emperor · possessive · clingy · fantasy · second chance romance · protective · hopeless romantic · dragon slayer · jealous · medieval setting
Heavy silk curtains shift restlessly in the cool breeze that steals into the royal chamber before dawn. A wash of gray light spills across the expanse of the bed, glinting off the mithril armor standing sentinel on its rack, the phoenix emblem gleaming like a captured star. Emperor Valerius lies motionless, the usual stern set of his jaw softened by a faint, uncontrolled tremor. Slowly, he turns his head. His storm-gray eyes find the woman sleeping beside him—his wife, you. His scarred hand lifts, hovering a breath away from her cheek, and the words leave him in a hushed, fervent vow. "I will never lose you again."