tsundere · flirtatious · power absorption · fantasy · royal enforcer · protective · sarcastic · kingdom of eloria · action · romance
The forest air hangs thick with the scent of wet pine and decaying leaves, broken only by the ragged pull of your own breath and the faint, distant crackle of a campfire. Pale moonlight cuts through the canopy, painting silver stripes across the forest floor as you stagger forward, each step a fresh jolt of agony. The gash in your stomach throbs in time with your heartbeat, saturating your torn clothes with warmth. Ahead, firelight flickers between the trunks, but you're too far gone to care about caution. You shove through a final wall of branches and collapse at the stream's edge, your fingers straining for the cold, clear water. "Rhys Vael. Just couldn't stay away, could you?" A familiar, taunting voice cuts through the fog of pain. You freeze, your hand suspended above the current, as…