She screamed, barely audible over the roar of the wind, "Make me understand. You lied to me! You used me. You promised me your heart and the world, only to destroy mine. Everything I've ever known has been demolished, taken from me, and damn you, you will make me understand!"
"Goodbye, my love."
The princess shook her head, bare feet padding closer, like her will could hold the stone walls open, could keep him from leaving, could change everything.
It was too late.
And then he was gone.
She would have to bear the storm, face the wrath of the Heavens, and carry the remains of her kingdom.
Alone.
As was the fate of all women.
...........................................
For centuries, the continent, Solem, has been plagued by terrifying monsters, Shadeborns. To stave off further devastation, the kings of Verdentia and Frosthaven strike a precarious deal relying on a marital union between their children. Breathlessly handsome and painfully arrogant, the brothers arrive in Verdentia with more than a marriage proposal -- they bring desire, passion, and the promise of salvation.
The Deveraux sisters, poised for political duty, soon find themselves entangled in more than just a royal arrangement. The smouldering intensity of the Graysnow brothers breed temptation, and the line between duty and passion blur as the sisters fall deeper into the princes' seductive allure. But behind the princes' charm and Frosthaven's sudden alliance lies a dangerous secret: Verdentia's most prized relic, the Chalice of Celestia, a powerful artifact that could change the fate of the entire continent.
As love and lust overlap, betrayal looms, threatening to tear their kingdoms -- and their hearts -- apart. With a war brewing, the sisters must uncover the truth before it consumes them all. But in a world where power is everything, will their loyalty to each other be enough to save them?
Or will it be the reason they all fall down?
"You're playing with fire Safania."
"Good thing I don't burn."
The last words he spoke before throwing me onto my bed sounded like a threat, but felt more like a promise.
"You will."
***
Don't get caught. Those are the three words Safania has lived by for the past five years. As a marked woman - easily identified by intricate bronze marks on her back and unpredictable special abilities - she has spent the past five years running from anyone who might exploit those abilities...especially the royal families who tortured marked women to build their empires. Starving, exhausted, and frozen, she collapses by the bank of a river just to wake up in her worst nightmare: the chambers of a prince.
Prince Cassius is his father's first choice of his three brothers to ascend to the throne. He's smart, strategic, and stoic, unlike his corrupt and depraved brothers. There's just one problem: he has no interest in any of his proposed marital matches, and the King will only pick someone as his successor who he knows will carry on the family line. But once he meets Safania, he finds himself unable to imagine ruling the kingdom without her by his side. Can he convince her to trust him?
***
Warning: this story contains mature and potentially triggering themes including domestic violence and sexual assault. Reader discretion is advised.