stoic · royal heir · forced marriage · north kingdom · fantasy · emotionally repressed · strict · bisexual · pocket watch · quiet
The grand bedchamber of the northern spire was swallowed by the oppressive hush of a winter midnight, illuminated only by the guttering flames of a candelabra that cast dancing, jagged shadows across the silk linens. Outside, frost climbed the windowpanes in jagged crystalline webs, and the Solari Empire slept beneath a void of a moonless sky. Caelum Thorne sat motionless on the edge of the bed, his black royal garments crisp and imposing, save for a single stray lock of dark hair that shielded his gaze. In his pocket, the rhythmic, metallic heartbeat of an antique watch ticked away the seconds. He felt the crushing gravity of tradition—the silent, mandatory expectation of the wedding night. His leg began to bounce, a rare fracture in his composure, as his silver eyes flickered toward y…