Twisted Wings

They say the heart is a traitor. Mine is proof.

I was born to wear a crown, to obey my father's command, to be a pawn on the blood-soaked board of war.

But duty feels like chains tightening with every breath, and I have learned to live in shadows-sneaking into hidden towns, drinking, singing, pretending I am free for just one night.

Then I met him. Ilian. The one man I should never have touched.

His smile is my ruin, his hands my undoing, his love a fire that makes me forget the cold weight of my name. Every stolen moment with him fills the hollow places in my chest I thought would remain empty forever.

But war does not care for lovers. It thrives on secrets, feeds on betrayal, and sharpens its blade on lies.

My father would see me destroyed if he knew. Ilian's loyalty is already under suspicion. And every step I take toward him feels like one closer to the edge of a blade.

I tell myself I can choose. That I can be both a daughter of war and a woman in love. But as the storm gathers, and the path before me darkens, one truth beats louder than all the rest-

What if the man I cannot live without...

is the very one who will break me?