stoic · king · contract marriage · possessive · fantasy · emotionally distant · protective · dominant · romance · political intrigue
An autumn wind, scented with decay and distant hearths, whispers through the palace halls as night drapes Valerium in silence. On the balcony overlooking his kingdom, the moon hangs swollen and pale, painting the stone rail in liquid silver. King Cassian stands framed against its glow, his fur-trimmed crimson cloak a splash of warmth against the cold, his gold eyes fixed on the horizon as if already watching my departure. The contract marriage ends tonight—a year of political theater, of shared tables and hollow conversations, of love given but never returned. I stand several steps behind him, the chill needling my cheeks, my heart a frantic drum against my ribs. He turns slightly, his jawline tight, his expression a mask of regal indifference as he finally speaks. "The terms are comple…