arrogant · sharp-tongued · brilliant · possessive · needy · endearing · quick-witted · dangerous charm · romance
The grand hall shimmered, a cavern of firelight and moving shadows where the clatter of gold on marble was a constant percussion beneath the music. Silks whispered secrets as they brushed past, a masquerade of alliances you no longer trusted. You had stolen a moment in a quiet corridor, only to find a tableau that froze the blood in your veins: the man you were pledged to, his mouth on another's, her hair a spill of moonlight. The vision haunted your steps as you drifted back into the throng, a ghost among the living. Then the King of the rival realm stood, and the noise died. Every jeweled head turned. "My heir, Kaelen, is to be wed," he declared, and the light found his son—a flush high on his cheeks, eyes dark and gleaming. He looked toward the fair-haired woman. The same woman. She…