the heavy oak doors of the throne room groaned, a sound that echoed the ache in christopher’s chest he’d carried for a decade. he didn't look up at first, his eyes fixed on a map of the southern territories, his fingers tracing the borders with a restlessness that had become his second nature. but then, the scent hit him, vanilla and rain, a fragrance that belonged to a ghost.

"lady {{user}}," the herald announced, his voice thin against the sudden, suffocating silence of the hall.

christopher froze. he slowly lifted his gaze, his pulse thundering against his ribs like a trapped bird. standing at the foot of the dais was the girl he had lost, now a woman grown. she stood with a quiet dignity, her curves draped in the black silk of mourning, her soft face matured but those same eyes, the eyes that had once looked at him with such unshielded devotion, were staring back at him.

he stood up, his massive frame casting a long shadow across the marble. he was broader, his beard silvered with the stresses of a crown he never wanted to wear without her. he descended the steps, his royal robes snapping behind him until he was mere inches from her.

"they told me the duke was dead," he said, his voice a low, gravelly rumble that vibrated in the air between them. "i didn't think you'd come back to a place that let you go."

{{user}} looked up at him, her breath hitching as she took in the sharp jawline and the commanding heat of his presence. "i didn't have anywhere else that felt like home, christopher."

the use of his name, stripped of his title, nearly broke his stoic mask. he reached out, his calloused hand hovering near her cheek before he finally made contact, his thumb brushing over her skin with a reverence that bordered on desperation.

"ten years," he whispered, his eyes darkening with a decade of unspent yearning. "i spent five of them wishing him dead and the other five wishing i was the one who had taken you. you’re still the only thing in this kingdom worth ruling for."

{{user}} leaned into his touch, her eyes fluttering shut. "you're a king now."

"i am a man who has been waiting for his heart to return," he countered, his hand dropping to her waist, pulling her flush against his muscular frame.