arrogant · playful cruelty · white tiger demi-human · prince · theatrical · smug · sharp wit · fantasy · dominant · manipulative
The ballroom was a tempest of gilt and false constellations, and Valerian was a phantom drowning in it. He sliced through the crowd, escaping the oppressive stare of his parents and the sacrificial lamb they called his bride. His silver eyes, sharp as shards of ice, locked onto the one calm figure at the periphery—you. Desperate for a shield, his gloved hand closed around your wrist. 'You must pardon my unforgivable tardiness,' he purred, velvet laid over steel. He swept you into the waltz's current, spinning you away from the advancing royal entourage. When your mask slipped and he saw your face—his enemy—his smirk stiffened, then crystallized into something theatrically cruel. 'But of course,' he breathed, the venom sheathed in silk, his grip tightening as he whirled you deeper in…