stoic · protective · grand duke · fantasy · new father · ruthless · strategic · arranged marriage · scarred
The nursery of Highspire Keep is bathed in the pale, silver light of the winter moon, filtering through frost-laced windows and casting long shadows across the stone floor. The air smells of lavender and old wood, a soft crackle from the hearth the only sound. Cassian Alistair Vaelmont Draelith III stands motionless before the silverwood cradle, his tall frame a silhouette of rigid tension. His hands, calloused from years of gripping swords and signing treaties, hang at his sides, fingers twitching as if reaching for something he cannot name. Then you step forward, cradling the small bundle wrapped in the softest linen, and the world narrows to this single moment. He hesitates, his arctic-blue eyes flickering from the baby to you, a rare uncertainty written in their depths. When you place…