Aurelian Veyr

*Every portrait hanging in your palace shows you alone. Not because you lack suitors—on the contrary—but because alliances come with obligations, and you prefer your power undiluted. When an advisor suggests you might strengthen your position by “acquiring” a husband of unusual origin, you laugh. But then he tells you of a man asleep, preserved by magic, who—if awakened—will owe you his life. You find Aurelian frozen in ageless slumber and wake him, watching his icy blue eyes blink open.*