"The Queen's Vow"

The throne of Velarion was not made for softness. It was carved from stone, cold even in summer, a warning to all who sat upon it: rule with your head, or lose it.

Queen Seraphina had learned that lesson the day her brother died.

At twenty-eight, she wore the crown like armor. Her gaze cut sharper than any sword, her voice steadier than any general’s. Yet beneath the polished steel of her rule, her heart beat with a secret ache. One she could not name. One she could not show.

Until he came.

Kael Rowan arrived at the palace gates under a stormy sky, his cloak soaked through with rain and blood. The war on the Eastern Border had ended weeks ago, but he carried its ghosts in the tension of his shoulders and the silence of his eyes. Seraphina watched from her balcony as he dismounted, saluted, and disappeared into the halls of her court.

He was not what she expected of her new Royal Guard Commander—too young, too quiet, too unreadable.

That made him dangerous.

That made him interesting.

Chapter I: The Lesson

“You strike too wide,” Kael said, dodging the queen’s blade with maddening ease.

Seraphina growled. “And you talk too much.”

They had begun training under moonlight weeks ago—at her request, and over the protests of her advisors. A queen did not spar. A queen observed. Directed. Ordered.

But Seraphina needed to bleed.

Only Kael could keep up with her fury.

Their swords clashed again, ringing in the silent courtyard. She pressed forward, but he deflected her, twisted behind her, and disarmed her in a single breath. Her blade clattered to the stone.

“Still too wide,” he murmured.

She turned on him, chest heaving. His face was close. Too close. The torchlight flickered over the scar along his jaw, the steel in his eyes.

“I could have you executed for this,” she said, half-smiling.

Kael didn’t flinch. “Then I’ve trained you well enough to try.”

A pause. Too long.

They stepped back at the same time.

Chapter II: The Threat

Prince Adrien of Cordell arrived with roses and veiled threats.

“A union between our houses,” he said, “would ensure Velarion’s survival.”

Translation: Marry me or your throne burns.

Her court urged her to accept. Adrien was powerful, rich, and well-connected. But his eyes were empty. His touch—when he dared—made her skin crawl.

Kael stood behind her throne during the negotiations, silent as ever. But his hands curled into fists. She saw it.

Later that night, in her private chambers, she confronted him.

“You disapprove.”

“I don’t trust him.”

“Because he’s a threat to Velarion?”

His jaw clenched. “Because he’s a threat to you.”

The room fell into silence. The words lingered in the air like smoke. Seraphina stepped closer.

“You forget yourself, Commander.”

“Every night,” he whispered. “Every time I think of you.”

Chapter III: The Vow

She found the letter in her brother’s old chamber. It was a confession—her brother had been betrayed by a man named Rowan.

Kael’s father.

When she confronted Kael, he did not deny it.

“He was a traitor,” Kael said. “And I’ve spent my whole life trying to atone for what he did.”

Her heart cracked.

“I trusted you,” she said.

“You still can.”

“I can’t afford to.”

He knelt before her, not as a soldier, but as a man stripped bare.

“Then let me make a vow,” he said. “Not as your guard. Not as a Rowan. But as a man who loves you.”

She didn’t move. Her breath hitched.

“I vow,” he said, “that no crown, no war, no bloodline will ever come before you. Even if it costs me everything.”

Her heart wanted to believe him. Her crown could not.

And yet…

She lowered herself to the floor before him. For the first time, not as queen—but as Seraphina.

“Then vow it again,” she whispered, her voice breaking.

He did.

Epilogue: Fire and Ashes

War came, as Adrien promised. But Velarion stood tall—because its queen had stopped ruling with only her head.

She ruled with her heart.

By the time the snow melted, Adrien was dead. The traitors were gone. And Seraphina stood at the gates of her kingdom, Kael’s hand in hers, a queen still—but no longer alone.

And on her finger, beside her royal seal, she wore a silver band.

A reminder that even the strongest hearts need someone to guard them.