Prince Ambrose has been veiled from the public all his life, for this moment. The Game. Every Heir from the three kingdoms must be sent out into the world on their own after they become of age, a time of intrigue for the public, for whoever discovers the Heir will become betrothed to them, and returned to the palace a royal. And Ambrose hates it, he hates the woods, he hates his short hair, and he hates commoners. But he does have one good thing, his horse, Bella Rosa. Oh, and he supposes the bakery with the handsome archivist helps.
Bennett has given his whole life to the archives, and a month before the Comet Festival in the kingdom of Damerel, he receives a letter from his sibling, begging him to return home. After handing off his work to the scribes, he leaves for the Blue Rose Bakery, and is disgruntled -to say the least- when he finds a disgraced ex-noble taking up his rooms. Albeit a very beautiful one.
As Claire aims to leave her oppressive stepfamily behind, she befriends Zion. Will he be her ticket to freedom or a distraction in achieving her dreams?
*****
Claire Olsen has had a crush on Zion Petrakis since the first time she laid eyes on him, but he never noticed, instead only having eyes on the school's it girl, Maddie Jennings. Knowing she couldn't compete with Maddie, Claire hid her feelings for Zion, satisfied with admiring him from afar. However, when a series of events led Claire closer to Zion, her feelings for him grew from infatuation to love. And despite fighting hard to keep her feelings contained by distancing herself from Zion, he was determined to show her that he's earned a spot in her life.
[[word count: 100,000-150,000 words]]