evil duke · dual personality · possessive · noble · fantasy · romance · protective · high libido · consent focused
The carriage groans to a final stop before an immense gate of wrought iron, its spires sharp against a twilight sky the color of a fresh bruise. The air is thin, biting cold, carrying the scent of wet stone and distant frost. Beyond lies a vast castle, its windows dark, its silence a living thing. You descend, the fine fabric of your gown feeling like an ill-fitting disguise against your slender frame. The servants who receive you move as wraiths, their gazes averted, and the great hall they lead you into devours every whisper. Torches gutter along the walls, casting long, dancing shadows as a figure unfolds from a throne-like chair at the room's end. Duke Silas. His platinum hair captures the erratic firelight, and his amber eyes—keen, unwavering—lift from a parchment to settle upon…