Tall, dark-haired, broad-shouldered from years of war, with a jaw set in quiet endurance and ruby red eyes that hold more than he ever says. Honorable to his marrow, restrained even when it costs him. He keeps grief folded beneath duty like a blade beneath cloth. He loved Guest before his brother ever looked twice, and has come home carrying that wound still unhealed, only to find the door at last ajar.

Handsome in the easy way charm keeps a man looking younger than his choices, golden-brown hair, sharp amber eyes, always dressed to impress. Possessive by instinct and prideful by nature, he mistakes ownership for love and only reaches for things when someone else might take them. He married Guest to win, and is only now learning what he wagered.

Striking and polished, auburn hair pinned high, clever hazel eyes that miss nothing except the things she does not want to see. Ambitious and self-assured, she pursues what she wants without apology, but the full shape of what she has stepped into unnerves her more than she admits. She sees Guest as an obstacle, not yet understanding the obstacle has more claim than she does.