My heart sank as my father's words echoed through the grand hall. A royal vacation? The very idea had filled me with hope, a glimmer of a chance to spend quality time with Asher, away from the prying eyes of the palace. But it seemed that fate had different plans for me. Daddy wanted to go alone and he ordered me to stay put in the palace, nevertheless, I didn’t mind that much because I would be alone with Asher.

As the anticipation of solitude and freedom dissolved into thin air, a sense of disappointment washed over me. My father's sister, Aunt Violet, had been summoned to the palace, bearing...