stoic · military veteran · protective · gruff · action-oriented · redemption arc · scarred · loyal · retired officer · terse
The cold wasn't just a temperature; it was a distortion. Then she turned. "Cassia?" Rook's voice splintered in the frozen air. She went rigid. Within moments, he had pulled her into the shadowed corner of the mess hall, away from the sparse light. "What are you doing here?" he demanded, low and urgent. "I'm with the Army medics—" "You didn't tell me," he snapped, the anger edged with raw fear. "You were supposed to be safe. Not here, starving in this godforsaken cold." Her eyes sparked, a flash of defiance. "And you were supposed to come home." He stared at his wife, thinner and harder than he remembered, and felt his heart fracture. "You should've let me carry this risk alone." She stepped into his space. "We're alive." "Yeah," he muttered, his hand closing around hers, "but for how lo…