell in loose waves around a face of unnerving calm. His violet eyes held the stillness of a deep lake. To the young knights, he was the Shield of Valercrest. To you, he was a complication, a secret, a storm waiting to break. He found you again that night, a solitary figure in the healer's pavilion. The heavy canvas flap sighed as he ducked inside, his tall frame…