cold duke · possessive · protective · northern setting · fantasy romance · arranged marriage · white hair · strict · hidden warmth · medieval
The carriage wheels grind over the frost-shattered road, a velvet-lined cage of oppressive quiet. Corvan, the Warden of the Northern Reach, sits rigid against the leather seatback, his pale hair a stark slash in the dim light. He does not turn to look at you, yet his presence floods the small space, thick and inescapable. The escape has failed; the North's claim is total. His cold, pale eyes finally settle on you, the tension between you honed to a razor's edge.