Chapter 1
The vision was always the same. Veins of lightning pulsing across the onyx sky, a flame-haired woman kissing the crown of his head, men shouting, the roaring of lapping waves. Over the years, he’d had the same daydream countless times, never understanding if it were real or a fantasy.
Thump. Kaid’s eyes refocused on his best friend, dragging him away from the mirage once again.
“Focus. We’re here.” Halsten wore a smug smile as he tucked the news scroll back onto the bench beside him.
Kaid narrowed his eyes toward his friend. “You can’t abuse me. I’m royalty.”
Halsten sat back and crossed his arms, flicking stray strands of his dark hair over his shoulder. “Not yet. I have a whole month left until you’re officially a prince.”
Kaid rolled his eyes, looking out the carriage window as they approached a massive gray castle. The grounds were covered in flowers of every shape, size, and color, and they reminded Kaid of his manor back in Haalberg—his home.
The somewhat bumpy ride changed to an easy roll as the roadway transitioned from unkempt dirt to smooth stones.
Large horse sculptures flanked the large iron gates as they officially entered the capital grounds.
He found it peculiar that the horses had strange, fishlike tails, but figured it was just a trick of the weary eye.
Who would depict horses with fins? He didn’t know much about Orntali aside from it being the capital of Salendron, home to a small seaside village and the large castle ahead.
Kaid’s heart beat rapidly and he placed a palm on his chest, pushing down the nerves. In his twenty-two years of life, he had never left his father’s side. Well, aside from when he was socializing with his best friend-made-chief courtier, Halsten.
He and Halsten met when they were younger after Halsten had moved to Haalberg from an Eastern kingdom.
They had gotten into a fist fight over a girl, but once they realized that they were a fair match, the boys instantly became inseparable, forgetting about the girl entirely.
Kaid appointed Halsten as his chief courtier once they were old enough, since he was the only person willing to set him straight.
“Check it out!” Halsten pressed his face to the window of the carriage, leaving a smudge. “I think we’re going to like it here, Kaid. They worship women as much as we do.”
Kaid leaned forward, noticing the statues of women that covered the castle walls.
But they weren’t human women. No, they had fishlike tails in place of legs, just as the horse statues had, and their torsos were wrapped in what looked like seaweed and jewels.
The peaks of each of the many towers held a sculpture of a strange three-pronged fork.
The castle was oddly shaped, as though it started as a quaint structure but kept having new additions built, taking on an abstract shape that gave the fortress a life of its own.
The strangest part was the tower built at the end of a rock bridge jutting out into the sea.
Kaid watched as the waves broke against the tower’s walls, and he shivered.
The carriage came to a halt and Kaid silently looked to Halsten, nodding before Halsten slipped out. Kaid followed him, the briny air violently punching into his nostrils and spreading throughout his lungs.
A small man with curly golden hair and pale, freckled skin came rushing forward. “Good evening, Lord Kaidian. I hope your travels from Haalberg went smoothly. My name is Niklas, and I’ve been appointed by King Botmar to assist you with anything you may need.”
The skinny man bowed, and his glasses slipped down to the tip of his nose. He pushed them back up and gave a toothy smile, his eyes hardly ever making direct contact with Kaid’s for more than a second.
Kaid’s face twisted into mild disgust. “Gods, do I hate the name Kaidian. I go by Kaid. Can you show me to my rooms so I can freshen up before the party?”
Niklas blanched. “Sorry. So sorry, my lord. It won’t happen again. No one mentioned—”
Kaid breezed by Niklas as he was mid-sentence.
Halsten nodded his chin toward Kaid, who was already sauntering toward the castle entrance without the rest of the group. “Better luck next time, mate. The rooms?”
Kaid turned to watch Halsten clap Niklas on the shoulder before he too passed by him.
Niklas sprang forward, running to catch up and lead the way.
In the entry hall, there was a grand staircase with a landing in the middle that split to more stairs going left or right.
The walls were equipped with floor-to-ceiling windows, sandy shore visible through the glass, similar in color to the dark marble Kaid stood on.
The sunlight from the ocean reflected on the golden accents lining the white walls, causing shiny tendrils of light to dance along the surface.
Kaid had been to castles before, but never any this naturally bright.
The nobility in Salendron liked their quarters dim and mysterious, so this was a refreshing change.
The rumble of a crowd caught Kaid’s attention and he started walking toward it, Halsten falling into step behind him.
“My lord!” Niklas cried from the center of the foyer. “Your suite is upstairs!”
Kaid chuckled to himself when he heard Niklas sigh in defeat as he and his friend continued down the hall, leaving their tour guide behind. They came to a grand set of doors, the sound of the crowd bustling within, and a blonde woman pacing to the side of the doorway.
Kaid walked past her and she halted. He peered into the ballroom and observed the massive crowd, staying back to remain out of sight.
“Are you an attendee?” the blonde woman asked, startling Kaid from his spying.
Kaid cleared his throat and ignored her question. “Quite the grand party for a couple who has never met.”
The woman’s eyes narrowed slightly. “It’s not every day that a princess gets engaged. Though I’m not sure it will last.”
“You don’t think the engagement will hold?” Kaid asked, his curiosity instantly piqued.
He tilted his head, observing the woman from head to toe. Her looks were pleasing to the eye—fair skin, blonde waves and captivating emerald eyes. Her figure was small but not weak. If she wasn’t so ill-tempered, Kaid likely would have tested the waters with a seductive remark or two.
She nervously pressed down the front of her high-necked lilac gown.
Kaid couldn’t put a finger on it, but something about the soft color didn’t fit her.
One of her hands clenched into a ball. “Well, you said it yourself. They have never met. The Enrathi line has standards, and as I’m sure you know, the lord has a notorious reputation for seeing women as pieces in his game.
” The woman peeked into the doorway and observed the crowd.
“He hasn’t arrived yet, but I don’t think he will stick around once he realizes that marriage means being tied down, and being tied down means he can’t bed any woman he meets.
I’m also quite positive that the princess doesn’t want to wed such a problematic partner. ”
“I’ve heard the man is a real prick,” Kaid mused.
The woman made a noise that was a combination of a laugh and a scoff. “I don’t need to meet him to determine that. I’ve heard enough. A selfish child is what he is. A spoiled brat who lets his father do the hard work while he reaps the benefits.”
Kaid laughed and looked over his shoulder at Halsten, who was monitoring from down the hall. Halsten gave him a knowing smirk, then grabbed Niklas’s shoulder to hold him in place and stop him from his incessant pacing.
“What if Lord Kaidian is different from the rumors you’ve so willingly believed?”
“He’s not,” the woman said curtly, tugging at the high neckline of her dress.
Kaid had no problem internally admitting that she was correct.
He and Halsten had slept their way through Haalberg and all the surrounding dukedoms. They liked to party, and most of the time, did not give a single fuck about anything other than that.
But why was that such a terrible thing? Until now, Kaid hadn’t any responsibilities.
He was just a duke’s son. The parties were happening regardless of his attendance and the women were willing, so why not seize the moment?
Kaid took her cold stare as his cue to exit. “Enjoy your party. I have a feeling I’ll see you again soon.”
Before she could respond, Kaid walked back to Halsten and Niklas, letting the latter lead them to his suite.