One elven prince fighting for his empire.
Five damsels contending for His Majestyâs heart.
One realm erupts into chaos with both rebels and invaders taking their final stand against the Velazian Empire. Who will make it out alive?
Warning: if you like intense drama, action, adventure, and plot twists thatâll knock your socks off, this novel might be just for you. Side effects to reading might include staying up all night to finish the book, crying, or laughing; possibly all at the same time. Read at your own risk!
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Prince Zadkiel narrows his choices in marriage down to five girls, each of whom has won his heart. But as rebels continue to attack the RMC contestants, spies run rampant in the palace, and tension with Baylor and Payonna reaches its peak. The Velazian royal family realizes that they have more enemies than they thought. Prince Zadkiel wonders if he will live to see the day he becomes crowned ruler of the Velazian Empire.
One elven prince fighting for his empire.
Five damsels contending for His Majestyâs heart.
One realm erupts into chaos with both rebels and invaders taking their final stand against the Velazian Empire. Who will make it out alive?
Warning: if you like intense drama, action, adventure, and plot twists thatâll knock your socks off, this novel might be just for you. Side effects to reading might include staying up all night to finish the book, crying, or laughing; possibly all at the same time. Read at your own risk!
--
Prince Zadkiel narrows his choices in marriage down to five girls, each of whom has won his heart. But as rebels continue to attack the RMC contestants, spies run rampant in the palace, and tension with Baylor and Payonna reaches its peak. The Velazian royal family realizes that they have more enemies than they thought. Prince Zadkiel wonders if he will live to see the day he becomes crowned ruler of the Velazian Empire.
âWell. Well. Well. What do we have here?â The leader of the rebel group walked toward us with a swagger in his step. His voice was high-pitched and his cheeks caved in like he didnât eat much while running amok. Two rebels stepped in behind us, blocking the exit. âThis is unexpected. I knew youâd show up.â The leader pointed his knife at me. âBut not the eldest princess and little brother too. What a treat!â
Saqoiya, Nikko, and I had been distracted by our argument about Nikko kissing Opale, my RMC contestant. We walked into the drawing room and found that all twelve contestants had been pulled to one wall of the room and were now at the mercy of about a dozen armed women and men.
âThis is going much better than I had anticipated. Arenât you going to give me a warm welcome? No?â The leader continued through the silence, while I planned how I might get my contestants out of this. I scanned the rebels, hoping to come up with something.
Observing the rebels, I noticed they were clad in brown and black ragged, cotton clothes. The leader, however, wore a rich brocade, now dirty and stained, seams coming undone. The odor emanating from him reached me from a few feet away.
The intruders all were armed with flintlock pistols, daggers, and double-edged swords. What was most disturbing was the fact they were wearing our palace guards' distinctive bright blue uniforms.
Traitors.
How many spies did he have inside my palace? How many of my palace guards worked against us? If he could get this far, he was capable of a lot more.
âNo warm hugs or congratulations for making it this far? Fine. But before you cause any trouble, give up Excalibur.â
Not everyone knew what I called my sword, only close-knit family and friends. How did he know?
âWho are you and what do you want?â I growled through clenched teeth.
âNow, thatâs no way to treat the next Velazian emperor. But youâve been fooled into thinking youâd inherit the throne your entire life, so Iâll forgive you this once, Prince Zadkiel,â he said my name with venom. âNow be a good mamaâs boy, do as youâre told, and slowly place your sword on the ground. I wonât pretend that I donât know how good you are with your weapons. Especially with the way you fought that Payonnian crown prince during your duel. Whatâs his name? Prince Zain? Yes, thatâs it. I watched from the sidelines. I did notice that he was terribly angry with you afterward. I wonder if I can defeat him just as easily. . . . Now drop it!â
I heard Prince Zainâs sister, Aaliya, growl from the wall where the rebels held her back. Her catlike eyes narrowed in on him.
Slowly, I pulled out Excalibur and put it on the ground.
âGood. Good. Now pull out that knife thatâs hidden in your right boot.â
Once again, he was correct. Not even my siblings knew about the secret daggers I kept in my boot and belt. It was for times like these. At least he doesnât seem to know about the one in my belt.
I did as he said, and it was followed by another snicker from the would-be usurper.
âAnd . . . the little dagger inside your belt.â He smiled at me with a tilt of his head.
I clenched my fists.
âHow do you know about that?â
âOh, I know a lot more about you than you want me to. I know all of your secrets and desires.â
âOr you have a lot of spies.â
He released a bellowing laugh from his stomach while swinging the knife about. âOr . . . perhaps Iâm just smarter than you.â He waved a hand at the two rebels holding Saqoiya and Nikko and sent them over toward the girls, while I remained idle in the center of the drawing room. Tables, chairs, and couchesâwhich would have been used for our political quiz competition today if they hadnât ambushed usâhad been carelessly shoved against different walls, some upturned, to create an open space in the center.
âNow, . . . I wonât ask you again. Give me your dagger. And if you use it against any one of us, one of your contestants will suffer the consequences.â
He had definitely thought of everything, and was making it difficult for me to get these girls to safety. He was the same man I had seen twice, possibly even three times before. Once while on a date with Princess Esperanza of Ogarz in the night bazaar, last night in the forest by the pond when I was kissing the redheaded commoner, Makayla, and he could have been our attacker at Yondragon Castle too. There was something else familiar about him as well. He had a thin, weathered face and pasty skin from hiding underground for who knows how long, with several scabs on his cheeks and lips, yet he was probably less than forty years old.
Slowly, I unsnapped the secret pouch hidden inside of my belt and placed my throwing dagger on the ground.
âWhat do you want?â I asked.
âWell, . . .â He twirled around, as if he was on top of the world and nothing could go wrong. âI have what I want. With all of you at my fingertips. Every. Single. Noble girl from. Every. Single. queendom and kingdom and empire in the entire realm in my hands! Iâm in quite a position to make some demands, arenât I?â
âIâm the crown prince and all you need. Let them go and take me.â Iâd die for all of them if it would save them.
âOh, how valiant of you!â The leader walked right up to me. I could smell his putrid breath from a foot away, as if he ate rotten eggs from a garbage bin every meal. âYou certainly live up to your âPrince Charmingâ name, now donât you? Offering yourself for your family, your women, your empire, . . . Iâm touched. Really, I am. And look at you, all tall and grown up since the last time I saw you.â He patted my cheek, but I grabbed his hand and ripped it away. He pushed my chest in anger, as if to thrust me back against the wall, but I was well grounded and didnât budge from my position. I towered about half a foot above him and could easily defeat him in his scraggly form.
After realizing that he couldnât move meâand possibly because he looked ridiculous in the processâhe laughed it off, as if to relieve himself of the embarrassment. But I detected fear in his eyes. Something I saw in many opponents when they stepped up to duel me. It wasnât my height or my position as the crown prince of an empire that was intimidating, but my reputation as a swordsman that made men cower. He was up against a trained warrior in his prime. I was a combination of elven flexibility and height, and human strength.
The leader nonchalantly spoke to the entire room, âIâll have you know, my little, elven boy, I know your mother will be willing to give up the empire to save you. Now that I have you and your siblings, the hard work is already accomplished.â
Again, the extent of his knowledge about my mother and my own inner feelings was disturbing. Even though my mother, the Empress Qloey, had never said so out loud, I felt it to be wholeheartedly true that sheâd give up everything for us, just to keep us safe, including the throne. A self-fulfilling prophecy.
âWith the rest of these noble girls added to my collection, I can ensure nobody will support Qloeyâs right to rule anymore. If . . . she actually has any remaining supporters. The price of your freedom is complete allegiance to me, as the rightful ruler of the Velazian Empire. Once I make this announcement, the mothers and fathers of all these royal contestants will force Empress Qloey to abdicate the throne. But I donât think we even have to get to that point. I think Qloey will go willingly once she learns I have all three of her eldest children.â
My chest fumed with anger, but I couldnât become upset now. My mind had to stay calm and focused. I had to keep him talking, wasting time until we could get out of this, to make the rebels comfortable and hopefully drop their guard. At some point, something had to happen. Either more guards would come into the room and a fight would break out, or the rebels would get too relaxed in their position and make mistakes. Flintlock pistols only carried a single bullet. It took several minutes to reload. Then again, things could go awry too. My parents could come in to see how the political quiz was going and get captured themselves. If that happened . . .
No! I cannot allow it. They canât have that much leverage!
My legs trembled underneath me. Although, it felt as if the floor shook from the anger raging within me.
Then he swiftly turned to one of the guards in our palace uniform. âGo tell the empress. You know the plan; we donât need to tell everyone in the room. They have twenty minutes to decide . . . or else.â He snickered again and turned his brown eyes back to me.
âIf you want my crown, Iâll give it to you under the condition that you let everyone go right now,â I blurted out.
âYouâre . . . just . . . so cute.â He wrinkled his nose at me. âA truly chivalrous prince sacrificing himself! How often do we see that anymore? It seems like fairy tales are dead. Romance about knights in shining armor and charming princes have transformed into stories of princesses saving princes, damsels climbing out of their dragon-protected towers, and all the real charming princes are now âwomanizers.â And now that Iâve found a true and chivalrous prince charming, youâre about to meet your end. How sad.â He faked a pouty face. âWhile weâre waiting, letâs have a little fun. Iâm just curious, which one of these girls were you going to choose as your bride?â
The soldiers behind him started shifting their feet. One leaned against the wall. Another sat on a chair. Others were focused on listening to their leader. The problem was that one of the girls or my siblings could get hurt if I attacked. He might even enact revenge and harm one of them to teach me a lesson. There had to be an opportune moment and . . . perhaps a miracle.
âYou donât want any of them?â he asked in my silence. âWell, let me help you decide. The one in red.â One of the guards grabbed Esperanza and brought her over to him.
No! Not Esperanza.
The Ogarzian princess had made the greatest first impression on me. I had seen her before the opening ceremony, when she twirled about the courtyard, which gave me a good first impression of her. And the way she danced flamenco! She was passionate when she spoke about new inventions and scientific discoveries. I grew jealous thinking of anyone marrying her except me. She had my first kiss, and a part of me wouldnât mind if she had my last.
But still, I wanted to be absolutely certain in my choice. Once the elimination ceremony happened and I was allowed more private time with the girls I had grown closest to, I could really delve deeper into our compatibility and what our family life would look like. But not anymore. Now it seemed that I might never get married or have children. Now all I cared about was saving their lives.
âYou two had a really good first date, didnât you?â the leader asked. âRowing down the Velazian River. Dancing in the restaurant alone.â
âSo you were watching us?â I turned the question back to him to get insight into his activities.
He released another belly laugh, twirling the dagger between his fingers as if it were a habit. He knew we would be on that date at the night bazaar, even though we hadnât given this information out publicly for our own safety. Only our constable, Sir McKinley of Centaurus knew. Did McKinley leak the information?
The leader put an arm around Esperanza and spoke into her ear while glancing at me. âZadkiel here wanted to kiss you on your first date, did you know that?â
My jaw tightened. Iâd only told my sister that.
The black-haired princess glowered at him.
His cheek pressed against hers, then he gently turned his head, nearly touching her cheek with his chapped lips.
Impulsively, I took a step toward her, but the men behind me quickly grabbed ahold and reeled me back.
âYouâd risk your life for Princess Esperanza, wouldnât you, Zadkiel?â he asked. âWell, being the charming prince you are, youâd probably do the same for all of these girls, even for the girls you donât like, am I right?â
âIâM THE ONE YOU WANT! JUST LET THEM GO!â Iâd hit a fuse, but that was exactly what this leader wanted.
Take a few breaths. Calm down. I grounded my anger through my feet.
âItâs a simple question,â the leader said. âAll I want to know is: who do you love the most? Seeing as youâre never going to get to finish the RMC . . . the anticipation is killing me. So Iâll make a bargain with youâafter all, I have several bargaining chips with each civilization, so I can spare one or two girls if you donât cooperate. Whichever girl you choose, I promise to spare that girlâs life. In fact, Iâll marry her myself and she can still become empress!â
Sick, disgusting man!
âI told you, I donât know!â I yelled at him.
âYou will tell me orââhe kicked Esperanzaâs knees in, and she fell to the groundââIâll start eliminating them to help you.â
A truly chivalrous prince...How often do we see that anymore? It seems like fairy tales are dead...And now that I've found a true and chivalrous prince charming, you're about to meet your end. How sad."
Prince Zadkiel of Velazia is back, and he's eliminated his first round of RMC contestants. From twelve, he's now down to seven. But his erstwhile cousin, Clayton, has found a means to infiltrate the palace and attacks, taking everyone by surprise. On top of that, one of the eliminated contestants' families secede from the Empire and join forces with Velazia's enemy, Payonna, in declaring war. With war from without, rebel attacks and spies from within, will Zadkiel even live long enough to choose his future bride? And can all of his family survive the coming war?
This book has all the charm and fun of the last book. It's nice to see Zadkiel seriously pondering things that he'll change when he comes to rule the empire, and being careful with his choices regarding his contestants. He's still just as entertaining and absorbing of a protagonist to tag along with. Despite the fact that my own favorite contestant didn't end up making it to the final round, and a few things taking me by surprise in the book conclusion, I still enjoyed this book very much. Zoiy Galloay is a very entertaining writer and she seems to have found a good genre to continue in, with this pseudo-medieval fantasy setting in which her Royal Matchmaking Competition line of books take place.
The only real note that I have in any way is I've observed the author sometimes gets a little confused between third person point of view and first person point of view. This is a very easy problem to fix, and I only noticed it in a couple of places, mostly with the chapters taking place from the point of view of Emperor Qinrel. Other than that small thing, the book was entertaining and filled with romance, drama and heart. I'll look forward to reading the next installment. Thanks again to Ms. Galloay and Reedsy Discovery for the ARC for my voluntary review.