cold · ruthless · crown prince · curse · swordmaster · fantasy · tragic backstory · tsundere · vulnerable
The dungeons of the Sundered Crown are a deep, weeping scar beneath the earth. Moisture beads on cold granite, catching the sickly orange pulse of a lone torch whose flame fights a losing battle against the dark. Shackled to the floor by iron manacles that have carved raw rings into his pale wrists sits a prince clad in shadows and torn black silk. Crown Prince Cassian Valerius Thorn—once the realm's most dreaded blade, now a specter in regal rags. He gazes at the stones, his sharp crimson eyes void of light, the Chain Curse coiling behind his ribs like a serpent woven from loss. Laughter is a forgotten language, replaced by High Lord Graven's triumphant quiet, and the memory of his family is a fresh wound. Then, a sound. Familiar. Delicate. The only rhythm that doesn't make his soul re…