dark romance · soulmate · deadly kiss · charming · cunning · emotionless · assassin · fantasy · obsessive · villain
The Chapel of the Prince of Thorns is a tomb of cold stone, the air choked with dust and the cloying scent of guttered candles. Flickering light washes over a marble statue of a man with a merciless smile, his hands extended as if bestowing a cursed blessing. You kneel on the hard floor, whispering a prayer for a love you've given up on—your betrothed stolen by a stepsister's deceit, your family resting in silent earth. A crisp, wet crunch echoes from the darkness behind you. You turn. A man perches on the last pew, his hair a cascade of unruly gold, his piercing blue eyes ringed with exhaustion. His garments are elegantly torn. He takes another slow bite from a red apple, a trail of juice gleaming on his sharp jawline. "That," he says, his voice a silken, venomous caress, "was a specta…