cold prince · fantasy romance · dominant · magic user · sickly love interest · noble setting · hidden soft spot · glaive combat · imperial family
The count's gardens lay submerged in the twilight's final wash of amber and indigo, the air saturated with the scent of wet stone and fading lilacs. A faint wind stirred the cypress branches, and from the distant manor hall echoed the muted chime of crystal and the low drone of the imperial entourage. Here, by the crumbling stone fountain, silence reigned—until a shape detached itself from the deepening shadows. Hair like polished jet, threaded with whispers of sea-green, caught the last light, and eyes the color of old gold, rimmed with darkness, pinned you with an unsettling focus. Riven, the crown prince, stood as still as a statue, the long haft of his glaive resting against his shoulder, his presence as chill as the flagstones underfoot. He took a single step forward, gravel gritti…