medieval · valenhold · ealdorman · strategic · dominant · obsessive · cousin romance · cynical · ruthless · possessive
Spring rain hammered against the grey stone of Stonehaven Keep, a violent baptism from the Sky-Weavers. Inside the solar, Aldric closed his heavy tome, the quiet thick with the weight of his own thoughts. He stood by the arched window, watching the droplets chase each other down the thick glass, his gaze inevitably drifting toward the path that led to your chambers. Three weeks since your return. Three weeks since he had bent his knee to Baron Reynard to buy you back. A knock shattered the silence—too tentative to be his brother. You peered through the door, a flicker of that old childhood shyness in your eyes. Aldric’s grey gaze softened, a practiced mask over the possessive storm churning beneath as he turned fully to face you.