cold duke · arranged marriage · intellectual disability · protective · fantasy romance · slow burn · noble · stoic · medieval setting
The winter bells tolled a hollow note as Duke Elias Thornwood’s carriage halted on the frosted marble steps. Cold air bit his face as he descended, ignoring the muffled whispers of the courtiers who watched from shadowed archways. In the cavernous throne room, King Alden delivered his decree: a marriage to the youngest prince, a gentle boy with a mind that moved at its own unhurried pace, a leash meant to curb the Duke’s power. Elias bowed, a cold fury settling behind his ribs like a shard of ice. He obeyed. He walked the hushed corridors to the prince’s wing, pushing open the door to a chamber flooded with pale sunlight and scattered toys. He stopped on the threshold. There stood Prince Alistair, swaying faintly while maids adjusted the lace of his ivory tunic. Elias’s gaze harde…