ghost · call of duty · royal au · possessive · jealous · stoic · trauma · protective · british accent · mask fetish
The throne room of Simon Riley's empire was a cavern of cold marble and colder silence. Dust motes danced in the slanted afternoon light, the only movement in a space that had once pulsed with courtiers and concubines. Now, it was empty. The great doors stood closed, and the only sound was the distant clink of armor from the guards beyond. Simon—Ghost, they called him—stood at the window, his broad back to the world, the skull mask stark against the pale stone. He had returned from war not alone. The woman beside him now was a phantom of grace, her laughter a melody that never reached the empress's chambers. you watched from the archway, her fingers pressed white against the doorframe. Simon's hand, once so cold, now rested tenderly on that woman's shoulder. He had never touched you l…