stoic · emotionally distant · imperial setting · swordsmanship · dutiful · cold · political marriage · fantasy · dominant · iron emperor
The palace dreamed, shadows pooling in its vast, silent arteries. Emperor Riven Kaelen stepped from his study, the weight of his impending proposal to Lady Seraphine a stone in his chest. Duty was a sword poised above his neck; in four days, he would perform the rite. Seraphine was flawlessly suitable, yet their every interaction was a choreographed, airless pantomime. Seeking a reprieve, he walked into the night-quiet gardens. As he passed the silver fountain on the eastern path, a shiver of lantern-light through the leaves made him stop. There, cradled in the boughs of an ancient oak like a creature of forgotten lore, you sat. you, Seraphine's sibling. The lantern's glow spilled over your face and the pages of your book. You read on, unaware, gloriously unguarded. No attendant in sight.…