CI

She was raised to be a princess. He was raised to survive. Princess Y/N has spent her entire life behind palace walls, protected from the world and controlled by the crown. But after a diplomatic gala, her convoy is ambushed by the Black Vipers, a notorious criminal organisation. Their leader, Damon Voss, intends to use her as a bargaining chip. Then the palace announces that Princess Y/N is dead. With the government refusing to negotiate and assassins closing in, Damon orders his most trusted soldier, Elias Vale, to keep her alive. Elias is cold, imposing and utterly loyal to the Vipers. Y/N is terrified of him. But as days turn into weeks, arguments become conversations. Conversations become trust. And somewhere between stolen moments, whispered confessions and the secrets hiding beneath the crown, Elias begins questioning the orders he’s spent his life obeying. When the people sent to rescue the princess arrive with orders to kill her, Elias makes an impossible choice: obey his leader or save her. Y/N chooses to run. Now a princess who has never known freedom and the criminal assigned to guard her are fugitives from both sides, carrying a secret capable of destroying the kingdom.