LOGINThe world tilted.No.No.This couldn't be happening. The pompous knight who'd swooped in to save her couldn't possibly be the prince."Oh, you're here too," Adrienne heard herself say, the words tumbling out before she could stop them. "Great. Where's the actual prince?"Silence filled the throne room, if a single pin fell you could possibly hear its sound.Orion's smirk transformed into a full, devastating grin. "Right here, Princess."The floor might as well have opened up and swallowed her whole."You've got to be fucking kidding me."She said it out loud. In front of both royal families.For one frozen heartbeat, nobody moved.Then Princess Giselle burst out laughing—a bright, uncontrollable sound that echoed off the stone walls. She doubled over, actually clutching her stomach, tears streaming down her face."Oh—oh my gods—" Giselle gasped between fits of laughter. "She—she didn't know! She had no idea!"King Aldric's face had gone white. King Matthias's expression was stone col
Three hours later, Adrienne stood in her chambers while two maids fussed over her hair, weaving the blonde curls into an intricate braid that wrapped around her head like a crown. The blouse fit perfectly—high-necked and modest, but tailored to show her figure. The trousers were crisp and elegant, paired with polished black boots that could double as weapons if needed.She looked like a princess.She looked like a warrior.She looked like herself.A knock at the door interrupted her inspection. "Enter."Lancelot and Leon filed in, both trying unsuccessfully to hide their grins."Well, well." Lancelot circled her slowly, his dark eyes gleaming with mischief. "Look at you. Almost respectable.""Almost?" Adrienne raised an eyebrow."The trousers are a nice touch." Leon's expression was more diplomatic, but his gray eyes danced with amusement. "Your father is going to have an apoplexy.""That's a bonus.""So." Lancelot dropped onto her bed, making himself comfortable despite the maids' di
✷✷✷CAMELOT✷✷✷Orion slammed into the palace suite like a storm, his mood as black as the sky outside. Dinner with his family had been a special kind of torture—his father unmoved by his report that Princess Adrienne could clearly defend herself, his sister finding the entire situation hilarious."We're going to Silvara for dinner tomorrow night," his father had announced, as casually as if he were discussing the weather."What? You mean who and…""Father, all of us, right?" Giselle had interrupted, practically vibrating with glee. "Including me? I need to see the girl who's making my big brother run mad.""Manners, Giselle," their mother had cautioned, but even she'd been smiling.Orion had excused himself shortly after, unable to stomach another minute of his family's amusement at his expense.Now he stood in his chambers, yanking at his collar, wanting nothing more than to hit something. Or drink something. Or…"You're back."The voice came from his bed, sultry and knowing. Celeste
✷✷✷SILVARA✷✷✷The bathwater had gone cold an hour ago, but Adrienne hadn't cared. She'd needed to scrub the blood off…enemy blood, her soldiers' blood, the metallic stench that seemed to have seeped into her very pores. Now she stood in her chambers wrapped in a silk robe that felt wrong against her skin, watching Old Rosaline and two younger maids fuss over an elaborate gown spread across her bed.The dress was a nightmare of purple silk and white embroidery, with a neckline that would show far too much skin and sleeves that would restrict her movement. It looked expensive. It looked elegant.It looked like a cage."I'm not wearing that thing, Rosa."Old Rosaline, who'd been the head maid since before Adrienne was born, who'd nursed her through childhood fevers, who was more mother than servant didn't even look up from smoothing out the fabric. "Come now, you're a princess. Dress like royalty for once in your life.""Nah." Adrienne crossed her arms, still dripping water onto the ston
"What…"The knights of Camelot hit Garrick's forces like a hammer blow from the gods themselves. At their head rode a figure on a massive black warhorse, moving through the enemy lines with the casual efficiency of Death taking inventory. His sword was a blur of silver and crimson, and men fell before him like wheat before a scythe.One. Two. Five. Ten.He killed ten soldiers without even dismounting, his horse responding to the slightest pressure of his knees while his blade did its brutal work.Adrienne found herself staring.The rider's armor was dark steel chased with gold, his helm shaped like a lion's maw. But it was the way he moved that caught her attention…fluid, precise, utterly devastating. He made killing look like an art form.His gaze swept the battlefield, sharp and assessing. Then stopped on her.Even across the chaos and carnage, Adrienne felt the weight of that stare. The rider's head tilted slightly, and she knew he'd recognized her. The only woman on the battlefiel
✷✷✷SIVARA✷✷✷The northern border of Silvara stretched out before them like a wound in the earth…barren, rocky terrain that offered no cover.One hundred soldiers. That's all Adrienne had managed to rally before her father's advisors started wringing their hands about leaving the capital undefended. One hundred men against an army five times their size.The odds didn't bother her.What bothered her was the gods-damned betrothal that kept circling through her mind like a vulture over carrion.Their camp sprawled across the valley floor just before the boundary markers, a collection of tents and cookfires that seemed almost obscenely cheerful given what awaited them come dawn. Knights laughed around the fires, passing wineskins and trading stories like they weren't marching toward their deaths. Like tomorrow wasn't going to paint these rocks red.Adrienne sat apart from them, perched on a flat boulder that overlooked the camp, her sword across her knees. She'd been cleaning the blade







