Royal Suits by Kitty Sterling

Heat Level 4
$4.99
$3.74
Be the first to leave a review
SKU 978-0-3695-1537-7
Stock
Wishlist

Create Wishlist

The Wonderland Trials, 1

Aurora Heart wasn't born to be the Red Queen. That was always her sister's calling. It is the second princess's fate to marry for the kingdom's benefit. Even so she has her heart set on a certain knight, teasing him with a red dress and a laugh like music.

Dorian Butcher is nothing more or less than the man set to protect her. Loving her could put his neck beneath the executioner's axe. That's what he tells himself anyway, doing his best to keep his distance.

Casimir Bishop is a king set to reunite the warring kingdoms of Ambrosia and Rosefall with a wedding. His plan rides on Rosefall's princess, a fiery woman he can't help but be intrigued by.

Be Warned: menage sex (MMF), gay sex, anal sex

Excerpt:

My mother's throne room is as ridiculously ostentatious as ever, with vaulted ceilings and the walls covered in tall stained glass windows depicting the story of her rise to power. The first piece shows her as a princess, regal and confident as she presides over a ball. The grand harvest ball, a celebration of the harvest and trade between Rosefall and Ambrosia. It's a tradition started generations ago and ended by my mother.

The next displays my grandmother—Felicity Heart’s severed head—torn from her body by a woman all in Rosefall would recognize. Delphi Bishop, the princess of Ambrosia, pictured in front of the White Knights, shining armor marred by the blood of the other guests. She stands tall beside a monster of a man, all sharp teeth and blood-red eyes. Her accomplice’s true name was lost to history. All know him as the beast depicted in the third window—the jabberwocky.

He is fearsome, large, and monstrous with jagged teeth, sharp claws, and massive black wings. My mother's doing. She stands strong in front of the creature, swirls of red magic springing from her outstretched hand to surround him. The would-be conquerors, defeated, as Wonderland itself granted my mother the most powerful magic our kingdoms have ever seen. The last window shows a white tower, the jabberwocky perched upon its roof, a crimson chain binding him to the bricks. Delphi's eternal cursed prison of my mother's creation.

“Aurora.” My mother's voice is fierce, and I have the presence of mind to realize it isn't the first time she's called my name.

“Yes, mother?” I sound more bored than I meant to and am rewarded with a plastic smile that looks dangerously like a snarl.

“As I was saying, there has been a proposal.” Her smile is downright scary now, threatening and sadistic.

“A what?” Distantly, I wonder if my sister had found a match our mother found suitable for her perfect heir.

“A proposal, my dear. The King of Ambrosia has died and his heir, the new King Casimir, has requested your hand.”

My hand?

The king of Ambrosia?

She can't be serious.

I feel Dorian go stiff at my back, his breathing harsh and angry. I look to my father, the tall, caramel-skinned man sitting on a throne identical to my mother's at her side. What a joke. He doesn't have any real power. He's an ornament, pretty set dressing. He looks almost guilty as he takes in my desperate expression.

“Darling, your mother has planned this agreement in … excruciating detail. It is for your benefit. You will be queen.”

“Together we can finally unite Wonderland under a banner of … peace.” There's something in her tone I can't quite identify. Maybe it's just her ability to seem sinister no matter the occasion. She could make a perfectly delicious tea cake look poisoned simply by handing it to you.

“No,” I reply, shaking my head. My voice cracks. “No, you can't make me marry a man who surely wants us all dead after what you did to his mother!”

“Don't forget, dear girl,” she growls, though her smile doesn't waver, “what his mother did to mine.” She casts a glance at the window portraying my grandmother's death. “We have reached an agreement. Peace is better for both our kingdoms, as a lack of open trade has crippled us both.”

She's not wrong. Without the fine textiles from Ambrosia, our economy has suffered, and many of our finer linens and silks are age-old. Only we, as the royal family, have access to the textiles brought across the border by the Mad Hatter. And Ambrosia must be suffering as well without our spices and sugarcane. I suddenly wish I'd paid more attention to my lessons with Duchess Pepper.

“I … I understand, Mother,” I reply, my rapidly rising tone falling flat as I accept my fate. Nothing will stop her plans even if the knave has to bind me and carry me to the altar.

“Wonderful.” The queen claps her hands together, and the plastic falls away from her smile. She's genuinely pleased, which sends a shock of satisfaction through me that I resent. I hate that I care what she thinks, that I want to make her proud.

 

Series:
/series-the-wonderland-trials/