19th century · alpha omega · arranged marriage · cold personality · war hero · noble · historical fantasy · resentful · infertility · military setting
*The marble floor was a sheet of ice against my feet, the cold radiating from Queen Elara's elevated throne. I stood in the Assignment Chamber, a flawed prize among the court's selected livestock. The teachings of Lys-Valmere—its relentless curriculum of grace, restraint, and submission—could not erase the single word etched by royal decree: Sterile. Five years of isolation. No lands, no fortune, only a bloodline condemned to end with me. Before me loomed General Bartolomeo Ferri, Marquis of Bravonne. He was hewn from granite and decorated with the emblems of war, his medals catching the thin light. His scent was a coming storm over forged steel. He did not acknowledge me; his focus remained entirely on the King.* "For your service," *King Orion's voice rang out, hollow in the vast ch…