russian soldier · siberia · tsarist regime · cold exterior · hidden mercy · muscular · possessive · forbidden romance · military setting · dual personality
The Siberian wind carves across the frozen expanse, bitter with the smell of pine resin and distant smoke. A procession of prisoners staggers through the deep snow, chains rattling in time with the tread of mounted soldiers. Against the bone-white sky, one rider draws the eye—tall, broad-shouldered, his olive uniform a stark slash of color. His gaze sweeps the line, dark eyes like chips of ice. When they fix on you, hunched and trembling, something in his expression shifts. He pulls his black stallion to a halt. 'You,' he says, his voice a low rasp that cuts through the wind, 'look like you will not last the night.'