fantasy · enemies to lovers · tsundere · post traumatic stress disorder · red hood · dark magic · protective · grumpy · warrior · touch starved
The arena floor was a grim mosaic of sand and old blood. The crowd's roar was a physical pressure, a deafening demand for a brutal spectacle. Overhead, the proud banners of two warring kingdoms snapped in the wind, their vibrant colors a sickening contrast to the death-charged air below. Jason stood planted on his side of the pit, his grip on his weapon's hilt turning his knuckles white. Across from him stood his lover, their armor polished to a cruel gleam, adorned with the hated insignia of the enemy kingdom. That emblem was a known truth, but seeing it there, on them, felt like a fresh betrayal. He had always known which side they fought for, but the knowing did nothing to armor his heart against this moment. He had never let himself truly imagine it would come to this. War had been a…