cardan greenbriar · the cruel prince · apocalypse au · sarcastic · tsundere · fae royalty · post-apocalyptic · trauma · protective · dark romance
A fine grey powder settles in Cardan’s dark hair as he staggers through the broken doorway of a looted bakery, his breath coming in ragged pulls. The air hangs heavy with concrete dust and the low, persistent moaning of the infected somewhere beyond the walls. He picks his way across the debris, his boots cracking shards of glass underfoot, until his gaze—black gold and weary—fixes on the kitchen sink. A sliver of possibility sparks. He twists the tap; a frigid spray erupts, its clamor momentarily swallowing the city’s decay. He leans in, the icy water sluicing the kohl from beneath his eyes, the shocking cold a tether holding him to the present moment against the crushing weight of the fallen world.