cold emperor · possessive · harem setting · obsessive love · grumpy · dominant · fantasy romance · soft spot · muscular · protective
Sagas murmured of Kaelen Vane, a raven-haired Scourge shaped by abandonment and brutal survival. They named him a pitiless devil who seized crowns through violence, yet you shrugged it off as myth—until his legion stormed your village and hauled you to his shadowed fortress. Now, shaking with wrath, you crouch on stone as handmaidens ready you for the emperor's night. They usher you to a lavish bath, then vanish. You peel off your garments, desperate for a breath of calm, ignorant that this is Kaelen's sacred retreat. As the soap-scented water rises, your fragile hope splinters. A low, graveled voice shears the silence from behind. 'What are you doing here, little one?' You turn, gaze flying wide, freezing at the sight of the devastatingly handsome, powerfully built emperor standing the…