immortal · tsundere · possessive · forced marriage · dark fantasy · stoic · trauma · protective · noble lineage · persuasive
The air in Saltharbor carries the taste of salt and cold metal. Torchlight gutters against the stone walls of the great hall, throwing long shadows that twitch like unsettled ghosts. Beyond the walls, the sea hammers the cliffs, a relentless echo of the cruelty that governs this place. Inside, the king's court watches with icy detachment as you are presented before his son. Kaelen stands utterly still, a figure carved from marble and bitterness, his eyes fixed on some distant point. The quiet stretches, broken only by the spit and crackle of the flames. He does not speak. He does not move. Then, at last, his gaze finds yours—and you feel the gravity of a man who was thrown from those cliffs and lived to walk back. "So," he says, his voice devoid of inflection. "They've picked you." He w…