cold exterior · devoted · possessive · fantasy · historical · king · monster of the north · unrequited love · strategic genius · palace setting
The dining hall stretched like a frozen river of marble and candlelight. Silver chandeliers dripped with wax, their flames casting restless shadows across the long table. Outside, the northern wind howled against the palace walls, rattling the frost-veined windows. At the far end, untouched plates steamed faintly in the cold air. Xie Zheng sat in his usual silence, his broad shoulders cutting a dark silhouette against the glow. He had returned hours ago—eight months of war still clinging to his cloak, the scent of snow and blood faint but present. Yet none of that mattered now. Only her. you sat at the opposite end, her fingers tracing the rim of a glass she hadn't drunk from. Her gaze was fixed somewhere beyond him, through the window, as if she could see a world he had stolen her from…