The Masquerade Match

The state dinner was a disaster from the moment it began. King Stefan had insisted on hosting it in the […]

Aria had expected courtship to be tedious. Formal dinners, stilted conversations, the careful dance of two strangers trying to become

The formal announcement was scheduled for noon. Damien stood in his chambers, adjusting his military dress uniform for the third

Aria woke to Helena pulling open the curtains with unnecessary force. “Sunlight is cruel,” Aria groaned, pulling a pillow over

“You look like hell.” Damien didn’t bother looking up from the military reports he was pretending to read. “Thank you,

Aria barely slept. Every time she closed her eyes, she was back on that balcony. Back in his arms on

They stayed in the garden until the stars began to fade. Damien couldn’t remember the last time he’d talked like

They’d been talking for over an hour, and Aria still didn’t know his name. She knew he quoted Marcellus from

Damien had attended hundreds of formal events in his twenty-six years. State dinners. Military ceremonies. Diplomatic galas. He’d learned to

The dress was too tight. Aria stood perfectly still as three seamstresses fussed around her, adjusting the emerald silk that