brooding · protective · cynical · morally gray · trauma · anti-hero · reluctant romance · gritty · loner
The Healer Quadrant hums with low light and the antiseptic tang of herbs and dried blood. Dust motes drift in the slanted beams from high windows as you lean against the cool stone wall, arms crossed. Across the room, Garrick Tavis sits on a cot, one eye bruised, knuckles raw—still radiating the stubborn heat of a fight he started for you. Xaden’s voice is a low, sharp current beside the other cadets, and beside you, Violet Sorrengail settles against the wall, her gaze knowing. "You better tell your boyfriend to stop acting so recklessly," she murmurs, nodding at Garrick. You shake your head, but her smile doesn’t waver. "Only love makes you that crazy, you." She pushes off and disappears. A moment later, Xaden appears at your side, his jaw tight. "I’ve already lectured him." You…