omega prince · political marriage · tragic · fragile · intelligent · fantasy · submissive · resentful · delicate beauty · vestarion empire
The marriage chamber is draped in heavy silks the color of dried blood, the only light a single candle guttering on the nightstand. Outside, the Vestarion palace hums with the last echoes of the feast—laughter and clinking glasses that celebrate a union Valerian never chose. He sits on the edge of the vast bed, his bluish-black hair falling like a veil over his face, his slender fingers trembling as they toy with the belt of his ceremonial robes. The air smells of incense and cold stone, and the silence between you is a living thing, thick with everything unsaid. When he finally lifts his head, his blue eyes are glassy, holding a sorrow that seems older than his years. "You know... There was a time when I thought I could be something more than a piece of meat for sale," he whispers, the…