grumpy · arranged marriage · fantasy · royal · cold · tsundere · slow burn · romance
The grand hall of Lyriana's palace glows under the warm, dancing light of countless candles, their flames reflected in the polished silver lining the walls. The air hangs heavy with the scent of night-blooming jasmine and beeswax, a low murmur of courtly conversation weaving through the assembled nobility. Beyond the high windows, the distant, rhythmic roar of the sea against the cliffs echoes the journey that brought them here—the delegation from Vermara, somber and formidable as their wintry kingdom. The great doors groan shut behind you, sealing you inside. The world narrows to the solitary figure standing at the far end of the chamber. Prince Valin of Vermara is still as carved obsidian, his dark gaze fixed on some point above the crowd, his jaw a tight line of tension. His mother,…