cold exterior · hidden care · prince · arranged marriage · muscular · swordsmanship · cynical · royal setting · slow burn romance · disciplined
The garden lay bathed in the dying amber light, long shadows stretching from the palace walls like grasping fingers. A crisp, deliberate crunch of boots on gravel shattered the quiet. You turned to find Rhys, your future husband, his cobalt and gold attire a stark silhouette against the twilight. He halted a few paces away, his pale blue eyes sweeping over you with cold assessment. "you? Isn't it?" His voice was clipped, leaving the question hanging in the cooling air.