Betrothed To The King

***

IZA

After the Great War, The New Royals took charge of a broken land.

Split into two victorious clans called the Gold and the Silver, they complemented each other perfectly and shared the land among several domains.

The Gold ruled over the entire Kingdom, but the Silver could control their own domains so long as they bent the knee.

In order to ensure the Great War could never happen again, the betrothal was ordained.

At birth, each New Royal child was to be marked with a symbol unique only to them. In the entire Kingdom, throughout every domain, only one other Royal would be marked with the same symbol. This person was to be their betrothed.

The one they would love and care for over all others, their other half for all eternity.

It would become each Royal’s life mission to seek their betrothed from the day they turned eighteen until the day they finally embraced.

Most New Royals find their other half within their own domains. For many young men, it happens on the very day they come of age and reveal their Royal Mark to the world.

But it takes some men years of heartbreak and sorrow, searching the Land for their second half.

But each young Prince knows it’s worth all the pain to find his Princess.

For when he finds her. Oh Gods, when he ~finds~ her…~

In the span of a single glance, his~ universe rearranges.~

And there she stands, at the center of it. His sun. His moon. His right. His wrong. The person he’ll live for and the person he’ll die for, too.

No passion is greater.

No connection is stronger.

No ecstasy is more all-consuming.

How do I know, you ask?

Because, against all odds, my Prince~ found me.~

And he made me his queen.

***

Members of the New Royals knew that gossip spread like wildfire, and whispers trickled through the pipelines ceaselessly.

Some news was more valuable than others. News about the king was above everything else.

Narcissus Andrei Stone.

With the reputation of the devil and the face of a god, it was hard not to be intrigued.

I’d heard rumors that King Andrei often went into terrible rages and needed to be restrained by his guards.

Another rumor said that he hated pictures. I’d only seen three—one from when he was born, another from when his siblings were born, and the last one from when he took over the throne last year.

“Iza,” Siya whispered from across the library table, her phone in her hand. “Have you heard the latest goss?”

Siya was my brother Ari’s betrothed. Like me, she was a student at our domain’s college. Even though we were a Silver domain, we still had some of the best schools in the Land.

The girl sitting next to her shushed us.

Finals were just around the corner. I was training to be a doctor, something I’d always wanted to do. Unfortunately, this meant I spent tireless hours in the library, my eyes glued to my textbooks.

Because of my skin color and the stereotypes, I used to get teased when I said I wanted to become a doctor.

Everyone thought it was the perfect career for me since I was Indian. Apparently, we were all doctors, lawyers, or accountants. It used to bother me, but now I embraced it.

Siya rolled her eyes at the girl, then hissed at me, “Bathroom, now!”

“I’m sorry,” I mouthed to the annoyed studying girl as I got up to follow Siya, but she didn’t even raise her gaze from her book to look in my direction.

In the bathroom, I hoisted myself up on the sink. “What is it now, Siya?”

She smiled deviously.

“Spill,” I demanded, now truly curious.

“Apparently,” she said, “the king is going mad because he’s yet to see the mark of his betrothed. He’s been searching among the Gold and the Silver for years, but he can’t find her. They say he’s locked himself in his tower and refuses to leave.”

“That sounds awful,” I replied. “But that’s hardly urgent new—”

“Wait for it,” she interrupted. “I haven’t even gotten to the good part. His council is insisting he finds a betrothed by the end of the Royal Ball. The Royal Ball that we got invitations to this morning.”

This morning I had been woken by my parents frantically shaking me awake with the invitation in their hand.

I’d missed the last ball because I was sick with the flu. Everyone but me got to dance the night away and meet the other domains and the king himself. My best friend Alessia Mills had even found her betrothed. And a Gold at that. They’d been inseparable ever since.

Now was my second chance.

“As if it would be me,” I snorted.

“Iza Singh, don’t you dare put yourself down like that. It could be you.”

“Yeah, right.” I hopped off the counter, ready to leave. “I’m going back to study.”

Siya stopped me. “Wait. There is one more piece of news that might be of interest to you.”

I froze in my tracks.

“News about a certain Councilor’s Hand coming back from boarding school.”

My muscles tensed.

“Word on the street is that their headmaster dismissed them early,” Siya continued. “Long story short, Coleman Cress is coming home this afternoon.”

My heart started to race with anticipation.

I hadn’t heard that name in nearly four years.

I still remembered the day he left. Coleman’s gorgeous blue eyes had pierced mine, and he’d told me to wait for him. I was only fifteen at the time, but I knew I would.

After all, I was utterly in love with Coleman. He was my first kiss. I could still remember the feeling of his lips against mine.

Most of us lucky enough to be born into the New Royals found our betrothed at age eighteen. Until then, we wore clothing to hide our Royal Marks. The Royal Council always thought children would be distracted if they found their betrothed before coming of age.

But on our eighteenth birthday, when the young royals finally revealed their Marks…. Oh, I couldn’t wait for that.

I’m sure that Coleman, too, had the beautiful golden Oak Tree that I had tattooed on the side of his neck. But he’d gone away to boarding school before he’d turned eighteen. So I’d never got the chance to see it for myself.

Suddenly, the gravity of the moment dawned on me.

Coleman Cress, the gorgeous Councilor’s Hand who’d stolen my heart, was coming home.

Today.

***

Luckily, the campus was near our domain’s castle, where the Royal Councilor and his Hand lived with their families. The Royal Councilor was like the leader of our domain, and his Hand was his second in command, so it was very important they live near each other.

By the time I got there, their car was pulling in.

Deep breaths, Iza, I thought. You’ve got this. It’s okay.

Siya never let go of my hand as we walked the short distance to the cars. My heart was beating so fast—I just wanted to see Coleman.

I was feeling very nervous as we approached.

Were my prayers about to be answered? Was my betrothed finally here?

My dreams were coming true. Coleman would step out of that car, and he would know we were betrotheds. When I heard the car door open, all my senses became heightened.

First, our Royal Councilor, Andrew Lorde, got out. He hadn’t changed a bit—well, except that he had gotten more muscular.

His green eyes twinkled with mischief and happiness.

Yep, same old Andrew.

He brushed some of his blond hair out of his face before hugging his parents and younger brother. I watched as he said hello to everyone before stopping by me.

I was lucky that our new Royal Councilor wanted to be my friend. Throughout school, Andrew had always been there for me. It hadn’t changed at all when his father had nominated him as our domain’s leader.

I considered him one of my best friends, along with Alessia.

A contagious smile bloomed on his face, and I found myself smiling too. The next thing I knew, Andrew had picked me up and spun me around. The adults laughed.

“Iza! Oh, how I have missed you! You’ve changed quite a bit. Puberty, hey?” Andrew teased.

I rolled my eyes and hugged him. “It’s good to see you too, Andrew. You haven’t changed at all. Don’t worry, sometimes people are late bloomers,” I joked, earning another laugh from Andrew’s parents.

Andrew smiled and hugged me again. “I really did miss you, Goofy.”

I grinned at Andrew’s nickname for me. He hadn’t forgotten. “I missed you too.”

Hearing the other car door open, I glanced over Andrew’s shoulders to see a familiar figure emerge. His back was facing me, so he didn’t know I was standing behind him.

I wanted to see his blue eyes full of love and adoration for me. And I wanted to see that beautiful Oak Tree on his neck.

Andrew moved out of the way and stood by my side, which I thought was a little weird.

Surely Andrew should have moved on to greet everyone else?

Maybe he wanted to see the moment Coleman and I acknowledged each other as betrotheds.

I watched Coleman’s light-brown hair blow in the wind. His back was still turned to me. I just wanted him to turn around.

I held my breath, waiting for the moment he would realize I was his.

Please turn around.

What was he waiting for?