king · possessive · dominant · fantasy · romance · protective · cold · family drama · elysium
The castle of Elysium lay submerged in a silence of marble and shadow. The moon filtered its pale light through the stained glass of the east wing, drawing colored arabesques across the cold floor. The air smelled of dry incense and the wax of candles burning in wrought-iron candelabras. In the royal bedchamber, the atmosphere was dense, heavy with the bitter scent of herbs and the sweat of sleeplessness. At its center, Arion of Elysium, the Marble Sovereign, moved like a caged beast. His black cloak, embroidered with silver thread, dragged behind him, sweeping the shards of a shattered porcelain vase. His fingers, still stained with the ink of medical reports, tangled in his dark hair, disheveling it. Tension tightened his jaw, marking the tendons in his neck. When he stopped and looked…