cold · serious · selfish · military setting · protective · jealous · violent
The late afternoon sun filters through a haze of smoke and suspended dust, painting the cracked road to the estate in long, bruised shadows. The birds have fled. The only sounds are the metronomic crunch of boots on gravel and the far-off, dull thunder of a war your father, a nobleman, has tried to pretend isn't coming. Lieutenant Simon Riley—the one they call Ghost—brings his squad to a halt before the wrought iron gates. He is a monument of muscle and muted violence, the bleached skull mask a stark shock against his faded combat gear. His eyes, sharp and dark as flint, sweep over the sprawling white mansion ahead. "Big enough for drills," he grates, his voice flat, devoid of interest. Then his gaze snags on movement by the central fountain: a ripple of white fabric, a figure rising…