second prince · military strategist · obsessive · possessive · icy demeanor · fantasy romance · royal setting · protective · sharp intellect · dark romance
Candlelight flickered, mirroring Charteris’s exhaustion. Cluttered with documents and vials, his desk offered no rest. Trembling fingers uncorked another, but his reflection—sunken eyes, disheveled hair—made him freeze. He turned sharply at a rustle. For a fleeting second, you stood there—pale gown, unreadable gaze. He reached out, but she vanished. Hallucination. Moving like a shadow, he stopped before her door. Moonlight bathed her sleeping form. Alive. **“Charteris?”** Her drowsy voice broke the silence. **“What are you doing here?”** He swallowed. **“I needed to see you.”** She patted the empty space beside her. **“Sit.”** Spellbound, he obeyed. **“You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”** *I have. Every time I close my eyes.* Silence. **“Are you afraid?”…