Chapter 2 A Royal Disgrace

Varelia's palace had never been so alive with whispers.

Ever since Prince Kael arrived to finalize the marriage treaty, the courtiers had been abuzz with spies. Servants lingered around doorways, ladies tittered behind their fans, and guards exchanged knowing smiles whenever the prince and princess spoke.

Elara hated every moment of it.

She endured three days of endless meetings - her father's advisors droning on about dowries, alliances, border rights - while Kael lounged in the corner like the fate of two kingdoms was a game.

Today, he was late. Again.

Elara's patience was running out when the doors finally opened and Kael strolled in, wearing that same maddening smile. "Forgive me, Your Majesty," he said to her father, bowing with studied panache. "Your stables are too fine. I forgot the time admiring the horses."

Elara's father sighed. "Prince Kael, this is a war and peace council, not a pleasure tour."

Kael inclined his head. "Sorry about that. I'll make up for it with my pleasant personality."

Elara inwardly groaned. The man was impossible.

She cornered him in the hallway after the meeting, indignation simmering just beneath her professional facade. "Do you take anything seriously?" she demanded.

He seemed caught off guard. "Of course. I take breakfast very seriously."

"Kael-" she began, then stopped, biting back the rest. "This alliance could decide the lives of thousands, and you act like a court jester."

His smile faded. "You think I don't know what's at stake?"

"Do you?"

He stepped closer, and for the first time, the mocking sparkle in his eyes disappeared. "You see what I permit the world to see - a rogue. But my kingdom is hemorrhaging, Princess. The Astrens are starving, their villages burned in raids your generals call 'defensive strikes.' Peace is not an indulgence to me. It is survival.".

The bleak honesty in his voice left her breathless. For a moment, she did not see the playboy prince but a man bent beneath the load of something dark and unseen.

She had no opportunity to reply before a servant burst in, his face white and wild. "Your Highnesses! There's been... an accident in the courtyard."

They rushed out.

A crowd had gathered around a trembling maid, her dress stained with red wine. Beside her stood Lord Darnel - furious, his accusing finger pointing at Kael's guard.

"This man insulted our princess!" the old advisor spat. "He said she'd rather bed an Astren dog than marry his prince."

The guard looked horrified. "My lord, I swear I said no such thing-"

"Enough," Kael snarled. He turned to the crowd. "Who started this?"

Silence.

Then Lord Darnel sneered. "Perhaps the prince's own reputation invites such disrespect."

Elara stiffened, aware of the weight of every eye on them.

Kael's eyes grew dark with menace. "Be wary, old man. I might forget this is a peace treaty."

"Then act like a prince," Darnel snapped. "Not a tavern brawler."

The insult stung - and Kael, ever impulsive, moved forward.

Elara moved before anyone else could react. "Enough!"

Her voice sliced through the air like steel on steel.

She stepped between them, her chin raised. "Varelia will be disrespected by neither side. Lord Darnel, you will apologize for your words."

The court gasped. Darnel went white. "Your Highness, I-"

"Now."

He bowed awkwardly. "My apologies, Prince Kael."

Kael nodded curtly, but his eyes never left Elara - unreadable, burning.

When the crowd dispersed, she turned to him. "You almost ruined everything."

He lifted an eyebrow. "I didn't insult you."

"No, but you came close to punching him for it."

He chuckled, a low sound that created an unwelcome shiver down her back. "Would it have impressed you if I had?"

"No."

He bent down, voice low. "You're lying."

Elara's eyes widened. "You're impossible."

"And yet you keep finding me," he breathed.

She turned on her heel and stalked away - but his laughter followed her along the corridor, light and devilish.

That night, as she sat at her window above the moonlit courtyard, Elara found herself wondering about that look in his eyes - the flash of anger, the momentary truth.

He was dangerous, yes. Reckless. But underneath the scandal and the smile, she saw a man who'd lost too much, seen too much.

And for the first time, she caught herself wondering if the marriage that terrified her... might not be so simply duty and sacrifice, after all.

Somewhere down in the palace, Kael stood on his own balcony, looking up at the same moon.

He poured himself a glass, smiling grimly. "One day, Princess," he murmured, raising the glass to the stars. "You'll see me for what I really am."

The wine glinted like blood as he drank.