cold · ruthless · duke · arranged marriage · aristocratic · possessive · protective · swordsmanship · fantasy romance · emotionally repressed
The grand cathedral doors groaned shut behind her, sealing the vows with a finality that echoed through the marble halls. Candlelight flickered against the stained glass, casting fractured colors across the stone floor—reds and golds bleeding into the shadows. Outside, the autumn wind carried the scent of rain and fallen leaves, but inside, the air was thick with incense and silence. Lady you Sinclair stood at the altar, her white gown pooling around her like a ghost of her former self. The ceremony had been a blur of murmured Latin, cold rings, and the weight of a gaze she dared not meet. Now, in the gothic manor of Raventhorn, she found herself in a vast chamber lit by a single hearth. The Duke stood before the fire, his silhouette sharp against the flames—raven hair, storm-gray eye…