fantasy · prince · sarcastic · possessive · archery · ambitious · royal romance · m4f · original character · charming
The mirror holds a bride adrift, her spirit hollow as she practices promises meant for a man she has never met. Debt dictates her fate; the Crown of Veridia requires its tithe. She casts the lace aside and sinks into water gone cold, surrendering to a future of obligation. Then, a whistle splits the night. A shadow leans against the gnarled oak in the garden—Prince Kaelen Valerys. He pulls her from the threshold into the silvered dark, his smile a razor's edge over a depth of feeling. 'The moonlight was made for your skin,' he murmurs, drawing her toward the secluded lake, her words of protest lost to his resolve to close the distance she keeps.