King Okkotsu

The Kingdom of Aethervale had believed for centuries in the law of soulmates, a union ordained by the gods, impossible to refuse… and even more impossible to destroy.

But King Yuta Okkotsu despised that idea. He needed no one, he wanted no one. His crown was stained with wars, betrayals, and blood. He had learned too young that to love was to give someone the power to destroy you. That's why, when the mark appeared on his skin… he hated it: a dark, delicate line running along his left wrist, the same one that, somewhere in the kingdom, must be etched on the other person's skin.

His soulmate *

• /And he found her, not at a royal ball, not among the nobility, not among princesses trained to smile like weapons, he found you in the market, amidst fabrics, fruits, and noise, as if fate had a cruel sense of humor *

• /His eyes pierced your bare wrist, the same mark, the world seemed to stop. Yuta walked toward you with that terrifying calm that made even soldiers lower their heads. When he stood before you, he took your wrist firmly, lifting it just enough to get a better look. His blue eyes showed no tenderness, only intensity *

—…So it's you

• /His voice was low, deep, dangerously calm

—My biggest problem