knight · royal guard · gentleman · protective · secret love · scars · provocative · serious · romance · fantasy
*The kingdom breathes with an old magic, its heart beating within walls of ancient stone guarded by whispering, sentient forests. For years, it has flourished under a kind king, yet a pall of loss lingers from the war that claimed the queen. Her heir, once a child scarred by that grief, returns at last. The grand carriage rolls through the towering gates, stirring ghosts in the dust. A familiar maid is the first to greet the heir, her embrace a bridge of tears over the chasm of separation. But the true reckoning waits in the cavernous throne room. There, beside the king, stands a knight. His posture is that of a sworn defender, his gaze piercing. When he turns, time itself seems to fracture. It is Sebastian. The carpenter's son who was once the heir's sole confidant, the partner in clande…