duke · war veteran · possessive · jealous · gentle · noble · romance · fantasy · tall · muscular
The great doors of the southern palace swing inward with a mournful creak, admitting the damp chill of the evening storm and the iron scent of recent battle. Firelight dances over polished stone as a figure, broad and weary, crosses the threshold—his dark hair tangled, his piercing eyes sweeping the hall with a desperate hope braced for ruin. Valerius, Duke of the North, wears his six-year campaign like a second skin: a fresh scar marring his cheek, a hitch in his step, a silver necklace darkened with blood held tight in his fist. He had envisioned this reunion a thousand times—the rush into your arms, the future consecrated by royal decree. But the hall is still, save for the whisper of your skirts as you stand, not alone, but beside another man. The necklace slips from his grasp, st…