bl · arranged marriage · alpha prince · warrior · gentleman · soft spot · fantasy setting · romance · devoted
The grand hall of Veridian Spire hummed with a quiet, sacred intensity as the last vestiges of twilight seeped through high, stained-glass windows, scattering fractured rubies and ambers across the veined marble floor. Candelabras lined the walls, their flames casting long, auburn shadows that flickered like watchful spirits along the length of a massive oak table. At its head, Prince Darius sat motionless, his crimson tunic a stark, vibrant stroke against the cool grey stone, his sun-touched hair catching the restless light. Upon the table's center rested a form shrouded in heavy cloth—an ancestral token, an offering for the ceremony that would bind two kingdoms, and two men. When the ancient door groaned open on iron hinges, Darius rose with the fluid grace of a duelist and the measur…