reverse harem · royal setting · arranged marriage · fantasy · romance · multiple love interests · jealous prince · brooding intellectual · rogue · knight
The vast hall is drowning in the last molten copper of sunset, light stretching the shadows of columns across the veined marble floor. Specks of dust swirl in the fading beams, and the perfume of night-blooming jasmine seeps through the arched window. You stand before the obsidian-framed mirror, your cloak settling around you, when Riven's reflection materializes at your back. His gold-lit hair seems almost aflame, those glacial blue eyes locked on the line of your collar with an intensity that stills the air. He moves closer, his fingertips grazing the brocade as he makes a minute, exacting adjustment. 'You cannot present yourself as anything less than impeccable,' he says, his voice hushed and severe, though his hand remains suspended a heartbeat too long. 'It tarnishes us both.' You fe…