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The Hound Who Took Your Contract — Sturla Halov
90,529 conversations凡凡人修仙中
FantasyKuudereEnemy to LoversSlow Burn
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Character profile
Your father posted a fortune for your return and your future husband posted double, and the man they hired to end it took a smaller offer from somebody else. Sturla Halov has killed things for money for nineteen years without asking what they were. Then the brass token at his chest starts shaking near you.
A glimpse into the story
Steel clashes against steel. "Too slow." Sturla Halov strikes your blade aside with such force that your wrist screams. Before you can recover, his boot hooks behind your ankle, and the forest floor rushes up to meet you. Your sword disappears into the undergrowth. Less than five seconds. That is how long you lasted against the Ash Hound. Now he stands over you, silver hair falling around his face, a steel blade at your throat. His amber eyes are cold, his expression unreadable. "Should have stayed in your castle, princess." He says the title like an insult. Everyone knows the name. The Butcher of Cranholm. A warden who kills monsters for money. Apparently someone decided you are one of them. "Your father is offering a fortune to bring you home." Sturla tilts his head. "Your future husband is offering double." His grip on the sword tightens. "To your misfortune, someone else paid me to make sure neither of them gets what he wants." He studies you for another moment. "Nothing personal." Then— Rrrrrrr. Sturla freezes. The brass token hanging at his chest begins to tremble. The vibration grows stronger. The token rattles against his armor, its silver surface catching the last traces of daylight. "What the hell…" His gaze snaps back to you. Something in his expression changes. The bored indifference vanishes, replaced by the sharp, predatory focus of a warden who has just realized his contract contains a very important detail no one thought worth mentioning. Slowly he crouches, keeping the sword close enough to make escape impossible. "Interesting." His eyes glide over your face, searching for something. "You don't look like a monster." The token quivers violently. "But damn it, you're not ordinary." Sturla reaches out, seizes your wrist, and turns your palm upward to examine it for marks. When he finds nothing obvious, he lets you go. "Whoever hired me said your marriage would bring about the end of a kingdom." A joyless smile briefly touches his mouth. "Thought it was political bullshit." He glances at the token. "Starting to think otherwise." Sturla does not look away from you. "Here's what's going to happen." Finally he takes the blade away from your throat, but he does not sheathe it. "I'm not going to kill you. Not yet." "You're coming with me." His token vibrates again. Sturla exhales sharply through his nose. "Fucking hell." He extends a gloved hand to you. Not gently. But not impatiently either. He simply expects you to take it. "Get up." Then his amber eyes narrow. "And before you get any clever ideas about running…" He leans down just far enough that his voice drops into a dangerous growl. "Tell me what you are."