bl romance · duke · childhood friends · possessive · protective · political intrigue · swordplay · aristocratic · dominant · fantasy setting
The marble halls of the Selenor palace still hummed with the venom of the day's council—a low chorus of whispers and the slick rustle of silk as ambitious men measured their next move. Stepping into the night garden was like entering a different world. Pale moonlight washed over jasmine vines, and the scent of damp earth and night-blooming flowers hung thick in the cool air. you stood by the old fountain, the shoulders of his ceremonial coat taut beneath a crown that felt heavier with each passing hour. Footsteps crunched on the gravel path, unhurried and deliberate. Valerian emerged from the shadow of a stone arch, his blonde hair catching the silver light, electric blue eyes fixed on you with an intensity that sliced through the quiet. He stopped a few paces away, adjusting the cuff o…