👑📖🔥 CHAPTER ONE
Her Bodyguard Is the Prince
⸻
The first thing I noticed about him was his silence.
He stood at the far end of the royal corridor, dressed in black from head to toe, his back straight, his hands folded behind him like a shadow that had learned how to breathe. Most bodyguards looked intimidating on purpose—bulging muscles, hard stares, weapons on display.
This one did not try.
And somehow, that made him more dangerous.
"Princess Amara," my lady-in-waiting whispered as we approached, "that is your new personal guard."
I stopped walking.
New guard?
My father had already assigned three this year. Two too proud. One too loud. All of them more interested in bowing to the crown than actually protecting me.
I looked at the man again. He didn't bow when I stopped in front of him. He didn't even lift his head.
Rude.
"What is your name?" I asked.
Silence.
My brows knitted together. "Did you not hear me?"
Slowly—deliberately—he raised his eyes.
Dark. Calm. Watching.
"Kael," he said. Just one word.
No title. No Your Highness. No unnecessary respect.
My heart skipped, uninvited.
"That's all?" I asked.
"Yes."
I should have dismissed him immediately.
Instead, I found myself studying the faint scar near his jaw, the controlled way he stood as if he were always ready for war. This was not a man trained merely to protect.
This was a man trained to survive.
"You will walk behind me," I said sharply. "And you will speak only when spoken to."
"As you wish," Kael replied.
But something in his tone told me he did not belong to me.
⸻
That night, I couldn't sleep.
The palace was too quiet—too perfect. I slipped out of my chambers, barefoot, wrapped in a silk robe, craving air that did not smell of rules and duty.
I didn't expect him to be there.
Kael stood on the balcony overlooking the city, moonlight carving his face into sharp lines. He did not turn when I stepped closer.
"You follow your princess even at night?" I asked.
"I follow danger," he replied.
I laughed softly. "You think I am danger?"
"No," he said. "I think danger follows you."
Before I could respond, his hand shot out, gripping my wrist and pulling me back.
An arrow struck the pillar where I had been standing.
My scream died in my throat.
Kael moved fast—too fast—his body shielding mine as he dragged me into the shadows. His arm wrapped around me, firm, protective, leaving no room for fear.
"Stay quiet," he whispered against my ear.
I felt his breath. Steady. Controlled.
Royal guards flooded the balcony moments later, shouting, searching.
When it was over, Kael released me, already stepping away as if the closeness meant nothing.
But it meant everything to me.
"Who are you?" I whispered.
For the first time, his mask cracked.
In his eyes, I saw something dangerous. Something royal.
Something that did not belong to a bodyguard.
"I am not who they think I am, Princess," he said quietly.
Then he walked away.
And I knew—
my life had just changed forever.
👑📖🔥 CHAPTER TWO
Her Bodyguard Is the Prince
⸻
Sleep abandoned me completely.
Every time I closed my eyes, I saw the arrow. The way it sliced through the night air. The way Kael had moved—not like a guard, but like someone who had faced death too many times to fear it.
At dawn, the palace buzzed with rumors.
An assassination attempt.
Father was furious. Extra guards were stationed at every entrance. Councils were called. Accusations whispered.
And yet… Kael was nowhere to be found.
"Where is my bodyguard?" I asked a passing servant.
She lowered her voice. "Summoned by the king."
My chest tightened.
⸻
The throne room doors were slightly open when I arrived. I shouldn't have listened. I shouldn't have paused.
But I did.
"…no ordinary guard could have reacted that quickly," my father said, his voice sharp with suspicion. "Where were you trained?"
"Far from here," Kael replied calmly.
"And your loyalty?"
"Unquestionable."
I stepped into the room. "Father."
Both men turned.
My father's expression softened instantly. "Amara, you should be resting."
"I am fine," I said, though my hands trembled. "I want Kael to remain my guard."
Silence fell like a blade.
My father studied Kael for a long moment. Then he nodded once. "Very well. But he answers to me."
Kael bowed—deeply this time.
The first time I had seen him bow.
⸻
Later that afternoon, we walked through the palace gardens in silence.
"You didn't tell me you were summoned," I said.
"You didn't ask," Kael replied.
I huffed. "You enjoy being difficult."
"No," he said. "I enjoy you being alive."
I stopped walking.
He stopped too.
Our eyes met, and for a heartbeat, the world shrank to just us.
"Someone tried to kill me," I said quietly. "And you knew it would happen."
"Yes."
"Why?"
He looked away, jaw tight. "Because the crown you wear is heavier than you know."
"Then tell me," I demanded. "Who wants me dead?"
He hesitated.
That hesitation terrified me more than the arrow.
"I cannot," he said. "Not yet."
⸻
That night, the rain came hard and sudden.
I stood at my window, watching lightning split the sky, when a soft knock sounded at my door.
Kael.
His clothes were wet. His expression unreadable.
"They moved sooner than expected," he said.
My heart pounded. "Who?"
"The ones who believe the throne should belong to me."
The words hung in the air.
"Belong to… you?" I whispered.
Kael stepped inside and closed the door behind him.
Slowly, deliberately, he went to one knee.
"I was born Prince Kaelen of the Northern Crown," he said. "Exiled. Hunted. Presumed dead."
The room spun.
"You're lying," I breathed.
"I wish I were."
Thunder roared outside as he lifted his head to meet my eyes.
"I was sent to protect you," he continued, "because your death would start a war."
"And because," he added softly, "you are the only one who can save the kingdom."
I swallowed hard.
"And who will save me from you?" I asked.
For the first time, fear flickered across his face.
"I don't know," he said.