CHAPTER 1

"Where the hell are you? Get back here!"

Noah’s voice didn’t even make a dent in the wind. It just got swallowed by the grey. He huddled deeper into the ravine, his fingers shoved under his armpits to keep them from falling off. The snow wasn't falling anymore; it was attacking.

"Great. Fantastic," he spat, his breath hitching in a frozen cloud. "Die in a ditch. That’s the plan, then."

He stumbled over something soft. Not a rock. Not a log. A boot. A damn expensive-looking leather boot soaked in something darker than melted slush.

"What the...?"

Noah dropped to his knees. A man lay face down in the red-stained powder. He looked like he’d been dragged through a meat grinder. Gold embroidery peeked out from under a heavy, fur-lined cloak that was currently more blood than fur.

Noah reached out, his hand shaking. He rolled the guy over. The man’s face was pale as death, jaw square, stubble frosted with ice. Even dying, he looked like he owned the mountain.

"Hey. Wake up. Don't you dare die on my patch," Noah hissed.

The man’s eyes flickered—piercing blue, clouded with fever. His hand shot out, catching Noah by the throat with a grip like a iron vice.

"Who... sent you?" the man croaked. His voice sounded like grinding stones. "My brother... did he send you to finish it?"

Noah’s heart hammered against his ribs. This wasn't just some merchant. The royal crest on his chest plate was unmistakable. This was Ethan Walker. The King. And he was currently hallucinating about assassins. If Noah showed up as a scrawny, starving boy, the King would probably snap his neck just to be safe.

Noah pitched his voice up, squeezing it into a soft, melodic breath. "No! No one sent me. I’m just... I’m just Abigail."

The King’s grip loosened, his fingers sliding down to Noah’s collar. "A girl?"

"A village girl," Noah lied, the words tasting like copper. "My home is gone. Please, you’re bleeding out. I have a cave nearby."

He hauled the King up. The man was a mountain of muscle and dead weight. Noah groaned, his own thin frame buckling under the pressure. Every step through the knee-deep snow felt like his bones were snapping.

Inside the cave, the air was marginally warmer, smelling of damp earth and old smoke. Noah dumped the King onto a bed of dry moss and scrambled to start a fire. His fingers were numb, fumbling with the flint until a spark finally caught.

"Abigail..." Ethan murmured. He was shivering violently now, the poison in his system turning his veins black.

Noah ripped a strip of his own tattered tunic. He dipped it in a melted puddle of snow and began dabbing at the wound in the King’s side. It was deep. A jagged blade mark.

"Shh. Stay still," Noah whispered in that fake, airy tone. "You’re safe."

Ethan’s hand found Noah’s again, crushing it. "The herbs... in my pouch. Use them."

Noah fumbled for the leather bag at the King’s belt. He found a bunch of bitter, dried leaves. He crushed them between two stones, mixing them into a foul-smelling paste.

"Drink this," Noah commanded, pressing the mixture to the King’s lips.

Ethan choked, coughing up a spray of dark fluid. "Bitter."

"Life is bitter," Noah snapped, forgetting his "Abigail" persona for a second before softening his voice again. "If I save you... if you live... what happens to me?"

Ethan’s eyes struggled to focus on Noah’s face in the flickering firelight. "Anything. You saved a King, little bird. I will give you the world."

"I don't want the world," Noah said, his eyes hardening. "I want to never be hungry again. I want a roof that doesn't leak. I want you to promise you’ll never abandon me."

Ethan reached up, his thumb brushing Noah’s cheek. The touch was searing. "On my blood. I will pamper you. You will be the envy of every woman in Aethelgard. My savior. My Abigail."

Noah felt a chill that had nothing to do with the storm. He was digging a hole he couldn't climb out of.

Suddenly, the wind carried a new sound. The rhythmic crunch of boots on frozen crust. The jingle of chainmail.

"The King! He went down here!" a voice shouted from the ridge above.

Noah froze. "Your brother’s men?"

Ethan’s face went grim. He tried to sit up, but his muscles gave out. "They’ll kill you if they find you with me. Go. Run."

"I’m not leaving my meal ticket," Noah muttered. He looked at the King, then at his own flat chest and boyish frame. If those knights got close, the lie was over.

Ethan pulled a heavy gold ring from his finger. A massive sapphire glowed in the center. He pressed it into Noah’s palm.

"Take this. It’s my signet. If we’re separated, show this to the garrison at the capital. It’s a promise of marriage. A vow."

Noah’s breath hitched. Marriage? He looked at the ring, then at the King’s possessive gaze.

"They’re getting closer," Noah whispered. He saw a shadow pass the cave entrance. He had to make them keep their distance. He grabbed a sharp shard of flint from the ground and drove it into his own forearm.

"Ah!" he cried out, the pain real and blinding.

"Abigail!" Ethan lunged forward, but Noah pushed him back into the shadows.

"A wolf!" Noah yelled toward the cave mouth. "A wolf attacked me! Stay back, there's blood everywhere!"

The knights paused outside. "Did you hear that? A girl's voice."

"Leave it," another growled. "The King’s trail goes further down the ravine. Move!"

The footsteps faded. Noah slumped against the cave wall, clutching his bleeding arm.

"You’re hurt," Ethan gasped, his voice regaining some strength. He reached for Noah, his hands moving toward the "girl’s" waist to pull her close.

"Don't!" Noah barked, scrambling away. "I’m... I'm modest. And the wound is bad. Just go. Your men are further down. You can reach them now."

Ethan looked pained, but he nodded. "I will come for you. Do not lose that ring. You are mine now, Abigail. Do you understand?"

Noah just nodded, watching as the King staggered out into the grey light, calling for his loyalists.

Once the silence returned, Noah looked down at the ring. It felt like a shackle. He stepped out of the cave, heading toward his shack a mile away. On the path, he saw a body—a messenger, likely killed by the traitorous brother’s men. A letter was clutched in the dead man’s hand.

Noah snatched it and read. His blood turned to ice.

Kill any girl found with the royal signet. No witnesses to the King's survival.

"Oh, what the f**k have I done?" Noah whispered.

He reached his hovel, his heart hammering. He couldn't run; they’d hunt him. He couldn't stay a boy; they’d know he lied.

He grabbed a roll of linen from a shelf and stripped off his shirt. He began to wind the cloth around his chest, pulling it so tight he could barely breathe. He had to be Abigail. He had to play the part or die.

A low rumble shook the ground outside. Not thunder. Hooves. Many of them.

Noah looked out the cracked window. A massive black carriage, draped in royal silk, pulled into the clearing. The door swung open.

Ethan stepped out. He wasn't the dying man from the cave. He was a god in velvet and steel. He strode toward the hovel, his eyes locking onto Noah through the glass.

The door was kicked open. Ethan didn't wait. He walked straight to Noah and dropped to one knee, taking Noah’s trembling hand.

"I found you," Ethan said, his voice a low, possessive growl. "Ready your things, my Queen. We're going home."