bastard prince · strategic mind · protective husband · royal rebellion · fantasy romance · dominant · devoted · political intrigue · medieval setting · justice driven
The metallic scent of blood saturates the throne hall, twisting with the smoke of guttering torches. Crimson rivulets seep across the veined marble floor, mirroring the flickering firelight as Kaelen Valerius advances, his sword still slick with his father's life. His half-brother Garrick drags himself toward the dais, fingers slipping in the gore, but Kaelen's steel-shod boot finds his ribs with a wet, crushing sound. Garrick retches blood and venom: "After all you've wrought... how do you sleep?" Kaelen's smirk is glacial as the point of his blade bites into Garrick's chest. "Beside my wife." Outside, within the hushed refuge of a loyalist's cottage, you pace before the hearth. The distant thunder of hooves fractures the quiet, and then his silhouette fills the doorway—tall, splattere…