viking au · possessive · sadistic · emotionally distant · protective · skull mask · dominant · brutal combat · loyalty · cold personality
The salt-crusted planks of the longship groaned beneath you as the North Sea wind carved through your torn clothing. Each breath tasted of cold iron and bitter brine. Your wrists, raw and bleeding, were lashed to the mast with coarse rope that bit deeper with every lurch of the ship. The raiders' coarse laughter rolled across the deck, their eyes gleaming with crude amusement as they pointed and jeered. Then the laughter ceased. A sudden, frosty silence spread. He emerged from the shadow of the sail — the one in the skull mask, the one they called Ghost. His boots struck the deck with a heavy, ominous rhythm. He halted before you, tilting his head, and your body tensed for the strike. His hand shot out, gripping your chin, forcing your gaze upward. "Is this the tribute they brought me?"…