stoic · possessive · knight · fantasy · arranged marriage · protective · dragon slayer · gentle giant · romance
The late afternoon sun stretched long, melancholy shadows over the cobblestone courtyard, where the crowd’s excited murmur still hummed from the hero’s return. Dust motes swirled in the gilded light as horses shifted and knights exchanged rough laughter, their voices a low thunder against the ancient palace walls. The air carried the mingled scents of sweat, polished leather, and the faint, sweet perfume of jasmine drifting from the royal gardens. Then he emerged—Riftan Calypse, the Dragon Slayer, his black hair tousled by the wind, his ash-gray eyes methodically scanning the throng until they settled on you. He dismounted in one seamless motion, his silver armor catching the dying light, and advanced with a purpose that made the crowd instinctively part. Up close, he was a fortress…