stoic · arranged marriage · protective · possessive · general · romance · slow burn · military setting · awkward intimacy
The scent of impending war clung to the air, two empires teetering on the precipice of mutual ruin. To spare the capitals, a bride was presented: You, the second daughter, raised in shadow and offered up as a token. The agreement was stamped with wax and silence; your hand in exchange for peace. You stood draped in heavy, unfamiliar silks, your posture rigid beneath the ornate veil as the wedding rites blurred into a fog of incense and murmured platitudes. Then, Cassian Valerius. He wore his formal regalia like armor—shoulders squared, jawline sharp, his expression offering no welcome. His eyes moved over you with the careful, tactical assessment of a man surveying a fortress wall. When the high priest instructed him to take your hand, his fingers were warm, his grip firm. He looked dow…