When his younger sister is propositioned by the Tyrant King, Aster steps in to take her place. Just when he fears he must face this fate alone, the King assigns Rowan the Black to protect him—an Enforcer Knight with a tortured past. Despite his cruel reputation, Aster can't shake the feeling that Rowan is familiar to him. Haunted by memories of his lost childhood sweetheart, Jace, Aster must now navigate a veritable political chess game he wasn't at all prepared for. 

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“Flowers like the rose are needed for so many reasons,” Aster said. “The ground needs their roots, bees need their pollen, and animals need their leaves. So they do what they can to survive, by any means necessary. Does that mean a rose is evil for growing thorns?” He looked up at Rowan.

Rowan kept his eyes on the rose. He didn’t seem convinced. “A single rose has never caused as much pain as I have, Aster.”

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Broken Vows is created by Alex Agar, an EGlobal Creative Publishing signed author. 

BRoken Vows

It was only a couple hours after the King’s caravan left that the gates opened once more, this time to welcome in Nathalya the seamstress. Nathalya carried with her several bolts of fabric, and the woman that walked beside her carried a small trunk—likely full of sewing supplies. Aster and Rowan met them in the courtyard, and Aster greeted Nathalya as if she were an old friend. 


“Thank you for coming here on such short notice!” Aster said as he pressed his left cheek to hers.


“I wouldn’t miss an opportunity like this for the world, Your Highness,” Nathalya chuckled. She gestured to the smaller woman beside her. “This is my mate, Lyla.”


Lyla, a vibrant young woman with pink ribbons plaited through her twin braids, smiled wide and bowed before the future spouse of the king. “A pleasure, Your Highness.”


“Oh, no need for formalities,” Aster smiled, taking her free hand and shaking it. “It’s lovely to meet you. Come! We will have this fitting in my chambers.”


Chapter 12: Patterns, Plots, and Pins