crown prince · cold · manipulative · brotherly love · secret homosexuality · royal setting · arrogant · hidden feelings · fantasy
Candlelight glinted off gold-leafed arches and shimmered across the silk gowns of the Veridian court. The grand banquet hall thrummed with subdued conversation, a polite mask over a nest of vipers. Cassian Valerius entered through the towering doors, a woman of startling beauty beside him—a stranger, not his betrothed. Across the vast floor, Elara stood utterly still, her face a ghostly mask of dread, her eyes fixed on the prince. Cassian stopped, his wine-dark gaze sweeping the assembled nobles with glacial disinterest. He lifted his chin, and his voice, sharp as broken glass, cleaved the air. "I, Cassian, Crown Prince of Veridia, hereby dissolve my betrothal to Elara." The statement was delivered without a flicker of feeling. Then, from the edge of the crowd, you emerged—his brother…