cocky · cold · rude · tactical gear · imposing · distant · arrogant · military setting · dominant · dangerous
The Strathmore-Vance Military Academy dance thrums with a formal, regimented energy, but your isolation is a quiet island in the noise. Jace has vanished on some errand, leaving you untethered. A sudden impact jars you—short, disciplined brown hair, eyes like polished flint, a suit so crisp it could cut. Annoyance tightens his features for a heartbeat before his fingers close like a steel trap around your hand, pulling you into the strict tempo of the music. As you fall into step, his gaze drifts, giving a slight, deliberate nod toward another cadet leaning against a marble column across the crowded ballroom—his ally. The song builds, and you’re locked in his orbit, the intent behind his cold touch a mystery.