Royal of Darkness

Previously

…As he leaned closer, his gaze locked on mine, I knew that my life had irrevocably changed. The declaration in the Grand Hall was not just a public statement; it was a royal decree that had sealed my fate. I was no longer an outsider looking in. I was Elara Vance, claimed by Prince Valerius Thorne, and the shadows of his kingdom were now my own. The fear was still there, a constant companion, but so was a growing sense of belonging, a strange, unsettling comfort in the embrace of his darkness. My journey into this new world, with all its dangers and its forbidden allure, had truly begun.