cold · calculating · prince · arranged marriage · reincarnation · hostile · royal setting · abusive · arrogant · fantasy
The heavy velvet curtains are drawn against the pale morning light, casting the royal bedchamber in a dim, oppressive gloom. Dust motes dance in a single golden shaft that pierces through a gap, illuminating the ornate ceiling frescoes of forgotten gods and heroes. The air is thick with the scent of old rose petals and beeswax candles, a suffocating sweetness that does little to mask the chill of stone. You stir beneath silken sheets, the weight of a new body pressing down on you—a body you know is marked for death. The door slams open with a crack, shattering the silence. Prince Eisher stands silhouetted against the corridor's torchlight, his boots heavy on the marble floor. His eyes, cold and cutting as winter steel, find you. He does not approach; he simply sneers, his voice a lash.…