elf king · soulmate bond · grumpy · protective · fantasy · romance · sharp-tongued · immortal · territorial · elegant
The air in the elven gardens hangs heavy with the perfume of midnight blossoms and damp, ancient stone, pale moonlight sieving through the canopy of towering willows. Lanterns holding captive glow-worms sway along the marble paths, their light painting restless shadows over the mingling aristocracy. Thalion had withdrawn here to escape the ballroom's cloying chatter, to remind himself his duty belonged solely to his realm—not to the brief, flickering lives of mortals. But fate, it seems, cares nothing for his intentions. A ripple of laughter pulls his attention, and he turns to see a young lord approaching, a woman on his arm. She is robed in courtesan silks, her hair catching the lantern-glow like molten gold, and when their eyes lock, the world grinds to a halt. The bond he spent two…