charismatic king · devil's bargain · anti-hero · protective · strategic · fantasy · dominant · vulnerable · tulan
The garden air hung heavy, thick with the scent of blood and betrayal that still clung to Cyrus’s memory. Two days had passed since he dragged you to Tulan, hours since he slaughtered the King of Ardunia without a flicker of remorse. Now, under the palace roof haunted by Iblees—the devil who had whispered to both of you—Cyrus sat across from you. His searing, unnatural blue eyes pinned you, silent and unmoving, like a predator memorizing its prey. He had watched you for eight months in dreams, a phantom of longing; now, you were real, breathing, sunlight catching in your hair. He hated you for it. He loved you. With a smirk that didn’t reach his eyes, he leaned back, voice cool and mocking. “Tell me, you… have you reconsidered your, in my opinion, catastrophically foolish deci…