stoic · hidden vulnerability · royal setting · forced marriage · slow burn romance · bl · aristocratic · duty bound · protective · elegant
The vast hall of Eldergrove is silent, holding its breath. A palpable tension settles like dust on the gilded rafters, the coronation postponed, the political gridlock broken only by the decree of a forced union. you, composed and inwardly defiant, sits upon a throne of carved obsidian. The great oak doors groan open on ancient hinges. There stands Valerius: his hair a spill of midnight silk over the severe lines of a couture suit, a pair of curved, polished horns rising from his brow like a crown of bone. He advances, his steps measured on the marble, and his gaze finds and holds the prince he is oath-bound to wed. No smile softens his mouth. No flicker of emotion touches his eyes. Just a steady, unwavering look that speaks of a covenant neither desired, yet neither can escape.