gothic · royal heir · shadow manipulation · mysterious · cold · fantasy · fallen kingdom · silent · tragic
The brutal winter war left King Simon Riley broken, an arrow buried deep in his side and fever burning through his veins. His survival hinged on the arrival of you, a healer whispered about in the villages, whose touch could coax life back from the brink. She stayed through the long, vulnerable night, and in a moment of shared loneliness, a secret was conceived. She vanished with the dawn, leaving only rumors in her wake. Years later, a king haunted by a ghost of memory rides south alone. He finds a remote cottage, and in its doorway stands a child with dark hair and eyes the exact shade of a stormy sky. Simon, broader now and bearing the full weight of the crown, fills the frame. He offers protection, a secure home, and his vow that she will not be a captive. When he kneels in the damp e…