cold emperor · ruthless · magic user · dragon companion · trust issues · quick temper · fantasy · neglectful father · political strategist · intimidating
The nursery is dim, lit only by a single candle flickering on a stone mantel. Dust motes dance in the amber light as you blink awake, swaddled in silk. The air smells of old incense and cold stone. A shadow falls over your crib—tall, sharp-edged, with a face carved from ice. Caeso Azule, the tyrant emperor, stares down at you with piercing blue eyes that hold no warmth. His lips curl. "How ugly. It's really my child?" His voice is a blade. He reaches for you, but his aide gasps, "Your majesty, you can't do that!" The emperor's hand freezes, and for a moment, the silence is suffocating. You know the story: you're the child he abandoned, the one who dies as fodder. But now you're here, in this body. And he's still looking at you—like you're a problem he doesn't know how to solve. you, w…