I sat poking at my plate of cake with my fork, taking tiny sips of my coffee trying to seem interested in the conversation taking place. It was late, people were leaving. There was just one other table next to ours occupied, two men murmured while cigarette smoke clouded the table. The one facing me was a thin lanky boy wearing specs, his face was in the dark, I couldn't place his age but he seemed to be in his teens. The one with his back turned towards me was broad, almost muscular, his huge head had a closely cropped haircut, and he sat slouched laughing a thick throaty chuckle. A moment later, I heard the broad one calling the waiter for a check, I knew that voice. As they both turned around to leave. My heart skipped a beat as I took a fleeting look at the broad tall one, I couldn't look away...his hair was much shorter than I remembered and he'd grown an untidy stubble...but there was no mistaking who it was. The dark eyes shining with mirth behind thick bushy brows, the wide forehead; perfect olive skin and dimpled cheeks; my heart thumped. I couldn't believe my eyes. I wanted to squeal? Yell? Jump? The joy I felt was hard to express by any feat that came to my mind, I awkwardly got up and ran towards the exit, with my voice stuck behind a lump in my throat. He was almost near the exit when I screamed his name, my voice breaking off in the middle...

Forced into an engagement with a man she doesn't love, Reyna must ignore her bond with her father's general in order to avoid a war and save her throne. ***** As the first female heir to one of the great Northern Kingdoms, Reyna panics when her claim to the throne is threatened by the discovery that her father's general is her soulbound partner. She forces herself to ignore their connection, determined to be more than a general's wife, only for her father to manipulate her into a political engagement with a man she could never love. So to forge her own path forward, keep her throne, and confront her feelings for the general who owns her heart, Reyna must find a way to refuse this arranged marriage without destroying her kingdom in the process. [[word count: 100,000-150,000 words]] ---------- Cover designed by Ren Tachibana