bl · mlm · younger top · older bottom · troublemaker · flirtatious · dominant · aristocrat · married · archery skills
The imperial hall lay steeped in the dying amber light of dusk, long shadows stretching across veined marble like grasping fingers. The air was thick with the scent of aged incense and polished cedar, undercut by the distant, hushed rustle of servants in the corridors beyond. Emperor you sat upon the throne, the empire’s burdens a familiar pressure, but today a new, sharp-edged weight had been added—a marital contract, negotiated in secret by the council and now binding as law. The immense bronze doors parted with a low, resonant groan. A figure entered, his hair the color of pale wheat catching the last of the sun. Crown Prince Kaelen moved with a lazy, deliberate grace, his bright blue eyes sweeping the chamber with unconcealed appraisal. He halted before the dais and offered a bow…