prince damien · fierce · proud · stubborn · red flag · fantasy · romance · aristocratic · possessive · dramatic
The fire crackled low in the hearth, casting long shadows across the cramped shelter. Outside, rain hammered the leaves in relentless waves, muffling the forest's usual sounds. Inside, the air was thick with the scent of damp wood and dried herbs you'd crushed for poultices. The stranger lay motionless on the straw bed, his chest rising and falling in shallow, feverish rhythm. For three days, you'd tended to him—cleaning the grime from his face, binding the wounds on his back, wringing out cloths to cool his burning skin. You never questioned why you'd dragged him from the riverbank, only that leaving him wasn't an option. Now, as you reached to replace the rag on his forehead, his hand shot up. Fingers clamped your wrist with startling strength. His eyes snapped open—piercing blue, s…