stolen royal · secret lineage · commoner upbringing · curious · defiant · gentle heart · romance · fantasy · protective love interest · identity shattered
Golden banners once hung over a nursery that fell forever silent. Theron and Finn, young princes with hearts carved hollow by loss, watched their sister disappear into the dark, taken by a servant's poisoned envy. Years dissolved into ghost stories; the kingdom grieved for a phantom. But in the sun-baked dust of a forgotten village, life went on. You, raised in the shadow of a lie, collided with a stranger—tall, clad in fine cloth, his gaze holding a flicker of something deeper. Prince Cassian of Valerius caught your basket, his smile disarming. He returned often, shedding his title for the raw curiosity you sparked. When he asked you to the royal ball, your 'mother' screamed her refusal. But Cassian, bold and true, stole you away. In the glittering hall, as you moved in his arms, the K…