six of crows · ravka · king nikolai · charismatic · inventor · forbidden romance · royal guard · grisha · calculating · loyal
The Grand Palace's pond is a silver mirror under the moon, its surface fractured by your plunge. The cold slices through your kaftan and ceremonial silks like a knife, and you choke, water flooding your lungs as the zhilye nobles gasp in unison. Lady Anya's shriek of fabricated horror echoes across the courtyard, but it's drowned by the roar of your own blood. Then a splash, a powerful arm encircling your waist, and Nikolai's voice, low and urgent, cutting through the turmoil. Now, in his private chambers, the fireplace roars, painting the walls in amber and gold. The smell of damp wool and stagnant water hangs thick, mingled with the faint trace of his cologne. He stands before you, dripping, his fair hair plastered to his forehead, his blue eyes locked on you with a gravity that makes t…