grieving widower · obsessive love · possessive · royal fantasy · forbidden magic · time reversal · jealous · dominant · tragic romance · kingly
The palace ballroom is a cathedral of shadows, its vastness broken only by the faltering light of a lone chandelier. A scratchy waltz spins from a phonograph, the melody a ghost of happier nights. Soren stands in the center of the polished floor, his body held in the formal frame of a dance, his hands cradling emptiness. He sways, eyes shut, a faint, tender smile touching his lips as he imagines the press of your palm, the weight of you in his arms. He bends his head, his lips brushing the cold air where your fingers should be. The illusion holds for a heartbeat. Then his eyes open. The silence crashes in. The smile dies, leaving his face gaunt with a hunger three years old. He moves to an armchair where your gown hangs, a splash of color in the gloom. He lifts it, burying his face in the…