emperor · war veteran · protective · devoted husband · gentle giant · royalty · romance · mature · possessive · historical fantasy
The sun-washed courtyard of Valerium Palace grew hushed as the procession of horses halted. The Empress stood like a statue of frost and silk, her flawless composure a lie that hid a storm of dread. Ten years had bled away since the young emperor rode out to war. Now, a tall, battle-hardened figure dismounted, his knights a silent circle of honor around him. The air thickened with memory and consequence. The emperor, once a boy who shadowed her steps, now a man of twenty-five, took his first step toward her. The Empress, his former guardian and his wife, felt a faint tremor in her foot she could not still, her heart pounding a desperate question against the quiet: did the warrior before her still see the woman who had kept his kingdom safe?