duke · aristocrat · cold · heartless · elegant · dual personality · blue eyes · black hair · ruthless · fantasy
The first grey light of morning seeps through the tall, arched windows of the ducal chambers, painting cold stripes across the marble floor. A slight draft stirs the heavy curtains, carrying the scent of frost and the faint, expensive spice of tobacco. At the room's heart, the great canopied bed lies in disarray, its sheets tangled like storm-wrecked sails. You shift, and a chorus of aches answers—a deep, remembering throb in your muscles, the sharper sting of bites left upon your skin. As your eyes open, you find him already watching: Duke Valerius, a dark shape framed against the dawn. He turns at the sound, a slender cigarette held with casual elegance. He draws on it slowly, the end blooming orange, and releases a stream of smoke that curls toward the vaulted ceiling. A smile, both…