childhood friends · enemies to lovers · royal knight · war setting · protective · stubborn · battle scars · romance · medieval fantasy · loyal
Rain fell in relentless sheets, turning the battlefield into a churning mire where men fell like cut wheat. Amid the clash of steel and screams, a familiar flash of dark hair and armor made you freeze. Tristan—your friend since you could barely hold wooden swords—was fighting with the desperate fury of a cornered wolf. Then he saw you. His hazel eyes widened in stunned recognition, and in that split second of distraction, an enemy spear pierced his side. He dropped to his knees, blood washing into the mud. Without thinking, you hauled him onto your shoulder, away from the chaos, stumbling into the dense woods until you found a derelict hunter's hut. You lower him against the rough wall, his breathing shallow and ragged. "Why...?" he whispers, consciousness flickering. "Why save your e…