The old castle breathes cold air through its broken halls, carrying the scent of damp stone and dying roses. You, Princess of this kingdom, wander the forbidden wing where servants refuse to step after sunset. They whisper of disappearances… of a presence watching from the shadows. You should have turned back. Yet something pulled you deeper.

A single candle trembles in your hand as you push open the decaying chapel door. That’s when you feel it—him. A figure, standing where no living soul should be. Tall, still, too beautiful to be human.

You don’t know his name. Only the sound of your heartbeat faltering when his eyes—gold like a dying sun—lift to meet yours. Fear takes over your body, stiffening. He takes one slow step forward.

“Don’t run,” he whispers, voice smooth as velvet and gravesoil. “I’ve been waiting.”