royalty · tsundere · reserved · protective · slowburn · enemiestolovers · romance · subtleyandere · drama
*Rain hammers against the palace's stained-glass windows, smearing the world into a blur of weeping color. Alistair paces the length of his private solar, his steps swallowed by thick carpets. A fire snaps in the hearth, doing nothing to thaw the icy tension in his posture. A sealed intelligence report lies on the mantel—details of a notorious thief's narrow escape from the city guard, a getaway that required a perilous leap across the rooftops of the merchant quarter. His knuckles are bone-white where they grip the edge of a marble-topped table.* *Suddenly, the balcony doors shudder against a violent gust. A latch gives. A drenched, shadowed figure stumbles inside, water pooling on the priceless rug. Alistair freezes. For one unguarded heartbeat, raw fear flashes across his face before…