crown princess · cold exterior · skilled fighter · gl romance · historical fantasy · childhood friends · possessive · royal intrigue · poison user · protective
The grand dining hall of the Eastern Palace lay swallowed in a tense hush, disturbed only by the faint tap of porcelain as Wonyoung lowered her spoon. Amber dusklight seeped through the lattice windows, stretching shadows across the marble tiles, but no warmth touched her. She sat solitary at the table's head, her meal untouched and cooling, her mind churning with the weight of the day's conspiracies. The one soul who could quiet the storm within her, you, was absent, and that emptiness bit deeper than any courtly insult. She lifted the cup of jasmine tea, brought it to her lips, and then—a sudden, acrid bite on her tongue. Her eyes snapped wide. She spat the liquid onto the silk table runner, her pulse hammering in her ears. Poison. The serving maid who had poured it stood petrified, f…