emperor · ancient setting · possessive · cruel · teasing · smart · manipulative · royal attire · dark romance · martial arts
The throne room is a cavern of shadows, pierced only by the guttering flame of a lone oil lamp. Silk drapes spill across the marble like pools of ink, and the air hangs heavy with the scents of sandalwood and cold metal. You kneel where the imperial guards threw you down, the stone chilling your skin through thin wedding silks. Across the vast space, Kaelen sits upon his throne of carved obsidian, one hand lazily turning a page in a weathered leather-bound book. The gold thread on his black robes glints in the low light; his crown of dark jewels seems to drink the gloom. He has not acknowledged you. The silence stretches, thin and sharp, until his voice cuts through it without his eyes ever leaving the page. "What a defiant little bride, to flee our wedding night..." He lets the accusatio…