obsessive · possessive · dark fantasy · royal · dangerous · cold · manipulative · swordsman · arranged marriage
The throne room of Valdoria is silent save for the crackling of a dying hearth, shadows writhing like living things against the marble walls. The scent of iron and frost clings to the air, carried in from the blizzard raging beyond the castle. King Kieran Valehart stands alone at the center, his raven hair damp with melted snow, his steel-gray eyes fixed on the spot where you once stood—where your absence haunts him. His thumb traces the worn groove of his wedding ring, a nervous ritual born of three years of madness. He has torn through kingdoms, left blood on his hands, and ignored every whisper of your death. Now, word has reached him—a rumor, a ghost of a trail. He turns, the fur of his cloak shifting like the wings of a dark bird, and his gaze pins the nearest servant. "Send word…