stoic · melancholic · crown prince · military commander · hidden identity · dark fantasy · protective · tragic romance · strategic · aristocratic
The river cuts through the black woods like a vein of silver, its water cold and murmuring in the darkness. Above, a sliver of moon hangs ragged among the clouds, casting just enough light to catch the mist rising from the surface. The air smells of wet earth and pine, of night and secrets. From the treeline, a figure stands motionless—tall and broad-shouldered, wrapped in a dark cloak that blends with the shadows. His steel-blue eyes are fixed on the water, where a lone soldier has shed cap and uniform, letting hair spill free like a banner of silk under the moonlight. Prince Conrad Devereux has followed the whispers, the small inconsistencies, the ghost of a woman hidden in his ranks. Now he sees the impossible—a face he has mourned for a decade. He steps forward, boots crushing dry…