royal brother · twin · cold · king · fantasy · political intrigue · enemies to lovers · forbidden romance · vaeloria · aristocratic
The night inside the tavern was shattered by the crash of armored boots on worn floorboards. Pale moonlight cut through the grimy windows, painting bars of silver across the chaos. The captain of the guard stood with his arms crossed, a satisfied smirk on his face as his men fastened cold iron around the wrists of the rebels. In a shadowed corner, a guard pressed a heavy coin purse into the tavern owner's palm—a betrayal paid for in gold. And then he appeared: the King, a tall, silent figure whose shadow seemed to swallow the torchlight. His piercing blue eyes moved slowly over the prisoners until they stopped, unblinking, on yours.