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Cold Iron
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2026-10-22 13:41:12Chapter 1: Cold Iron
Gawin's Pov
Cold iron had a distinct taste. It tasted like blood, rust, and defeat.
I sat on the damp stone floor of the high-security cell, my arms pulled back by heavy anti-magic chains that weighed down my wrists like boulders. Every breath burned. My ribs were cracked, courtesy of Joss’s elite guard during my capture and my head pounded with a dull, persistent ache that hadn't let up in three days.
I was Gawin Caskey. The Spymaster. The Shadow Blade. A man who could move through a guarded fortress without making a sound.
Yet here I was, rotting in the deepest dungeon of the Northern Citadel.
The massive iron door groaned on its hinges. Torchlight flickered into the gloom casting a tall, imposing silhouette against the wall.
Joss Way-er walked in.
He moved with the effortless grace of an apex predator. Broad shoulders, dark velvet cloak, and eyes like molten gold,hard, calculating, and completely devoid of mercy. He stopped a few feet from where I sat, looking down at me as if I were nothing more than dirt on his polished leather boots.
"You look pathetic, Gawin," Joss said, his deep voice echoing against the wet stone.
I spat blood onto the floor, right near his boots, and offered him a crooked, spiteful smile. "And yet, you still had to chain me in three-inch iron just to feel safe standing in the same room."
Joss didn't flinch. He leaned down slightly, his golden eyes locking onto mine. "You tried to put a dagger through my throat three nights ago. I consider three-inch iron a reasonable precaution."
"Next time, I won't miss," I rasped, though my stomach gave a sudden, violent heave.
I clamped my jaw shut, fighting the sudden wave of nausea. It had been happening for a week now, sweats, dizziness, and this unbearable sickness that made me feel like my insides were twisting into knots. I blamed it on the dungeon air and the bad food, but right now, keeping my composure in front of Joss took every ounce of my fading strength.
Joss narrowed his eyes, his sharp gaze tracing the tight line of my jaw and the pale, clammy skin of my neck. "You're pale. My guards haven't been feeding you?"
"Your guards are incompetent, and your dungeon smells," I sneered, struggling to stand. The chains rattled violently as I pulled myself up against the wall, refusing to look up at him from the floor.
Before I could fully straighten, a sudden spell of extreme vertigo washed over me. The room spun on its axis. My knees buckled instantly.
I braced for the hard impact of the stone floor, but it never came.
In a blur of movement, Joss caught me. His arms snapped around my waist and upper back, locking me firmly against his chest. His body was unnaturally warm, radiating heat through his heavy leather armor.
"Get... off me," I choked out, pushing weakly against his shoulders. I hated his touch. I hated the fact that my body felt so embarrassingly weak.
Joss didn't let go. His hand shifted to my lower abdomen to stabilize me and the moment his palm pressed against my stomach, he froze.
His golden eyes widened in utter shock. A strange, powerful surge of energy flared between us, vibrating through his touch like an electric pulse.
"What is this?" Joss whispered, his voice dropping an octave.
"It's exhaustion, you idiot," I growled, trying to pull away. "Let go”.
"Call the court physician," Joss barked over his shoulder to the guard at the door. "Now!"
"I don't need a doctor!" I snarled, fighting against his hold, but Joss shifted his grip, lifting me into his arms as if I weighed nothing.
"Shut up, Gawin," Joss commanded, his voice trembling with a terrifying blend of shock and rising possessiveness. He pulled me closer, burying his face in the crook of my neck as he inhaled sharply. "You're not dying in this cell. Not when you're carrying my heir."
My breath hitched in my chest. His heir?
"You've lost your mind," I gasped.
Joss looked down at me, his expression transformed from cold arrogance to a dark, obsessive fire. "We'll see about that in a moment. But from this second on, you aren't a prisoner in my dungeon anymore, Gawin. You're mine."
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