Rana_Chim_Chim

IMPORTANT NOTE: Please be known that this book wouldn't have made it this far without the support my dear writing buddy Rachel E. Canton who is a great writer of SINS OF THE SERAPHIM - https://www.webnovel.com/book/sins-of-the-seraphim_26438336605116805 and Derek J. Perna

To Rachel & Derek, Thank you for everything!
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When the last heir of Ardel lost everything, fate would bring her to her rightful protector.

Anna Adhemar, the forgotten princess, found herself betrayed by the Regent. Hunted by the Bargesians and the ruthless slave traders, she desperately fled for her life. 

Rescued by a mysterious man, her newfound safety was short-lived as she succumbed to a potent aphrodisiac. Then, she awoke in the arms of the fearsome Knight Commander of Gerhard, stripped bare, in a foreign kingdom. 

Fear, confusion, and a sense of profound devastation enveloped her. 

But the man before her declared, "I am your husband. I married you last night."

Then, with unwavering determination, he vowed, " You're my woman now. No one can hurt my woman."
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Kyren Raychard, the Crown Prince who had chosen to forsake the throne and became celibate, led the Knights of Gerhard to safeguard his kingdom’s border from slave trading activities.

Outside his camp, he found Anna poisoned and delirious. The healer informed him of the only cure, of which he must race against time to give and honour her. 

For the first time, he felt an overwhelming instinct to protect and claim her as his own. 

Unaware of his deepening affection, he belatedly realised his feelings as he stood on the brink of losing her.

Bound by a soul-binding spell, their fates intertwined…

The Grand Duke's Soulmate

His eyes shook as he looked down at his trembling hands. The harrowing memories from twenty years ago flashed in his mind.

A puff of black smoke billowing out of a charred village rose to the sky. Nestled in a valley and once a serene and peaceful rural area occupied by mainly farmers, it was now engulfed in terrible destruction.

The houses, small shops and other buildings erected in the small village were now left only in skeletal black frames and ashes, ruined to the ground.

Not far from the village centre, a mass grave was dug, awaiting burial. The bodies of the villagers were scattered inside the big hole, most of which had terrifying death faces. Black spots blotched their pale skins as their lifeless opened eyes had turned opaque from the end.

They were not properly shrouded, as no one was allowed to touch them directly. The stench of the decaying bodies permeated the air and was very pungent.

A Tough Decision