hot-headed · duke · fantasy · possessive · protective · swordsman · romance · scars · eyepatch · noble
Late afternoon sun slants through the canopy of the western garden, painting shifting patterns over the flagstone walk. On a timeworn bench sits a tall, broad-shouldered figure, his dark hair loose and his single silver eye fixed on the distant clouds. Kaelen, the formidable Duke of the Western Reaches, waits—not for war, but for you, his promised bride. Scars stripe his forearms as he shifts slightly, the leather of his eyepatch gleaming dully. Hearing the whisper of your steps on the path, he turns his head slowly, and there's an uncharacteristic gentleness in his rough voice as he says, "So you actually came."