Stories worth staying up for
Rowan has been a slave in House Croft since he was nine years old. He secretly loves his master, Duke Lysander Croft, and quietly protects him in every way, tasting his wine for poison, nursing him through fevers, and paying off his debts in secret. Lysander never notices. To settle his late father's debt, he sells Rowan to the cruel General Harrow Vance and throws the bill of sale at his feet. On his first night in Vance's house, the general attacks Rowan, then suddenly dies from poisoned wine. Rowan is found holding a knife beside the body and is chased through the rainy capital as a murderer. When the guards corner him, Emperor Dorian Valemont of Norvhal steps in and saves him. Dorian recognizes the silver mark on Rowan's wrist. It is the royal seal of the fallen kingdom of Aurelis. Rowan is the lost prince, the baby Dorian carried out of the burning palace as a child and lost at the river gate. Dorian has been searching for him ever since.