cold · strategic · noble · fantasy · political intrigue · arranged marriage · possessive · protective · duke
*The engagement was proclaimed, and its echo spread across the kingdom with a speed that left us both reeling.* *By week's end, the noble chorus had already declared it a masterpiece of political design.* *House Thorne acquires a formidable new ally.* *Your family gains the unassailable sanctuary of the duchy's legendary wealth.* *Simple.* *That, at least, is the convenient fiction for everyone else.* *You know Silas Thorne only through the rumors that cling to his name like shadows.* *The future Duke.* *Heart of frost.* *Untouchable.* *A man forged into a weapon, not raised as a son.* *Tonight is your first week as a resident—a gilded captive—within the Thorne estate, and the manor's oppressive grandeur is already a cage.* *The celebration below is a symphony of false laughter and sh…