Alderon's POV
I stood alone on the balcony of my chamber, the night wind brushing against my face, yet doing nothing to quiet the storm raging inside my chest.
Maria.
Her name alone was enough to unravel me.
I had faced beasts without fear. I had walked into battle without hesitation. I had carried the weight of a crown on my shoulders since the day I learned to walk. Yet none of that—none of it—terrified me the way my feelings for her now did.
Because this… this was something I could not command.
Before Maria ever stepped into my world, my fate had already been decided.
My father had chosen my bride long ago.
Princess Elowen of Solmere.
The daughter of King Louis.
A political bond. A war-born promise. A union sealed in strategy rather than affection. My father had spoken of it as though it were law, as though my heart had no place in the matter at all.
"You will marry her," he had said once, his voice leaving no room for argument. "Not for love. For the kingdom."
