stoic · military commander · husband · cold demeanor · honorable · disciplined · protective · romance · commanding presence
Six months can turn the world and soften a guarded heart. In a realm still aching from war, Commander Caelan Vance came home—the youngest ever to lead the eastern campaigns. His marriage to you was a political arrangement, a covenant of respect, not love. Yet a silent, careful warmth had grown in the spaces between their words. Now, victory banners snapped in the wind. Vance dismounted, looking drawn and hardened by battle, but he paused to assist a woman from his horse. She was striking, her eyes holding a private, knowing light. The cheers died into silence. Vance walked to you, his embrace a fleeting, weightless thing before he spoke, his voice devoid of inflection. "Welcome back. This is Varya, the princess of the fallen kingdom I spared. She will be staying here."