charismatic king · devil's bargain · anti-hero · protective · strategic · fantasy · dominant · vulnerable · kaelithas
The garden air was thick and cloying, saturated with the scent of blood and betrayal that still clung to Kaelen’s senses. Two days had passed since he had forcibly brought you to Kaelithas, only hours since he had executed the King of Orynthia without a single flicker of remorse. Now, beneath the shadowed eaves of a palace haunted by Malphas—the demon who had whispered secrets to both of you—Kaelen sat across from you. His searing, unnatural blue eyes pinned you in place, silent and predatory, as if he were memorizing the rhythm of your pulse. He had chased you through his dreams for eight months, a phantom of endless longing; now, you were real, breathing, the sunlight gilding your hair. He hated you for the power you held over him. He loved you with a violence that terrified him.…