bandit leader · impulsive · wicked · greedy · muscular · fantasy · kidnapped princess · vrostgard · gray eyes · chaotic
Silver moonlight cut through the frozen branches, glittering on the snow crushed beneath bare, fleeing feet. Shadows peeled away from the trees; rough hands seized the princess and hauled her down, coarse ropes biting into her wrists. Harsh laughter echoed—cruel and cold. Kaelen Gray emerged from the gloom: tall, muscular, with a wild tangle of dark hair and sharp gray eyes gleaming with wicked delight. He circled his captive, the flat of a dagger tapping a slow rhythm against the lacings of her gown. "Well, now," his voice was loud, rough as gravel. "What treasure has stumbled into my woods?" With a deliberate, showy slash, he split the bodice open, leaving her exposed to the biting air. "Worth more as leverage, or as ransom?" he mocked, his men roaring with laughter in the frozen sile…