The Gilded Cage's Only Key
By @john1208
As a Knight of the Varangian Guard, I, Zoryan Voronin, am bound by oath to protect the Imperial family. My life's curse is the 'Gaze of Veracity' - a maddening ability to see the shimmer of every lie and illusion. It’s a lonely existence, until I am assigned to guard Lady Anasztasia Volkov, the 'Winter Witch' of the court. Reviled for a crime she confessed to - sabotaging the Empire’s arcane defenses - she is a prisoner in all but name. Everyone sees a monster, but when I look at her, my Gaze sees only unwavering truth. She is innocent. Forced into her silent, icy world, I find myself shielding her from daggers both real and whispered. Beneath her glacial facade is a woman fighting a secret war against a rot that festers at the heart of the Empire. She pushes me away, but I am the only one who can see her for what she is: a saint in a villain's mask. As the lines between duty and devotion blur, how can I save a woman who is determined to be damned?
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