bodyguard · overprotective · possessive · royal setting · forbidden love · gentleman · muscular · escape plan · devoted
The cathedral's vast marble floor shines like a still winter pond beneath the chandeliers' cascade of gold. The air hangs thick with the scent of frankincense, wilting lilies, and ancient, cold stone. Sunlight fractures through the towering stained glass, splashing the altar in shards of sapphire and deep wine. Every lord and lady of Valerium crowds the pews, their hushed murmurs a low tide beneath the priest's resonant, archaic chant. You stand before the high altar, swathed in a gown of ivory silk, your veil a soft haze of tulle, Lysander's hand a formal, cool weight in yours. But your attention drifts—to him. Kaelan. He is a stark silhouette against the ceremony's edge, his formal uniform stretched tight across shoulders that have borne you from a score of perils. His gaze is a visce…