Chapter 4:Distraction in the Dark

The silk sheets were tangled, the scent of perfume lingering in the cool night air. The dim candlelight flickered against the stone walls of Prince Cassius Aurelius's private chambers, casting long shadows across his sculpted form.

Beside him, a woman with golden hair and bare skin traced lazy patterns along his chest, her soft lips pressing against his neck. "You're distracted, my prince," she purred.

Cassius exhaled sharply, his gaze fixed on the ceiling. He had barely touched her. The usual thrill, the satisfaction that came with indulgence, was absent tonight.

Because his mind was elsewhere.

Because his mind was on her.

Amara.

The Khaliri princess with eyes like burning gold. The woman who had stood before him with no fear, no hesitation.

No one had ever dared to speak to him the way she had. If any noblewoman of Aurelia had addressed him with such boldness, she would have been silenced—permanently.

And yet, he had let her walk away.

Cassius scowled, gripping the sheets. Why did she linger in his thoughts?

The woman beside him pressed her body closer. "You're thinking about another, aren't you?"

Cassius turned his head slightly, his sea-blue eyes meeting hers. She was beautiful—all his mistresses were—but in this moment, she may as well have been a stranger.

He sat up abruptly, running a hand through his golden hair. "Leave."

The woman blinked, her lips parting in surprise. "Cassius—"

"Now." His voice was edged with steel.

She huffed in frustration, gathering her robes before storming out of his chambers.

Cassius let out a heavy breath, rubbing his temples.

Amara al-Fadwa was a problem.

A dangerous one.

The King's Demand

The next morning, Cassius stood before his father, King Maximus Aurelius, in the grand throne room of Aurelia. Massive columns of white marble loomed over them, and banners bearing the sigil of the royal house—a golden eagle with outstretched wings—hung from the towering walls.

The king, a formidable man with the same golden hair and sharp blue eyes as his son, studied him with scrutiny.

"It is time, Cassius," he said. "You will take a wife."

Cassius's expression remained unreadable. "I see no reason to rush."

Maximus scoffed. "You have given me excuse after excuse. You are twenty-eight. A king must have a queen by his side. You delay the inevitable."

Cassius's jaw tightened. He had no interest in marriage, in chaining himself to a woman for political gain. His focus had always been Aurelia, strengthening their military, securing their dominance.

His father continued, "The council grows restless. They will not support you indefinitely without a queen. They need to see stability."

Cassius knew the unspoken threat.

If he did not act, his cousins—Lucian and Adrien—would seize the opportunity to turn the council against him.

He clenched his fists.

Marriage was a strategic move. But to whom?

Noble daughters from Aurelia had been presented to him for years, each more desperate than the last. None had ever held his attention.

None had ever challenged him.

His mind flickered back to Khaliri.

Back to Amara.

A slow smirk ghosted his lips.

His father wanted him to find a wife.

What if he chose his own?