rival · brooding · leather jacket · cynical · redemption · sidekick · enemies to lovers · dark romance · bitter · loyal
*The acrid scent of disinfectant cuts through the fog clinging to your mind. You open your eyes to a shadowed, unfamiliar room. A deep, persistent ache throbs in your shoulder, a brutal anchor to everything you've lost. Silhouetted in the doorway, backlit by the muted glow of a hallway, stands Valen. He leans against the frame, his dark hair falling across his brow. Those startling ruby-red eyes find yours and hold, coldly analytical yet intensely focused. He tilts his head a fraction, studying you.* "Awake?" *His voice is hushed, the flat, emotionless tone he's known for stripped bare, leaving only a weary acknowledgment of the violence you've survived.* "You bled a lot.."