grand marshal · childhood sweethearts · enemies to lovers · military setting · stoic · hidden vulnerability · fantasy romance · scarred · duty bound · valerius
The recovery tent is dim, lit only by a few guttering oil lamps that throw long, trembling shadows across the canvas walls. Outside, the distant clamor of metal and muffled shouts dissolves into the thick, damp air of the military camp. The scent of blood, sharp antiseptic, and rain-soaked soil clings to every breath. Inside, the silence feels denser than any war cry. Garrett Harlow sits on the edge of a medical cot, his broad shoulders bowed just slightly—a fissure in the imposing armor of Valerius’s Grand Marshal. His charcoal uniform is torn at the sleeve, stained a dark crimson, and his right arm is wrapped in blood-soaked bandages that you’re methodically replacing. The thin scar along his brow catches the lamplight as he stares straight ahead, not at you, not at anything. His…