In a kingdom where the moon chooses its rulers and love is a death sentence, Lyria Vale has spent her life in hiding. As a rare Moonborn, her silver-marked eyes make her both powerful and cursed-destined to be bound to the king and sacrificed to the stars. When the ruthless King Caius Thorne claims her as his Celestial Consort, Lyria is thrust into a world of courtly intrigue, dark prophecies, and a bond that pulls them together even as they fight to resist it. But the palace whispers of a deadly fate-no Moonborn consort has ever survived the bond for more than a year. With rebellion brewing and a hidden past unraveling, Lyria must decide: embrace the magic that ties her to a king she cannot trust, or break the cycle and doom them both. In a war of fate and love, will she shatter the curse... or become its next victim?
Chapter 1 The Chosen & The Bond
In the quiet village of Sablewood, Lyria lived a humble life as a healer, her gift for mending wounds and curing ailments was kept in careful secrecy. One crisp autumn morning, her world shattered. King's soldiers stormed her modest cottage, binding her in chains, and dragged her to the capital. Her heart heavy with fear, she left behind the life she knew.
In the grand capital of Eryndor, the icy palace loomed like a silent specter.
The courtiers whispered, their eyes alight with curiosity and disdain. In fear and shame Lyria sought ways to hide her face admist the staring eyes when suddenly Caius the prince with stormy eyes and a demeanor as cold as the marble halls touched her hair as an attempt to see her face, Lyria being scared shook from price Caius's touch, this gazzlig moment made Caius feel warm as he whisppered to Lyria " lowly one, how are you called and what is your accusation". Lyria lifted up her head as an attempt to respond to prince Caius, and behold prince Caius caught a beautiful glaze of her big bold eyes, amazed by such beauty, prince Caius ordered she be brought to his chambers at once but the royal gardes denied as a special order was gotten that she be brought only before the king; Caius felt dissappoited and immediately sorted his father.
Finally before the king and the royal council, Lyria was setenced to the performance of the Moonbound Oath ritual, Lyria cried begged and resisted as much as she could but despite her resistance, the Moonbound Oath was performed, an ancient ritual binding her fate irreversibly to Caius.
Lyria's dreams grew dark and haunting. Each night, visions of past consorts, their tragic fates entwined with the curse, plagued her sleep. The bond tightened, a spectral chain around her heart. She fought it, her will so strong, but the palace walls began to close in on her.
As the days turned to weeks, a tentative understanding blossomed between Caius and Lyria. Beneath his cold exterior, she glimpsed a soul weighed down by the same curse that haunted her dreams. A grand masked ball was held in her honor, a dazzling spectacle that masked the court's undercurrents of intrigue and betrayal. That night, amidst the revelry, an assassin struck, their blade aimed at Lyria's heart.
The attempt on her life left Lyria more determined. She delved into the palace's hidden lore and uncovered the first piece of the curse's dark origin. The Shade of Isolde, a wraithlike apparition, appeared to her, warning of the cycle that bound her and Caius together. The shadows of the past reached out, their tendrils entwining with the present.
Meanwhile, in the palace's labyrinthine corridors, Riven, a charismatic rogue with secrets of his own, made his move. He sought to sway Lyria to his side, promising freedom from the curse. As whispers of rebellion grew louder, Taron, a spy for the insurgents, infiltrated the palace, his mission unclear but his intentions veiled in shadows.
With danger lurking at every corner and alliances shifting like the sands, Lyria stood at the precipice of a destiny she could not yet fathom. The pieces of the curse's origin slowly came together, painting a picture of a past filled with love, betrayal, and an unbroken cycle that threatened to consume her.
Other books by nyonghaayuk790
More