Fit For a Princess Sneak Peek

   Warning! This Prologue contains major spoilers for Fit For A Prince and Fit For A Princess. Please refrain from reading unless you have already enjoyed book 1 & 2, or spoil at your own risk. 

Mara

The Night of the Siege

Fire blazed outside the window, my reflection flickering in the glass in sync to the candle burning on the table behind me. My scarred face haunted me in that window, reminding me of the pain that burning palace was capable of dealing.

I closed the curtains, but it didn’t block out the glow from the flames as much as I had hoped. The tiny candle’s flame made me uneasy, it’s controlled burn reminding me of the chaos creeping up on us outside.

Where is he?

As if hearing my wish, the cottage door flew open, blasting a rush of warm air inside that immediately snuffed out my candle. I jumped around, our eyes locking with a shared terror that unsettled me to the core.

“Oren!” I rushed to his side, instinctually grabbing the candlestick to carry over despite it only leaving a trail of smoke. “What’s happening out there? Did you hear anything?”

He stumbled forward kicking the door shut behind him, his aged hands grasping at the air until they found my fingers. He squeezed me so tightly, his eyes full of horrors that his lungs couldn’t find the breath to share. 

“Oren?” I repeated, my heart rising up in my throat to slowly choke me with each throb. “What has happened to Ivalon?”

“We... we must run, Mara.” Oren finally found his voice, but I never would have believed the words came from him if I hadn’t seen it through the fading candle’s smoke. “Immediately.”

“Run? But what about–”

“We’ve no choice,” Oren’s voice cracked, the sound stunning me more than a lightning strike. Throughout all the years Oren had raised me, never once had I seen him afraid. “The Aemastians have already overrun the castle, they’re killing anyone who resists them.” He reached for my face, cupping my blemished cheek. “And even some who aren’t resisting.”

I started noticing the screams then. The crackling of the fire had smothered all sounds within a mile of the castle, but now I could hear where it was harmonizing with the wails of a dying people.

This... this isn’t what was supposed to happen.

“Y-you said they were in the castle. The prince...” My tongue went dry, the taste of smoke already settling in. “Is the prince still...?”

“I don’t know,” he said firmly, regaining some of the strength his fear had taken from him at the mention of the royal. He pushed past me, moving into the cabin to grab my cloak off a peg. “But I know we won’t live long enough to find out if we don’t run now.”

Run? After everything I’ve waited for. I’m just supposed to run?

My hesitation may have been the death of me, because while I was waiting to accept my cloak, someone had their sights set on our quiet cottage. The shadow of the castle wasn’t enough to hide our home when the door suddenly flew off its hinges. 

Oren and I both jumped, dropping the cloak, and me the useless candlestick, as he rushed to pull me into the safety of his arms.

The heavy thud of iron marked the knight’s footsteps, his black armor covering him from head to toe like he’d just been burnt by the flames. A wicked sword glinted in his gloved gripped, polished so bright that any victim could easily see their own death in its swing.

“Stay back, Mara...” Oren whispered, trying his best to shield me as he bravely stood before the black knight. 

Two more knights trailed inside, their armor speckled with even more ash and blood. I couldn’t look away from the lead knight, his dark eyes mesmerizing me like the charm of a snake brimming with venom. He was silent, so much so that he stood out in the mess of noises closing in around us. Was this what looking death in the eyes felt like?

It wouldn’t be my first time. 

Those shadowed eyes found me, the impact of their gaze forcing me back a half step. I clung to the cotton tie on my dress, tangling it in my fingers as I waited for my executioner to finally end the life that no one would ever miss.

If I die, at least Ivalon will die with me.

“Take the girl with the others,” the knight said, his voice far smoother than I had expected. “Kill the old man, he’ll be of no use.”

“What?” I blurted out, my voice barely more than air as I felt Oren’s grip loosen on me, his acceptance silent, but clear. “N-no!”

I stepped in front of him, my legs trembling but still moving on their own. Oren couldn’t die here. Out of all the people in this horrid kingdom, he’s the only person who deserved to live.

“Step aside, girl,” one of the other knights said, as the lead knight turned to leave. “If you give us trouble then you’ll just die with him.”

“Mara, go,” Oren urged me, his voice disgustingly brave. 

“I will not!” I snapped, my defiance loud enough to make the lead knight pause in the doorway, his silhouette blazing with the fiery scene beyond our doors. Never in my life had I possessed an ounce of power, but if there was ever any to be had, I was going to use it on the father I didn’t deserve. “I command you not to hurt him!”

The knights barely even blinked, one of them even stifling a laugh as they towered over me. The lead knight wasn’t quite as humored. He turned from the doorway, his slow, foreboding steps weakening my legs with each inch closer he came. He didn’t stop until he was face to helmet with me, offering me a full view of those dark eyes that could hide anything they ever wanted.

“And who are you to tell my men anything?” His low growl simmered just beneath my skin.

“I...” The secret clung to my lips, sealed away by a lifetime of protection and fear. I flicked my gaze toward the doorway, my stomach lurching as I saw a clear view of the fiery inferno burning down the castle walls. There was nothing left there that could hurt me now, all I needed to protect was myself. “I-I am the heir of this kingdom. The unnamed princess that King Septimus discarded.”

Oren’s soft gasp was the only thing I heard, mostly because the knight in front of me was still painfully silent. I clasped my hands together, trying to control the shaking so this man would find any way to believe me.

“The princess?” One of the other knights whispered. “I thought that the first daughter was killed?”

“She’s telling the truth,” Oren said, stepping alongside me in sudden support. He reached into his pocket, removing a silver badge marked with the crest of the Ivalonian military. “I was the soldier instructed with killing her, but instead, I spared her life and scarred her face to protect her.” His voice tightened with guilt, just like the skin around my scar. “Look at her in the light, you can still see the king’s blood in her eyes.”

To my surprise, the knight leaned in, studying my blue eyes to see if they were going to seal my death certificate or not. I couldn’t breathe while he was so close, and I didn’t dare move. I watched his eyes narrow, my heart hammering as he inched back and then silently inspected Oren’s badge.

“Do you have any other proof to back up this claim?” the knight asked.

“Nothing,” I said honestly, certain that all records of my birth were out of my reach. I clenched my fingers, gazing down at the hands that were meant to be adorned with satin gloves and rings. There were so many things I had been cheated from in this life, and so many people who were burning while I bargained. “Nothing, other than my hatred for the prince that the king favored in place of me.” I stared straight through him, the fire no doubt flickering in my gaze as the smoke watered my eyes.

“You hate Prince Damon?” the knight asked with a lilt of curiosity in his low voice.

“Greatly so,” I said, my chest tight just thinking about the royals I lived beneath. “Tell me, does your king plan to kill Damon today?”

That awful silence of his followed, but I found myself enjoying it as the anticipation of his answer built up in me.

“Yes,” he finally said, my heart lifting like it had been freed from its cage.

I smiled.

“What about Leopold?” I asked next.

“From my understanding, he’s already dead.” I could have sworn I heard a smile in his voice too.

“Good.” I unclenched my fists, the wash of relief I felt blissful enough for me to block out the rest of the screams. “Then I can die in peace if you choose not to spare me.” I said, feeling the weight of my birth lift off my shoulders just in time for my death. “I only wish I could have been there to watch the life fade from Leopold’s eyes...”

I closed my eyes preparing for my end and the peace that would come with it. There was never any use for me as a princess, and even less use for me now that my kingdom had fallen. Killing me would just be another prize for this knight to collect, my blood only slightly more blue than the rest of the lives he would claim.

And then I felt his hand brush my scar.

My eyes fluttered open, his gaze softening with a calculating look that made me feel the first ounce of value that I’d felt in years.

“Who else knows your secret?” he rasped softly.

“Only those in this room,” I breathed, his gloved hand rough against my skin as he traced the scar down to my chin, then pulled his hand away.

He turned his back toward me, sword drawn and silence as loud as ever as he pointed his blade at the other two knights. Before I could even process what he was doing, it was already done. The other two knights were dead on the ground, their last words never having a chance to be spoken before their voices could challenge the lead knight’s silence. 

He sheathed his sword, my heart hammering as he moved back to me and Oren, my shaking gone as I felt my fear melt into ambition. This man’s power mesmerized me, tattooing his covered face into my heart like a painful, but beautiful memory.

“What’s your name, Princess?” he asked, holding out the hand that now had fresh flecks of blood on it.

“Mara,” I replied, accepting his hand like we were at some sort of masked ball.

“It’s your lucky day, Princess Mara. My name is Prince Lochlan of Aemastia,” he said, pulling off his helmet with his free hand. He was dreadfully handsome, his chiseled features captivating me as I felt him raise my hand to his lips for a brief kiss. “And I love keeping secrets, especially in chains.”