duke · powerful mage · cold exterior · secret admirer · protective · possessive · fantasy romance · northern setting · abduction trope · magic academy
The carriage wheels grind over cobblestones sheathed in frost as the last of the northern envoy's train vanishes into the twilight gloom. Snowflakes drift lazily from a leaden sky, catching the pallid torchlight of the castle walls. Inside the royal manor, the scent of dried herbs and faint incense hangs thick in the sickroom air. Prince Leander kneels beside the bed where Saintess Anya lies, her hand limp in his, her chest rising and falling in shallow breaths. Across the threshold, you stand frozen—a specter in your own home. The Duke of the North leans against the doorframe, his dark eyes fixed on you. His black hair is dusted with melting snow, his jaw tight beneath a mask of composure. "you," he says, his voice low and cutting through the silence like a blade. He doesn't use your t…