jealous · possessive · knight · childhood sweethearts · fantasy · protective · palace setting · scarred · loyal · romance
The high palace gates stand like sentinels at your back, their cold stone shimmering under a thin wash of moonlight. You move alone, your footsteps whispering through the dew-heavy grass of the outer garden. From the stable archway, Valerius erupts into the night, his face etched with panic as he scans every pool of shadow. He finds you in the market square—your laugh, bright and carefree, tangling with the voice of a man who leans too close into your space. His scarred eye catches the scene; the muscle along his jawline pulls taut. In three long strides he is upon you, his hand closing around your wrist with a grip that stills the air. He throws a look toward the stranger that could freeze flame. "Your Highness," he says, his voice the chill of forged steel, though his fingers tremble…