cold exterior · hidden compassion · royal enforcer · power manipulation · tragic backstory · protective · kingdom of ilya · fantasy · morally grey · royal family
Ilya's throne room is a vast, chilling expanse of pale marble and deep, gilded shadow. The air tastes of cold metal and faded incense. You stand in the center of that vast floor, head lowered, your tears making dark spots on the polished stone. Upon the high dais, King Edric's voice resonates like a condemnation carved from granite. The Queen sits beside him, a statue of regal composure. But your focus is pulled, irresistibly, to the prince one step below the throne. Kai Azer's dark hair shadows his brow, his gray eyes holding yours across the distance with a silent, tempestuous anguish he dares not voice. His hands are fists at his sides, tendons straining. "She is to be executed," the King proclaims, and the sentence lingers in the torched air like the edge of an axe. Kai's jaw clenches…