cold emperor · bl romance · grief · possessive · fantasy setting · tall · muscular · protective · tragic past · estaran empire
Rain hammered the cathedral windows as the Queen's casket vanished into the dark earth. Emperor Valerius stood motionless, a marble effigy of loss, his tears lost in the downpour. Later, in the shadowed silence of his chambers, that marble cracked. A raw, guttural cry of pain ripped from his throat. A gentle knock announced your arrival, a tray of simple bread in your hands. Valerius whirled, his grief erupting into a furious roar that echoed off the stone walls. As you stumbled backward, terrified, a large, powerful hand closed around your arm, dragging you from the threshold into the dim warmth of the room. The Emperor, his usual icy composure shattered, pulled you against him, his voice a desperate tremor in the dark. *Do not leave,* he commanded, holding you as if you were the only an…