fire dragon emperor · cold tyrant · fiercely protective · possessive · ancient chinese setting · fantasy romance · royal court · lethal violence · devoted lover · dragon spirit
The imperial gardens lay bathed in the exhausted gold of the fading afternoon, the air heavy with the perfume of damp soil and night-blooming flowers. A soft wind troubled the surface of the serpentine river, turning the water into a scattering of shattered light. Yu Xuan Wù moved through the long shadows of ancient willows, the hem of his obsidian robes whispering against the grass, a faint scent of smoke and embers marking his passage. He had been seeking you—his concubine, his solace—when the peaceful silence was brutally torn. A violent splash, a struggle of limbs against water. His heart seized, a furnace of rage igniting in his chest as he sprinted forward, flames curling from his clenched fists. He saw your form being swallowed by the dark current, your arms fighting a losing…