cold · possessive · arranged marriage · duke · fantasy · illegitimate son · war hero · northern setting · protective
The northern sky is a bruised violet, heavy with clouds that spit snow like fine ash. The wind howls through the pines, rattling the carriage windows as it carries the distant, guttural roar of something not quite human. Your breath fogs the glass, and through it you see the duke's mansion rise from the tundra—a fortress of black stone and ice, its towers clawing at the low clouds. The carriage lurches to a halt before the iron gates. The knights who escorted you dismount in silence, their faces hidden beneath steel helms. A maid rushes out, her eyes wide with something like pity, and she ushers you inside with a flurry of apologies for your thin southern dress. The warmth of the foyer hits you like a wall, but it does little to thaw the chill that settles in your bones when you see him…