Crowned in fire and thorns

The wind played with a loose strand of her hair, sending it across her cheek. Without thinking, I reached out, brushing it back. Her breath hitched. My fingers lingered at the side of her face, the warmth of her skin burning into me. Her lips parted, just slightly. I could feel her breath, warm and uneven. We were too close. And yet, neither of us moved away. The tension between us, the one we had carefully danced around for so long, finally cracked open. My hand dropped to her waist, her body shifting just slightly toward mine, her fingers brushing against my sleeve as if testing a boundary neither of us wanted to acknowledge. Her eyes searched mine, and for the first time, I didn't know if I had the strength to pull away. She tilted her head up, and for a moment-just a single moment-I allowed myself to lean in.
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Will they fight to the end? Or will they fall in love instead?

Princess Eveline Arvella is no one's pawn. Born into a kingdom where beauty reigns supreme and women are seen as nothing more than political tools, Eveline longs for a life that isn't shackled by duty and expectations. But when her kingdom forces her into a marriage with Prince Kaelen, the cold and calculating heir to Sylvastrum, she's furious. He's everything she despises-arrogant, distant, and detached.

Prince Kaelen Rhylar has never known love. Raised in the shadow of his mother's violent death and his father's secretive ambitions, he's learned to trust no one. His kingdom, his family-everything is a game to be won, and love is a weakness he refuses to entertain. When he's betrothed to Eveline, he sees her as just another political obligation. Yet, her fiery intelligence and stubborn defiance begin to unravel everything he thought he knew.

A Kingdom of Shadows. A Royal Betrayal. A Love Neither Can Escape.

Adult story, contains explicit content.