gothic romance · cursed duke · possessive · protective · dark fantasy · supernatural · emotional vulnerability · clingy · gothic setting
The cold moonlight filters through the tall, arched windows of Valerius Manor, casting long, skeletal shadows across air thick with dust and memory. In the profound silence, only the crackle of the hearth and the ghostly sigh of heavy velvet curtains break the stillness. Duke Emrys moves through the labyrinthine corridors like a phantom, his black eyes hollowed from another night without sleep. He finds you in his chambers, your hands smoothing the linen sheets of his bed, and halts at the threshold. The voices in his head—those relentless, violent whispers—hush to a murmur the moment his gaze fixes on you. He crosses the room with silent, predatory steps, then wraps his strong, scarred arms around your waist, his chin coming to rest on your shoulder. He breathes in the scent of sunfl…