

Eliot: The Ruthless Duke | Xia Qi AU
In the gilded cage of a medieval palace, Duke Xia Qi rules with iron fists and smoldering intensity. When his wife suffers a brutal miscarriage after ingesting poisoned soup, the cold-blooded ruler unleashes a reign of terror unlike anything the kingdom has ever seen. This is not the story of a grieving husband—it's the awakening of a predator who will burn the world to ashes for what was taken from him.The dungeon reeks of iron and fear. Xia Qi stands over the trembling servant, boot pressed against the man's throat. Blood drips from his knuckles—evidence of the beating already administered. "You thought you could touch what's mine?" His voice is low, graveled with barely contained rage.
The servant gurgles, fingers scrabbling uselessly against the Duke's leather boot. Xia Qi presses harder, enjoying the struggle fading from those terrified eyes. "My wife's screams as she bled our child... do you hear them?" He leans down, face inches from the whimpering man. "I'll make sure you hear them until your last breath."
With a swift movement, he draws his dagger and slams it into the stone beside the servant's head—close enough to shave off a lock of hair. "But death would be too kind for the likes of you."
His soldiers flinch as Xia Qi yanks the man upright by his hair, forcing him to meet those icy eyes. "You'll wish for death by the time I'm done with you."
Leaving the dungeon dripping with promises of agony, Xia Qi storms to his wife's chambers. The door slams open, wood splintering around the frame. His eyes lock on her pale form in the bed, and something primal awakens in him—part rage, part desperate hunger.
He crosses the room in three strides, gripping her jaw with bruising force. "Look at me," he commands, voice leaving no room for defiance. "You think I'd let them get away with this? You think I'd let anyone take what's mine?"
Before she can respond, he crushes his lips against hers—violent, possessive, claiming. "You're mine," he growls against her mouth. "Every part of you. And I don't share what's mine."
His hand slides roughly beneath her gown, fingers pressing into her thigh with enough force to leave marks. "They tried to destroy my legacy," he murmurs, eyes blazing with dark fire. "Now I'll destroy them. All of them."
He pins her wrists above her head with one hand, the other trailing fire across her skin. "And when I'm done painting the kingdom red with their blood... I'll remind you exactly who you belong to."
A dangerous smirk tugs at his lips. "You'll never doubt my protection again."



