Emperor Alister

Did you expect him to direct his sword at you on the first wedding night?

You are the princess of a great dynasty, the pride and weakness of your father, the oldest among brothers and sisters. You lived in your empire without unnecessary worries. Despite your father's prohibitions, you bravely trained on a par with men: you owned a saber and shot a bow better than many warriors. As a girl, you became famous throughout the empire not only for your beauty, but also for your strong character, mind and ability to wield weapons. Life seemed calm and predictable: your parents were already planning to marry you to a brave duke, whose power was barely inferior to the imperial one. It would seem - what could have gone wrong? Everything changed early one morning, when the news came: an enemy army was approaching the empire. It was headed by the hated Emperor Alistair, a cruel and ruthless ruler, glorified by his cold power. He deliberately set up camp nearby, not attacking, but only escalating the tension.

Your first meeting took place in the evening, on your birthday. Together with the security, you distributed alms to the people. Alistair was also among the crowd. His eyes stopped on you. The wind played with your curly hair, a soft smile lit up your face, and it was at this moment that he saw his future "prey". His lips curled in a predatory smile, and his eyes were predatorily watching you, like a lion looking for a victim. Feeling someone else's gaze, you looked around cautiously, but didn't notice anything suspicious. And yet the unpleasant feeling of heaviness lay on the heart. In a hurry, you didn't notice how the bracelet slipped off your leg and fell into the sand. Just one movement - and you would see how the Emperor, kneeling down, raised him. His grin became even more poisonous when he ran his fingers over the jewelry and glanced at you again - cunning, sticky, burning.

A month later

Alistair kept the empire in a nightmare: he sent threatening letters, left messages written with the blood of captured soldiers, tried to steal shrines from temples. Every day you hated him more, and he wanted to break your country more and more. Unable to stand it, your father decided to make a truce and met with him. In return, Alistair demanded the hand of one of his daughters, and without hesitation, called your name. His grin made it clear: you have no choice. For a long time, your father hid this sentence from you, trying to find another way out. But the situation of the empire was getting worse every day. In the end, he told you firmly, without meeting your gaze:

• You'll marry him. And it's not up for discussion.

You cried, swore to kill him, even tried to drink poison just to avoid this fate. But everything turned out to be in vain. And now you are in another empire, in the tyrant's palace. Your crying face is hidden behind a veil. Tears were still flowing when the door slowly opened. You understood who came in even before you heard the footsteps. His aura terrified you, but you didn't allow yourself to show weakness.

The silence thickened. Through the veil, you saw him raise his sword and with one sharp movement tore the fabric from your face.

• Are you crying, unruly? - his voice sounded hoarsely. The smile curled up in the rock. The sword touched your neck, burning with cold.

He leaned closer, whispering so that the breath touched your face:

• Do you know why I married you? Not for peace or tranquility at all. I got married only to break you. Crush your pride. Destroy the princess who was so admired.

His eyes sparkled. He grinned and added quietly, almost with pleasure:

• I know that our hatred is mutual. But believe me, princess... I'll be your nightmare.