They were never meant to find each other again.
Not after the kingdom tore them apart.
Not after he was turned into something dangerous.
Not after she was forced into a crown-and a marriage she never chose.
Tiana is no longer the girl who once laughed beneath a hidden tree.
She is a queen now.
Watched. Controlled. Bound to a king who rules with power instead of mercy, and a life that was decided for her long before she ever had a choice.
Nasir is no longer the boy who once stood beside her.
He is her guard.
Silent. Lethal. Unyielding.
A man shaped by violence... sworn to protect the very woman he was never meant to love.
Their reunion is not soft.
It is sharp.
Tense.
Dangerous.
Because nothing between them is gone.
It has only been buried.
Every glance lingers too long.
Every word feels like a risk.
Every moment alone threatens to expose something neither of them can afford
She belongs to another man.
And he is bound by duty to keep his distance.
But distance was never something they learned how to survive.
When they are discovered alone, the consequences are brutal.
He is punished.
She is silenced.
And the kingdom reminds them both why their story was never meant to be written