_saintrose

Verona Falkenrath was raised for war, not marriage. But when her kingdom is forced into an uneasy alliance with its greatest rival, she is wed to Prince Lucian Velthorne, a man as cold and calculated as the crown he will one day inherit.

What begins as a union of duty soon becomes a tangled web of shifting loyalties, political games, and dangerous truths. With war on the horizon and enemies moving in the shadows, Verona must decide who to trust, who to fight, and what she's willing to sacrifice to protect the people she loves.

In a court ruled by power and blood, survival is not promised. But one thing is certain. The woman they tried to use as a pawn might just rewrite the game.

To Love a Crowned Enemy

The tension in the war tent was thick enough to cut. My father's gaze bore into me, sharp as a drawn blade, as if searching for a weakness I had long since learned to hide.

Lucian stood beside me, his presence a steady force against the weight of my father's disapproval. Aedric leaned against the war table, arms crossed, watching the exchange with the quiet calculation of a man who knew exactly how much danger we were all in. The northern winds rattled the canvas above us, a warning from the gods themselves.

"I will hear your terms, Verona," my father said at last, his voice low and measured. "But do not mistake my patience for indulgence."

I swallowed the bitterness rising in my throat. I had always known this moment would come, the moment where I would have to prove that I was still his daughter, still worthy of the name Falkenrath, even as I wore the colors of Praylor.

Chapter 35