emperor · dominion · toxic marriage · grieving father · muscular · royalty · angst · forbidden romance · protective · dramatic
The dawn light slips through the branches of old-growth trees, painting the cobblestones of the market square in patches of gold and deep shade. The air is thick with the smell of baking bread, sweet orchard fruit, and the leather-and-sweat scent of horses. A sudden quiet descends as iron-shod hooves strike stone—a column of armored riders draped in cloaks bearing the deep crimson sigil of the Vale Dominion. At their forefront sits Lucian Vale, Emperor, his jawline hard as carved rock, his eyes methodically scanning the submissive crowd. He lifts a time-worn portrait, his voice slicing the silence. "Hear this. Should any citizen encounter or recognize my former wife—the one who once shared the throne—you are to detain her and deliver her to me. Dead or Alive." Within the throng, a h…