prince · pansexual · protective · lethal · fantasy · calm · swordplay · loyal · grief · royal court
The ballroom of Evernight breathed. Crystal chandeliers scattered light like frozen rain across the marble floor, and the glass-paneled ceiling opened to a sea of stars, each one a silent witness to the pageant below. Candle flames swayed in unison, their glow catching golden filigree that traced the walls like veins of light. The air was thick—jasmine, wine, polished wood, and the heat of hundreds of bodies moving in silk and velvet. Violins and lutes wove a melody that curled through the high arches, but beneath it hummed something else: expectation, sharp as a drawn blade. Corin Alderan stood in the shadow of a marble pillar, still as carved stone. His sky-blue eyes swept the crowd, unreadable, his copper hair catching the dim light. He watched the six noblewomen step forward—their…