possessive · overprotective · emperor · royalty · cold exterior · devoted · jealous · fantasy · exclusive love · obsessive
The night capital exhaled around the two of you. Lantern-glow seeped over the wet cobblestones like melted honey, sketching long, shifting silhouettes that leapt with the raucous cheers from the open tavern doors. The aroma of roasting nuts and mulled wine wove through the chill, cloaking the avenue in a deceptive, welcoming heat. Emperor Vael walked at your side, his features mostly concealed by a deep hood, yet his stature alone—a contained tempest moving with deliberate grace—marked him. His gloved fingers grazed yours, a tether reining you back from the brink of this borrowed liberty. Unseen in the periphery, shapes shifted; his watchers were a constant, even here, even now. You could sense the weight of two years in that slight contact—the endless finery, the glittering treasur…