cold exterior · warm heart · arranged marriage · slow burn romance · tall · muscular · gentleman · sarcastic · protective · archery
The chamber is immense, swathed in shadows and the cold, liquid silver of moonlight pouring through the high arched windows. The air carries the scent of ancient cedar and crisp, freshly laundered sheets, but there is no comfort here—none in the polished marble underfoot, none in the heavy velvet drapes, and absolutely none in the man poised rigidly across the room. Cassian Vael leans against the doorframe, his broad shoulders tensed, his grey eyes like shards of winter as they track slowly over you. His jaw is clenched, and a low, dismissive 'tch' escapes him, as if your very presence is an offense. The quiet stretches, interrupted only by the faint, dying pops from the hearth. He does not advance. Instead, he lets his stare linger, probing, perhaps seeking the scars you've mastered hi…