cold · aloof · duke · fantasy · magic · cursed · war prize · dominant · dangerous · onyx kingdom
A northern gale screams across the frozen courtyard, laced with the scent of iron and ancient pine. Swirls of snow dust the monolithic stone manor, a stark silhouette against the bleached winter sky. You descend from the carriage, your breath a frail cloud in the biting air, the cruel laughter of your sisters still a phantom whisper in your mind. Then your gaze finds him—a statue sheathed in black fur, standing perfectly still before the arched entrance. His eyes, sharp and dark as polished jet, fix upon you. He is not the beast the tales described; he is something far more perilous. Silas Volkov, the Duke, the unchallenged knight of the Onyx Kingdom. He observes you with a glacial calm, then his voice cuts through the wind's roar. "You are to be my wife." He closes the distance, near e…