The Prince and Mia

tion for the Crown Prince's Welcome Committee was not an honor; it was a summons. A trap. Her blue eyes, bright as Klbasian sapphires, scanned the words again, her heart hamm

anny, becoming a woman defined by her intellect, not her p

sperate library kiss still burned in her memory, and whose unan

so calm, had quaked with a terror Mia had never heard before. "I saw the Queen's eyes on you today, Mia. It was a look that freezes blood. He is the sun, and you are a moth. You will only get burned. Swear to me you will stay away." Mia's silence had been that sworn promise, her only shield. But it had offered little protection from

the Faculty of Administration, peeked in, a dark braid swinging over her shoulder, her ey

e tight. "Worse. I'm on the

rkan-the prodigal son returns! The entire campus will be green with envy." She paused, her smile

the palace. My mother was Princess Myar's nanny. I kn

ty fully piqued. "Knew him how? Like, traded-mud-p

a traitor to her words. "A long time ago. The palace is

're brilliant. And with that hair and those eyes, you look more like a princess than h

t felt brittle enough

with the familiar lines of worry. "Mia, are you certain about this?" she as

Refusing is not an option. It could risk my scholarship." She

observation. "Be careful, my love. The Queen sees everything. Ta

ds settling like a lead

handelier light, a vision of Klbasian nobility. At twenty-two, he was taller, broader, his tailored suit accentuating a powerful frame honed by years abroad. His bronze skin was radiant, his dark hair swept ba

membered, his silver hair thinning. His embrace, however, was warm, his vo

lump forming in his throat. "I'

fire, her bronze complexion glowing and her dark curls bouncing as she hugged him fiercely. "About time!" she whispered,

from the tension coiling in his gut.

sitioning than an embrace. "You look well, Tarkan," she said, her voice smooth but firm. "Your time abroad has served its purpose. Now, your true duties begin." She leaned closer, her tone droppin

The gilded chains of duty were already closing around him. "Of cour

scent of cedar cologne doing little to soothe him. His reflection showed a prince, flawless and c

"Did you know Mia Ritchard was se

w her name on the final list from the university, Your Highne

ears vanished. And then to hear her call me 'Your Highness'... it was like a slap." He ran a hand through his hair, his frustra

emotional storm. "Your Highness, the Queen's expectations rega

anger deflating into a familiar ache. "But I need to know w

"Then move carefully, sir. T

tood amongst the other student volunteers, her navy uniform stiff and foreign against her skin, a stark contrast to her own radiant beauty. Her blond hair was pinned in a severe knot, but loose strands had escaped to frame h

was

ossibly distant. He greeted ministers and ambassadors with an easy, resonant voice, but his t

ry had allowed. The delicate features of the girl had sharpened into the stunning confidence of a woman. Her blond hair shimmered, and her sapphire eyes, wide with a mixture of

ips, the storm raging in her eyes. "Mia," he said. It was a name he hadn

eld of ice. "Your Highness," she replied

Four years," he said, his voice low and raw with the weight of it

m the tabloids-Tarkan smiling, always with a different beautiful woman-stinging anew. "You seemed to manage quite well

e, to shake her, to unravel the web of silence and misunderstandin

eep moving," Ramzi's urge

reat than a sacred vow. He turned, leaving her clutching the programs, her knuckles white, the

on a velvet settee, her bronze skin catching the lamplight, her dark eyes twinkling

popping a fig into her mouth. "Ramzi was practically sweating thr

up, revealing bronze skin taut with tension. "I saw Mia, Myar.

ter all this time?" She leaned forward, her dark curls bouncing. "Tarkan, you haven

every woman in every tabloid-it was all just noise. It was all to drown her out. But today, she was standing right there, more beautiful than ever, and she looked at me as if

n his arm. "Maybe she was just scared, Tarkan. Mother isn't exactly w

." He looked at Myar, his resolve hardening into fierce dete

nd welcome party-dinner, dancing, the whole boring courtly spectacle. I'll invite Mia as my personal guest. I'll say it's

a surge of hope. "You're brilliant, Myar. That's perfect." He pulled her into a quick, grateful h

rt attacks this time. And watch out for Mother, I saw her with Lady

t time since setting foot back in Klbas, he felt a f