He was born with a curse.A heart untouched by warmth, incapable of feeling love,yet cloaked in charm and charisma that drew people to him like moths to flame.The cruel irony?Any woman who dared to love the cursed king… would die.Three queens had already perished. Three wives had loved him, and three funerals had followed. Still, the kingdom needed a ruler beside its king. And so, the tradition endured: whenever the king sought a queen, a Selection was held.Ten young women.Chosen,volunteered or sacrificed by their families.Three months in the palace.Eliminated one by one… until only one remained.Not the one who loved him.But the one who wouldn’t.Elsie Noah never thought she’d be chosen.Her family wasn’t power-hungry or desperate. They had no reason to offer her up to a life of danger, to the arms of a man whose love was a death sentence.When her best friends name is mentioned she's immediately sad, wondering what would be of her.And then the next second her name is mentioned, what is that? A glitch in the system they say, nevertheless she ought to come, 11 girls this time.Her goal is simple: be the first to leave. Smile politely, stay out of trouble, and make it clear she has no interest in crowns, kingdoms, or cursed kings.But as days turn into weeks, Elsie finds herself drawn deeper into palace life… not to the king, but to the man who stands beside him,his fiercely loyal, sharp-eyed royal guard.Falling for the king means death.Falling for his guard? Treason.Elsie must choose between her heart and her safety, between duty and desire… and she must do it under the watchful eye of a king cursed to be unloved.

The Kingdom of Alièsa stands at a crossroads. Its fae king, Caspian, is without a queen, in the kingdom if a king cannot find a queen himself, tradition calls for a Choosing,a grand event where noblewomen compeye for the throne. Caspian remains reluctant. Nevertheless, the ancient custom must be honored, and twenty ladies from esteemed families across the land are summoned to compete for the king’s heart and the chance to rule by his side.Adelina Jeurous has spent her entire life preparing for this moment. Groomed by her ambitious parents, she sees the Choosing as her destiny. When the invitation arrives, she feels a rush of exhilaration,not only for the opportunity to win the throne but also because her beloved cousin, Aina, has also been chosen. But court life is not as simple as Adelina imagined. Beneath the dazzling surface lies a web of alliances, rivalries, and unexpected feelings. As the competition heats up, Adelina finds herself inexplicably drawn to someone she shouldn’t—the king’s enigmatic cousin. Torn between her lifelong dream of becoming queen and the desires of her heart, she faces choices that could change the course of her life.Aina Jeurous, on the other hand, has no such ambitions. She never sought a crown, and the invitation to the Choosing left her very bewildered. But the chance to spend time with Adelina, and perhaps shield her cousin from the court’s pitfalls, convinces her to go.What begins as a lighthearted scheme to make the king favor Adelina takes an unexpected turn when Aina catches Caspian’s attention. To her dismay, the king seems intent on pursuing her, even as Aina’s heart wavers between loyalty to her cousin and thoughts of someone waiting for her back home.As secrets unravel and emotions deepen, both cousins find themselves entangled in a dance of love, duty, and ambition. In the end, who will win the king’s heart—and at what

The Kingdom of Alièsa stands at a crossroads. Its fae king, Caspian, is without a queen, in the kingdom if a king cannot find a queen himself, tradition calls for a Choosing,a grand event where noblewomen compeye for the throne. Caspian remains reluctant. Nevertheless, the ancient custom must be honored, and twenty ladies from esteemed families across the land are summoned to compete for the king’s heart and the chance to rule by his side.Adelina Jeurous has spent her entire life preparing for this moment. Groomed by her ambitious parents, she sees the Choosing as her destiny. When the invitation arrives, she feels a rush of exhilaration,not only for the opportunity to win the throne but also because her beloved cousin, Aina, has also been chosen. But court life is not as simple as Adelina imagined. Beneath the dazzling surface lies a web of alliances, rivalries, and unexpected feelings. As the competition heats up, Adelina finds herself inexplicably drawn to someone she shouldn’t—the king’s enigmatic cousin. Torn between her lifelong dream of becoming queen and the desires of her heart, she faces choices that could change the course of her life.Aina Jeurous, on the other hand, has no such ambitions. She never sought a crown, and the invitation to the Choosing left her very bewildered. But the chance to spend time with Adelina, and perhaps shield her cousin from the court’s pitfalls, convinces her to go.What begins as a lighthearted scheme to make the king favor Adelina takes an unexpected turn when Aina catches Caspian’s attention. To her dismay, the king seems intent on pursuing her, even as Aina’s heart wavers between loyalty to her cousin and thoughts of someone waiting for her back home.As secrets unravel and emotions deepen, both cousins find themselves entangled in a dance of love, duty, and ambition. In the end, who will win the king’s heart—and at what