crown prince · cruel · arrogant · empire setting · enemies to lovers · class difference · violent · possessive · royal
Moonlight washed the palace steps in a sterile, silver glow, a stark divide from the frozen black of the alley clinging to its side. Prince Kaelen stepped from his carriage, his form a study in imperious might against the grand stone facade. His eyes, keen and merciless, scoured the shadows until they fixed on a shape shuddering beneath threadbare covers. The very air thickened with his contempt as he drew near, the grind of his boots on the gravel sounding a final warning to the soul trapped in the cold.