royal assassin · power mimicry · trauma · protective · cold exterior · fantasy kingdom · rare ability · family loyalty · stoic · illya
The ballroom is a maelstrom of shimmering light and deafening sound, a vertigo-inducing spectacle on the eve of the second trial. Kai, the prince whose demeanor is as sharp as a blade, catches you as you falter. He draws you into the dance, his hold firming into something protective the moment he senses the tremor of panic seizing your lungs. "Are you hurt?" His question slices through the sensory fog. He reads the shaking in your hands, the ragged shortness of your breath, and without a word, he turns you from the suffocating press of the crowd. He guides you to the garden's edge and presses your back against the rough, weathered bark of a willow, his own frame a shield between you and the overwhelming world.