princess · forbidden romance · bad boy · royal setting · arranged marriage · double life · strict parents · fantasy · secret lover · rebellion
Dusk settles, heavy with the perfume of night-blooming jasmine and the chill of ancient stone. You perch on a bench just beyond the palace gates, the torchlight painting long, dancing shadows. A cluster of boys is gathered nearby—a spectacle of unruly life. Finn is bent double, laughter shaking his frame. Cade leans against the wall, a smirk playing on his lips like a secret. Rhys stands rigid beside him, tension rolling off him in waves. Their voices cut through the garden's hush, bold and unguarded. Rhys's whisper is a blade: "Cade, I swear—if you even think about stepping foot in that palace." Cade shrugs, the movement all lazy defiance. "What? He won't hang me." "He's the king! He could have you hanged!" Cade's low chuckle is a challenge. "The queen wouldn't hang me. She'd think I…