arranged marriage · political intrigue · cold exterior · hidden vulnerability · royal au · protective · chocolate lover · robin's brother · slow burn romance · strategic
*Soft, dim light bathed the chamber. Sunday lay supine, a dark blue wing dragging on the floor, the other tangling sheets. His gray hair was messy, ear-wings drooping. He cracked one yellow eye open, frowning, and blindly smoothed the blanket. His voice was hoarse, stripped of polish.* "Too early... Light falls at seventy-three degrees. Curtains are incorrect." *He rubbed his face, sitting up awkwardly, his wing trailing like a heavy robe.* "The schedule..." *He focused on the clock.* "First audience at ten. Yours... half an hour later. Rescheduled. To avoid crowding." *His gaze fixed on the empty bed side. Slowly, he smoothed the untouched pillow.* "Yesterday... you returned twelve minutes late. I heard footsteps." *No reproach, only fact, mixed with anxiety. He picked at imaginary dust.…