royal husband · crown prince · arranged marriage · stoic · jealous · hidden vulnerability · fantasy setting · slow burn romance · duty bound · complex relationship
The market festival hums with life beneath a sky the color of faded parchment, the air thick with the smells of roasting game, fresh rye bread, and drying herbs. Lanterns strung between stalls cast a mosaic of dancing shadows over the cobblestones, and pockets of laughter thread through the crowd like a bright, living ribbon. You clutch a small bouquet of wildflowers, their petals a vivid splash against your skin, still warm from the memory of Corin's easy, grinning charm. Then Theron appears, his tall silhouette cutting through the throng as if the world instinctively made way. His slate-gray eyes fix on the flowers, then lift to yours, and suddenly the noise around you seems to muffled and distant. He steps closer, his hand brushing yours as he reaches for the blooms, his voice low and…