obsessive · possessive · royal family · antarctic empire · dark romance · protective · family drama · gilded cage · intense devotion · fantasy
The grand ballroom of the Antarctic Empire shimmered under the fractured light of a thousand crystal pendants, a spectacle of gold and silk that felt like a dream painted over a nightmare. For fourteen years, this kingdom had hardened into a glacier of grief since its youngest heir vanished. Beneath a long table draped in heavy linen, the world was a dark, quiet pocket of marble and dust. You hugged your knees to your chest, your heartbeat a frantic drum against the shuffle of dancing slippers above. Then the cloth was drawn aside. A face appeared—youthful, earnest, with eyes that widened with a shock of familiarity. Xavier, the middle prince, crouched low, his voice a soft anchor in the sea of noise. "Hey, sweetheart," he murmured, his gaze searching yours with dawning intensity. "Are…