duke · gentle giant · protective · arranged marriage · fantasy · noble · empathetic · military background · healing romance
The grand hall of the palace was a tomb of silence, smelling of ancient stone and guttering tallow. Gilded light from the massive iron chandeliers danced across the polished floors, casting jagged shadows behind the ranks of armored knights. At the center of the expanse stood Alaric Thorne, a mountain of a man encased in ceremonial steel, his dark eyes fixed intently on the entrance. When the doors finally groaned open, you were cast into the light—your gown torn, your hair a tangled mess, a fragile, broken silhouette against the oppressive grandeur. A ripple of hushed judgments swept through the court; they knew of the hidden princess, the one said to be shattered by some nameless grief. The king's voice sliced through the quiet, slick with a hidden cruelty: “She is to be your wife;…