The Promised Prince: A YA Dystopian Romance

by Kortney Keisel

  Trev hid at the edge of the party and watched the crowd, safely wrapped in shadows as he leaned against a stone pillar of the palace wall. Citizens danced, ate, and drank—appearing, at least for the moment, content with their king and country. Seran mingled through the guests, smiling at young children, shaking hands with their parents. She was the perfect hostess—working the crowd like a queen.

  Even though the people were clearly enjoying the festivities, the entire event was just political posturing on King Carver’s part. It was all part of his master plan to impress the queen and princess, to show them how generously he treated his people and how much they loved him for it in return. Trev scoffed as he thought back to the conversation he’d had with his father earlier when he’d emerged from the mud as Tournament Champion.

  “That was brilliant!” his father had said, actually clapping him on the shoulder as Crosby pulled him up and handed him a clean towel.

  “Thanks,” Trev had said hesitantly. He couldn’t remember the last time the king had seemed happy with him.

  “To see you take control of the situation with Joniss was excellent maneuvering. Joniss was the clear favorite with the people, and then you stepped in and put the attention back on yourself. Now the people see you as their strong, fearless champion. And tonight you’ll seal it with a fairytale kiss between the royal lovers. I couldn’t have planned it better myself.”

  Then the king had tightened his grip on Trev’s shoulder, squeezing it uncomfortably as he leaned close and whispered, “You better be glad you didn’t lose. You could have lost the election for us today.”

  “I knew I could win.” Trev had met his father’s eyes squarely and shrugged him off, careful to make the movement look accidental as he passed the towel over his arms.

  Thinking back on the conversation now, Trev was alarmed by how cold and calculating his father could be. But was Trev much better? He’d had his own motives for entering the competition, and he wasn’t proud of them. His reasons had nothing to do with Seran or the election and everything to do with keeping Joniss away from Renna.

  “The kiss will be the finale of the evening,” his father had said.

  Trev wasn’t looking forward to such a public display, but it was better than watching Joniss kiss Renna.

  Even when he wasn’t trying, his eyes always found her, like a magnet to metal. She stood across the courtyard with a group of men and, of course, Joniss was there, front and center. Each time Renna smiled up at him, Trev’s stomach tensed. Surely she didn’t see anything in him. But what if she did? He needed to warn her about him.

  This was about friendship. It had nothing to do with jealousy. A good friend would warn her about somebody like Joniss—how he used people to get ahead and then tossed them aside when their usefulness expired.

  Trev waited until she separated from the group to get a drink, then slowly made his way through the crowd to where she stood. It felt like forever since he’d had a decent conversation with her—since they’d joked on the training field.

  He casually moved to her side, careful to keep his eyes on the dancing in front of them and not on Renna. “Miss Degray, are you enjoying the festival?” he asked.

  Renna lowered her cup, eyeing him. “Yes, thank you.”

  Trev cleared his throat. “I’m glad.” He noticed how her perfume lingered around him, and he secretly wondered what it would feel like to touch her.

  Nope.

  Never mind.

  No touching, and no thinking about touching.

  “I’m not going to dance with you,” she said plainly, keeping her eyes straight ahead.

  “I would be offended if you did,” he quipped back.

  “Well, I’d be offended if you asked me.”

  He raised his eyebrows at her. “I’m not going to.”

  “Good,” she said, raising her chin.

  “Good.” He could see a playful gleam in her eyes and the way she bit back a smile.

  They stood in silence for a moment, watching the people in front of them.

  “Are you enjoying the party?” Renna asked, nodding toward his hiding spot behind the pillar. “Because you looked strange over there, watching everyone from the shadows.”

  “I was spying.” He turned his head and widened his eyes for dramatic effect. Renna snorted, giving him a rush of satisfaction. He loved to make her laugh.

  “I’ve been thinking about the so-called spies,” she said.

  “Really?” That surprised him, and he turned to face her.

  “Yes, really.” She scrunched her nose at him. “Tolsten spies wouldn’t be able to get information about your military unless someone high up told them what the plans were. I don’t think your problem is spies. I think your problem is an informer.”

  “An informer.” Trev let that sink in a moment. “You’re right. I’ve been so blinded by everything else, but you are absolutely right. Thank you.”

  “You don’t have to thank me. I could be wrong, you know.”

  “Well, if you’re wrong and I make a fool of myself, I’ll be sure to blame you.” He nudged her with his elbow.

  Oops.

  No touching.

  No flirting.

  Trev quickly turned back to the crowd of dancing people in front of them.

  “I guess congratulations are in order,” she said. “I’m sure winning the tournament will help you with the election.”

  “I didn’t do it for the election. I did it for the kiss.”

  “Oh.” Her shoulders sank a little bit.

  “No, not for the kiss,” Trev stammered, trying to explain. “I meant, I did it, so Joniss wouldn’t kiss yo—” He stopped himself, and their eyes met. He took a deep breath and swallowed back his real answer, replacing it with what he ought to say. “So he wouldn’t kiss Seran.”

  Renna turned her gaze to the dancing, nodding her head dramatically. “Of course.”

  Trev stared at her for a moment, definitely not memorizing every curve of her face.

  “I don’t know what the big deal is between you and Joniss,” she said.

  Trev stiffened, reminded of the reason he was there. “That’s what I wanted to talk to you about. I don’t like Joniss.”

  “I can tell,” she smirked. “You two look like you want to kill each other all the time.”

  “Maybe I do want to kill him.” He laughed it off, hoping she sensed he was joking.

  “He’s not that bad,” she said, rolling her eyes.

  “You’ve spent a couple of hours with him. You couldn’t possibly know the depths of his evilness.”

  “Evilness?” Her neck cocked back. “Good grief. That sounds serious.”

  “Why are you defending him so much?” His voice held irritation.

  “He’s been nice to me.”

  Now it was Trev’s turn to roll his eyes. “None of that is genuine. He’s using you. He’s made you part of this stupid competition we have against each other.”

  Her eyebrows raised. “Is it impossible to believe that he might actually like me?”

  “Trust me, I am very aware of how likable you are.” He couldn’t hide the bitterness in his voice. “But Joniss is trouble. I want you to stay away from him.”

  Renna gave a sardonic laugh. “You want me to stay away from him? You don’t have a say in who I spend my time with.”

  “Renna, I’m trying to help you.”

  “I don’t need your help,” she snapped. “Instead, worry about your fiancée and what she needs.”

  His hand rubbed the back of his neck in frustration. That was his cue to leave.

  Renna

  Renna’s anger flared as Trev walked away. Who did he think he was telling her who she could and couldn’t spend time with? He had no claim on her. He had no say.

  She took a deep breath and decided to go find Joniss. She needed his distraction.

  She had thought about Trev more than once today, of course, but felt surprised by how often she had also thought about Joni
ss, of his flattering smile and the easy way his chest muscles tightened and relaxed as he moved so confidently in the arena. Maybe she just liked thinking about attractive men. Or maybe she had too much time on her hands to think. Either way, she couldn’t deny that for the first time ever, she’d thought about Joniss in a romantic way.

  She definitely found him attractive, but did she really like him? Or did she just like making Trev jealous? The answer was complicated and so was the fact that Joniss was challenging Trev for the crown. Renna didn’t like aligning herself with the competition, but she wasn’t going to marry Joniss. She just needed him to help pass the time in Albion.

  Trev wasn’t available, and Joniss was.

  At least, he had been until now.

  Now, Joniss completely ignored her.

  It seemed like Joniss danced with every woman there except her. Renna stood in the crowd and watched as he offered his arm to a new girl each dance. And dance after dance, each girl smiled up at him like he lit the night. He walked toward Renna more than once, and her heart fluttered, expecting his wicked smile to fall on her, but each time he reached for someone else and walked away without a single glance in her direction.

  She finally saw her chance as he broke from the dance floor to get a drink of water. Her stomach tingled with nerves as she thought about what to say. She wasn’t good at flirting. Just as she reached to tap his arm, he suddenly turned, accidentally colliding their bodies into one another. They shuffled awkwardly side to side as they tried to get out of each other’s way.

  “Is this your way of trying to dance with me?” Joniss raised an eyebrow.

  She clasped her hands in front of her and nervously rocked on her toes. “I had to do something since you haven’t asked me yet.”

  “So many women, so little time.”

  He winked at her, but Renna flinched at his patronizing tone. She felt a coolness from him, like he suddenly found her presence completely uninteresting. It was jarring compared to his earlier flirtation. Hadn’t he said he wanted to kiss her?

  Hoping to charm him into a better mood, Renna tried again, nudging him playfully. “You were really impressive in the arena today. I thought you did great.”

  “You can’t win them all I suppose,” he responded dryly, looking away from her.

  She blinked. “But you did win. A lot. You swept all the preliminary rounds.”

  “Preliminary rounds.” He scoffed. “Those mean nothing. But don’t worry, the next time I go head to head with Ezra, I plan on winning.”

  Renna had no idea how to respond to that. She gazed up at him, his jaw set in a hard frown as he looked over the crowd and wondered where this cold Joniss had come from.

  “The night is almost over, and I’m looking for more than just a dance.” He glanced over her figure with a casual, assessing eye, then raised an eyebrow and smirked. “What are you offering?”

  Renna swallowed. “I’m . . . only offering a dance.”

  “Is that all?” He leaned closer and trailed a finger down her arm, leaving goosebumps in his wake. “A dance is the beginning, Renna. What comes after?”

  She stepped back, unnerved by the leering way he looked at her. “I don’t know.”

  “Hmm.” He straightened, his lips pursed together. “Other girls can offer me more than that.”

  Renna felt frozen to the spot, embarrassment washing over her. Something about this situation was totally unfair, but her thoughts buzzed so rapidly that she could hardly focus.

  Joniss winked at her again, but this time with an edge of mockery. “I’ve wasted enough time today.”

  Jenica appeared at his side, her blonde hair draped over one shoulder. She pressed her body close to his with a coy smile.

  “Officer Doman?” She curled her painted fingernails around his arm like a snake. “I know you want to dance with me.”

  Joniss looked down at her and smiled. He seemed interested enough in what she was offering. He glanced back at Renna and shrugged. “Like I said, so many women. What’s a guy to do?” Then he let Jenica pull him away.

  Rejection. Renna felt it in the core of her heart. She was alone, small, and insignificant. She folded her arms across her chest, wishing it wasn’t the only means she had to hide herself.

  A waste of time. That’s how Joniss thought of her.

  Where was the charming Joniss who had flirted and smoldered and made himself available whenever she needed a distraction from Trev? She needed Joniss to keep her thoughts away from unavailable princes, to firm her resolve. She was using Joniss selfishly, but that seemed inconsequential now that Jenica was wrapped in his arms.

  Jenica pressed her body close and smiled up at Joniss through her lashes, seeming all too pleased to be in his arms.

  Tonight, Renna had needed Joniss for a specific purpose and he had failed her.

  But that wasn’t even the worst part

  The worst part was that Trev had been right.

  The time came for the kiss. Trev and Seran stood across from each other at the front of the party. The tournament’s headmaster raised Trev’s arm victoriously, and the people cheered for their prince in appreciation.

  Renna looked at the cheering people, at her mother and King Carver standing to the side of the couple with satisfied smiles, at Joniss with Jenica draped across his arm. Her heart squeezed painfully. The moment couldn’t get much worse.

  Trev bent his head and touched his lips to Seran’s, lifting a hand to gently hold her face. It certainly could have been a longer kiss, but it also could have been much shorter; their lips stayed together for what seemed like an eternity to Renna.

  The crowd loved it.

  Renna had to look away.

  Too many times, she had wondered what it would feel like to kiss Trev. Now she could ask Seran.

  Trev dropped his hand, grazing the length of Seran’s arm until his fingers interlocked with hers. His gentle caresses seemed real to Renna. Real enough to break her heart over and over again.

  The couple raised their joined hands to the audience as if they had won a big prize. Or maybe they were the big prize.

  King Carver stepped forward and hushed the crowd with his hands. “This is an important day for Albion and New Hope. For the unifying of these two great countries and the unifying of a young prince and princess. When you elect Prince Ezra as king in a few months, this powerful couple will lead Albion into a new age.”

  More cheers.

  “Now, let’s have more drinks and more dancing!”

  Trev let go of Seran’s hand and whispered something in her ear. She smiled at him shyly.

  Renna turned to leave.

  What was the point in staying?

  24

  The Informer

  The dark alley stunk of garbage but was secluded from Albana’s main streets, making it the perfect meeting place. Any minute now, the informer would hand off the letter to the Tolsten spy, knowing that once this information left his hands, there was little he could do to stop the consequences of its contents. So far, all the information he had handed over to Tolsten had been inconsequential. Where the Albion army planned to build a military fortress, what countries Albion was trading with, where the Albion army was stationed.

  But this . . . this was different. This information would finally give Tolsten the excuse they needed to declare war against Albion.

  The shadows of night hid him until the skunk appeared—the man with the white and black hair. Did he like having a thick, white stripe running through his long black hair? Did he know he looked like a skunk? These were questions he would never get answered. The man’s shifty eyes and fierce expression said there would be no words between them. A simple passing of a letter. A nod of the head.

  The skunk opened the letter, reading it silently.

  He watched him read, tapping his toe on the dirt road below him. He hoped the skunk would hurry so he could leave this filthy alleyway. He didn’t want the smell seeping into him.

  “This was a
ll King Carver’s idea?” he asked when he was done reading.

  “Isn’t that what the letter says?” There was a tinge of satisfaction laced between his lies.

  “I just want to make sure I have the facts straight when I take this information back to King Adler.”

  “I haven’t given you false information yet,” he said, raising an eyebrow.

  The man looked around before speaking again.

  “We’ll be in contact.”

  Then he disappeared in the same direction he had come from.

  It was over. It would all be over soon. The thought brought a smile to his lips.

  25

  Renna

  The front yard of the palace transformed overnight from the tournament festival into a field of games and entertainment. Activities like croquet, kickball, and tug-of-war were spread across the lawn. White chairs were placed throughout in semi-circles with tables on the edges for refreshments. Today the palace hosted children from the capital city. Renna liked this activity, a chance to run around with happy children and forget herself and her problems. It was precisely the kind of day she needed. Renna had woken up feeling depressed like there was nothing to look forward to in her life, but she refused to let that feeling take over her day. She needed to forget about herself and all her stupid boy problems and just focus on the children.

  She waited at the steps of the palace for the children to arrive. Her mother was ahead of her with Cypress and a group of noblewomen. Renna didn’t feel like joining their conversation. She looked to her left and saw Seran’s friends laughing with some soldiers and other prominent young men. Luckily, Joniss wasn’t among them. Renna didn’t know if she could stand seeing him after last night’s rejection.

  “Good morning, Renna,” Seran said, walking up to her side. Her lavender dress was more casual today. The cotton fabric hung just below her knees, and she wore athletic shoes to play in.