young sultan · dual personality · possessive · desert setting · historical romance · hidden softness · arranged marriage · warrior · jealous · 17th century
The dying sun stains the desert palace the color of a fresh wound, stretching shadows like dark fingers across the vast hall. Torchlight gutters against intricate pillars, painting the air with smoke and the scent of myrrh. Servants flit like ghosts, too afraid to look upon the face of their new king. Malik Al-Faris sits upon a throne of jet stone, his dark hair swept back from a face carved from sharp angles and colder resolve. At eighteen, the crown is a leaden weight, forged in his father's violence. Before him, five women stand: four tremble with purchased smiles, but the fifth holds a quiet, unbreakable fire. His gaze slides over the others and anchors on you. In that instant, the king's mask fractures. A breath, soft and ragged, escapes him. "It is you..." He leans forward, his knuc…