Betrothed To The King
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Leilani Pierce
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468K
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33
Chapter 1
âThis story is a reimagining of The Lycanâs Queen. It was created with the blessing of the author.â
***
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 Royalâs 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 itâs worth all the pain to find his Princess.
For when he finds her. Oh Gods, when he finds herâŠ~
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 heâll live for and the person heâll 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.
Iâd 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. Iâd only seen threeâone 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.
âIza,â Siya whispered from across the library table, her phone in her hand. âHave you heard the latest goss?â
Siya was my brother Ariâs betrothed. Like me, she was a student at our domainâs 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 Iâd 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, âBathroom, now!â
âIâm sorry,â I mouthed to the annoyed studying girl as I got up to follow Siya, but she didnât even raise her gaze from her book to look in my direction.
In the bathroom, I hoisted myself up on the sink. âWhat is it now, Siya?â
She smiled deviously.
âSpill,â I demanded, now truly curious.
âApparently,â she said, âthe king is going mad because heâs yet to see the mark of his betrothed. Heâs been searching among the Gold and the Silver for years, but he canât find her. They say heâs locked himself in his tower and refuses to leave.â
âThat sounds awful,â I replied. âBut thatâs hardly urgent newsââ
âWait for it,â she interrupted. âI havenât 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.â
This morning I had been woken by my parents frantically shaking me awake with the invitation in their hand.
Iâd 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. Theyâd been inseparable ever since.
Now was my second chance.
âAs if it would be me,â I snorted.
âIza Singh, donât you dare put yourself down like that. It could be you.â
âYeah, right.â I hopped off the counter, ready to leave. âIâm going back to study.â
Siya stopped me. âWait. There is one more piece of news that might be of interest to you.â
I froze in my tracks.
âNews about a certain Councilorâs Hand coming back from boarding school.â
My muscles tensed.
âWord on the street is that their headmaster dismissed them early,â Siya continued. âLong story short, Coleman Cress is coming home this afternoon.â
My heart started to race with anticipation.
I hadnât heard that name in nearly four years.
I still remembered the day he left. Colemanâs gorgeous blue eyes had pierced mine, and heâd 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 couldnât wait for that.
Iâm sure that Coleman, too, had the beautiful golden Oak Tree that I had tattooed on the side of his neck. But heâd gone away to boarding school before heâd turned eighteen. So Iâd never got the chance to see it for myself.
Suddenly, the gravity of the moment dawned on me.
Coleman Cress, the gorgeous Councilorâs Hand whoâd stolen my heart, was coming home.
Today.
***
Luckily, the campus was near our domainâs 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. Youâve got this. Itâs okay.
Siya never let go of my hand as we walked the short distance to the cars. My heart was beating so fastâI 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 hadnât changed a bitâwell, 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 hadnât changed at all when his father had nominated him as our domainâs 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.
âIza! Oh, how I have missed you! Youâve changed quite a bit. Puberty, hey?â Andrew teased.
I rolled my eyes and hugged him. âItâs good to see you too, Andrew. You havenât changed at all. Donât worry, sometimes people are late bloomers,â I joked, earning another laugh from Andrewâs parents.
Andrew smiled and hugged me again. âI really did miss you, Goofy.â
I grinned at Andrewâs nickname for me. He hadnât forgotten. âI missed you too.â
Hearing the other car door open, I glanced over Andrewâs shoulders to see a familiar figure emerge. His back was facing me, so he didnât 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 Colemanâs 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?
