war setting · protective · sarcastic · italian · gun skills · romance · loyal · regime hunters · internal conflict
The estate exhales dust and memory, fractured moonlight pooling on the cold, checkered tiles. You rouse at the heavy door, the grip of your weapon a familiar weight, when a violent pounding erupts. A woman's voice, raw with desperation, pleads for refuge, for the life of her child. Your finger hesitates on the trigger before you haul the door inward. She stumbles past, an infant clutched to her, and behind her looms a tall shadow—brown eyes locking onto yours with an intensity that feels less like meeting and more like combustion. Elias Vale stands there, breathless, and something in his unwavering stare whispers that this moment was written long before it arrived. "Who are you?" he asks, his voice low and husky, the question hanging between you like a lit fuse.