The Crown He Chose to Leave: A Love Stronger Than a Kingdom

di Lucian Reef (Autore)

Lucian Reef, 2025

Prince Carthea Athelion returns to his kingdom with a secret heavier than any crown and a bond the court would destroy if they ever uncovered it. Once, he ran from the palace to escape the life chosen for him. Now he walks its halls again—an unwilling heir trapped beneath duty, ceremony, and eyes that judge his every breath. The court sees a prince reclaimed. The Queen sees a son restored. But Carthea knows the truth: nothing about this life feels like his. The one person who makes staying bearable is the one person he cannot claim— Rozan Vale, the warrior who trained beside him at the Citadel, fought through illusions to reach him, and saw the real Carthea long before the crown did. To keep Rozan close without exposing their forbidden bond, the Queen assigns him the role of Shadow Guard, a position that demands absolute loyalty and absolute silence. Rozan must walk at Carthea's side yet behave as if they are strangers. He must watch over the prince without reaching for him. He must protect him without ever letting "protection" become something more. But the kingdom is shifting. A covert faction spreads fear through the palace. Assassins slip into hidden passages. Enemies Carthea made at the Citadel now move through the marble corridors with new purpose. When Rozan uncovers sabotage in the guard ranks, Carthea realizes the threats closing in are not aimed at the crown—they are aimed at him. And then the mountain roars. A Fallen Drake, bound by ancient blood to Carthea's lineage, awakens from centuries of slumber. Its call shakes the throne and drags Carthea toward a destiny carved in fire and loss. The closer the creature draws, the more Carthea's buried memories rise: his father's death, the expectations that strangled his childhood, the terror of becoming something he never chose to be. Rozan becomes Carthea's anchor as the world tilts— protecting him through political storms, moonlit ceremonies, and nights where the palace walls feel more like a cage. But when Rozan is nearly killed protecting him, Carthea discovers a power within himself he cannot ignore, born of blood he wishes he did not carry. The encounter with the Fallen Drake forces Carthea to face the truth neither the court nor the Queen can accept: he cannot be the king they want. With the Queen's failing health and the court's pressure mounting, Carthea must make the most devastating choice of his life. Will he ascend the throne and sacrifice Rozan for the kingdom's stability? Or will he walk away from the crown entirely, choosing the man who has stood between him and every blade fate has thrown? When Carthea stands before the court and speaks the words no heir has ever dared, the palace trembles. Chains break. Masks shatter. And for the first time, Carthea feels the sky open around him—not as a prince, not as an heir, but as a man who chose his own path. The throne was his birthright. Rozan is his choice. Together, they step beyond the borders of Athelion, toward a world waiting to be reclaimed—not with a crown, but with freedom and a love strong enough to defy a kingdom. THE CROWN HE CHOSE TO LEAVE delivers an epic, emotional finale of dragons, destiny, sacrifice, and the slow-burn romance of two souls who refuse to let the world decide their fate.

• Autore: Lucian Reef
• Anno edizione: 2025
• Editore: Lucian Reef
• Formato: EPUB2 con DRMFREE
• Lingua: Inglese
• Compatibilità: Tutti i dispositivi (eccetto Kindle)
• Layout: Reflowable
• EAN: 9798231620845