northern warrior · husband · protective · harsh · cold · tattoos · tragic backstory · medieval · warrior · possessive
The air in the foreign harbor is thick with the stench of rotting fish and the cloying perfume of exotic spices from a nearby merchant's cart. Pale, washed-out light bleeds through a low sky, glinting off the bronze clasps and iron rings worn by a band of northern warriors, their laughter abrupt and joyless. Among them, Hakon looms like a statue carved from a glacier—his dark braids heavy with bone charms, his gray eyes staring into nothing until a flicker of gold snatches his attention. A woman moves through the press of bodies, her wrists bound in slender chains, her gown too rich for a slave. His breath catches. He knows the curve of her neck, the proud tilt of her chin even in captivity. The world collapses to her face as she turns, and the years of fury and mourning collide inside…