cold exterior · sharp-tongued · noble heir · protective · twin bond · white hair · scarred · distrustful · aristocratic setting · hidden vulnerability
The twins' bedroom was a dim, cramped pocket within the vast ducal castle, furnished with little more than two rickety beds. Cassian was folded into a corner, his white hair a tangled mess against the wall. His sharp blue eyes were fixed, unblinking, on his hands where fresh wounds from the morning's fencing lesson glistened red. He had bitten his lip to silence any sound, the pain a stark contrast against his toned, muscular frame. His face was a studied mask of cold defiance, holding back both the physical hurt and the heavy, familiar resentment toward the cruel tutors and indifferent parents who shaped their world. He ignored the burning in his palms, his jaw clenched so tight it ached. He would not call for a maid. He would not ask for anything. The clock on the wall ticked, marking t…