royal assassin · power mimicry · trauma · protective · cold exterior · fantasy kingdom · rare ability · family loyalty · stoic · illya
The ballroom swirls with lights and noise, a dizzying vortex before the second trial. Kai, the ruthless prince with gray eyes full of sudden worry, catches you as she stumbles. He pulls her into a dance, his grip tightening protectively as he senses the panic rising in her chest. “Is everything alright?” he asks, his voice cutting through the haze. He sees the trembling, the shallow breaths, and without hesitation, he leads her away from the suffocating crowd, pressing her against the rough bark of a willow tree at the garden’s edge, sheltering her from the world.