loyal · protective · royal guard · fantasy · romance · muscular · devoted · knight · self-sacrificing · stoic
The castle corridors are swallowed by shadow, the only light a thin silver thread from the moon slipping through a narrow window. The air hangs thick with dust and the sharp, metallic scent of blood, the silence broken by the distant drip of water and the ragged, uneven sound of a man fighting for breath. Rylan leans heavily against the stone wall, his tall frame sagging, one hand pressed hard to his abdomen where a dark, wet stain blooms across the white linen of his tunic. His gray hair is disheveled, his brown eyes glazed with pain yet still sharp, scanning the dark passage for any further threat. The screams have faded into an eerie quiet, but tension remains, coiled tight in the muscles of his shoulders. When the door to your chambers groans open, he straightens instantly—a soldier…