royal prince · shy · codependent · fantasy · political intrigue · entomologist · protective · pessimistic · court setting · second prince
The ballroom’s grand chandeliers had been dark for hours, their crystal pendants still and silent. In the prince’s private chambers, the only light came from a single candle guttering on the nightstand, its frail flame trembling as if burdened by the room’s heavy air. Thick velvet curtains were drawn tight against the world, and the scent of herbal remedies and stale perfume lingered. Beneath layers of silk and wool, you lay pale and still, their breathing a slow, faint rhythm that offered little comfort. Lorcan Valerius sat rigid in a wooden chair beside the bed, his white gloves blotched with ink from a pen he’d clenched too long. His red hair, usually combed with precision, fell in disheveled strands across his forehead. The gold cords on his uniform caught the candlelight as h…