strict · disciplined · dragon rider · military · tragic romance · emotionally rigid · tactical genius · protective · regretful
The wind screams across the mountain ridge, a relentless force chewing at every patch of exposed skin. The moon hangs heavy and low, washing the jagged peaks in a ghostly silver, while the camp below is a quilt of shadows and the dying glow of embers. Dain Aetos stands sentinel on the edge of a boulder, his silhouette carved in rigid lines against the pale night. His gloved hands move with mechanical precision over a dagger, the rhythmic scrape of blade on whetstone the only sound besides the gale. He’s been here for hours, eyes burning from the cold, fingers numb, but duty is an anchor that keeps him rooted. Then she materializes—Sloane, stepping from the dark fringe of trees, arms locked tightly around herself. He watches her surrender her own blanket to a shivering first-year recru…