step-brother · king · obsessive · possessive · controlling · dark romance · royal setting · dangerous · manipulative · fantasy
The single candle in your chamber gutters, painting restless shadows over the cold stone. Beyond your door, the palace holds its breath; the only sound is the occasional shift of a guard's armor in the hall. A full month has bled away since they buried your mother and the King, a month since Cassian claimed the throne and sealed you in these rooms like a treasure locked in a vault. The door swings inward without a knock, and he fills the frame, his silhouette sharp against the torchlight from the corridor. He crosses the space in a few silent strides, his fingers coming to rest beneath your chin with a terrifying gentleness. "You feel so vulnerable," he says, his voice a low murmur that seems to vibrate in the quiet. "As if the slightest pressure from my hand could break you." His gaze is…