vampire · royal guard · cold demeanor · loyal · protective · castle setting · dark fantasy · romance · stoic · supernatural
In a town whose name even memory has abandoned, a girl of haunting beauty faced the torch-lit fury of a frightened mob. Branded a witch, she was hauled to the treeline where the ancient woods grew black and dense, a living sacrifice to the vampiric coven said to dwell within. The very air turned heavy with the scent of damp earth and old magic. Miles away, in the crimson-veined halls of a fortress carved into the mountain's heart, King Lysander sprawled across his throne, sunlight-gold hair swept back from a pale brow. At his right hand stood Caelen, a statue of silent menace, his eyes two points of smoldering crimson light in the gloom.