───RUINS

now he sits on his throne,
in his palace of bones

𝘀𝘆𝗻𝗼𝗽𝘀𝗶𝘀 !

aurora renaud isn't looking for love. she's looking for a crown.

and just when she finally gets it through the spilled blood of the ones who were supposed to love and protect her, cardan greenbriar just has to ruin everything.

three years is a long time.

to aurora, three years isn't long enough.

three years can barely erase the whispers of his smile from touching her heart. three years can barely erase the sweet aroma of his warm skin as it used to press against hers. three years can barely erase the echoes of his laugh still ringing in her ears. three years can barely erase her still vivid memory of his haunting eyes of deep black seas and everlasting gold specks of hopeless stars.

three years will never be enough to erase the sting of his betrayal.

and yet, six months after her coronation to become queen of the court of ashes—the most powerful court of elfhame after the high court—cardan greenbriar becomes the high king of elfhame. and five months after that, a letter arrives from his palace.

a letter saying that her parents signed a betrothal contract before they died.

with the threat of war knocking at her door, aurora is left with no choice but to adhere to the high court's wishes and marry the one person she vowed never to see again.

in one month's time, she is to be engaged to high king cardan. in two months' time, she will be high queen of elfhame.

no matter how much she wishes she would never have to see his cruelly beautiful face again, she made a promise to protect her subjects, and she intends to keep it. if binding the high court and the court of ashes is what it takes, she will do it. no one will stand in her way to power.

cardan greenbriar may have stolen her heart when she was sixteen, but she isn't a foolish girl anymore. she won't allow him to take what is hers.

but now aurora has to protect her treacherous heart from the boy she used to skip rocks with after school.

because if she gives her heart away, she will be left in ruins.

and if i'm on fire,
you'll be made of ashes too

the blood you bleed
is just the blood you owe

𝗰𝗮𝘀𝘁 !

𝙖𝙪𝙧𝙤𝙧𝙖 𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙖𝙪𝙙
played by
𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘦 𝘬ö𝘬𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘪𝘳

𝙘𝙖𝙧𝙙𝙖𝙣 𝙜𝙧𝙚𝙚𝙣𝙗𝙧𝙞𝙖𝙧
played by
𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘴 𝘥𝘰𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘺

𝙘𝙖𝙡𝙞𝙭 𝙙𝙞𝙤𝙣
played by
𝘬𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘯 𝘩𝘢𝘮𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘥

𝙟𝙪𝙙𝙚 𝙙𝙪𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙚 played by 𝘣𝘳𝘶𝘯𝘢 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘻𝘪𝘯𝘦
𝙣𝙞𝙘𝙖𝙨𝙞𝙖 played by 𝘻𝘰ë 𝘬𝘳𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘵𝘻
𝙡𝙤𝙘𝙠𝙚 played by 𝘴𝘢𝘮 𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘵
𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙗𝙤𝙢𝙗 played by 𝘣𝘦𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘭𝘷𝘯𝘪𝘯
𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙜𝙝𝙤𝙨𝙩 played by 𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘹 𝘱𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘺𝘧𝘦𝘳
𝙫𝙞𝙫𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙣𝙚 𝙙𝙪𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙚 played by 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘢 𝘵𝘢𝘺𝘭𝘰𝘳-𝘫𝘰𝘺
𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 played by 𝘴𝘰𝘧𝘪𝘢 𝘣𝘳𝘺𝘢𝘯𝘵

with a single word
and a gentle touch,

you turned a moment
into forever

𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘆𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁 !

───CARDAN

❝ have i become one of your problems? ❞

i. always hate me james blunt
ii. miss you louis tomlinson
iii. silver tongues louis tomlinson
iv. outer space/carry on 5 seconds of summer
v. moon renee rapp
vi. everyone niall horan
vii. full machine gracie abrams
viii. right where you left me taylor swift
ix. wish you were here pink floyd
x. thursday holly humberstone
xi. how dare you blu eyes
xii. devil's advocate the neighborhood
xiii. sober lorde
xiv. grace lewis capaldi
xv. runaway aurora

AURORA───

❝ did my love aid and abet you? ❞

i. you should see me in a crown billie eilish
ii. villian halflives
iii. miss americana & the heartbreak prince taylor swift
iv. remember that night? sara kays
v. cinderella's dead emeline
vi. no body, no crime taylor swift
vii. hoax taylor swift
viii. favorite crime olivia rodrigo
ix. gods & monsters lana del rey
x. vigilante shit taylor swift
xi. afraid the neighborhood
xii. a little wicked valerie broussard
xiii. anti-hero taylor swift
xiv. defenceless louis tomlinson
xv. castles crumbling taylor swift, hayley williams

YOU PROMISE?───
───I PROMISE.

❝ and i'll ruin it all over,
i'll ruin it for you. ❞

i. the alcott taylor swift, the national
ii. daylight david kushner
iii. nectar of the gods lana del rey
iv. the way i loved you taylor swift
v. war of hearts ruelle
vi. exile taylor swift, bon iver
vii. poison & wine the civil wars
viii. cowboy like me taylor swift
ix. once in a lifetime one direction
x. two ghosts harry styles
xi. sweet creature harry styles
xii. i lost a friend finneas
xiii. new year's day taylor swift
xiv. headspace lewis capaldi
xv. my tears ricochet taylor swift

you're the thorn on a rose,
and you make me bleed

and your scent is a poison
i like to breathe

still got scars on my back
from your knife

𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗴𝗲𝗿 𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 !

mature language

violence / blood

sexual content

mention of death

because i,
dropped your hand while dancing

𝗮𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗿'𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗲 !

i. 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗹𝗮𝗶𝗺𝗲𝗿: i do not own the folk of the air trilogy or any of the characters part of the series. all rights go to holly black. i only own the characters i created and the plot of this book.
ii. takes place during the wicked king and the queen of nothing!!
iii. don't expect me to write as good as holly black, that woman is a queen and i aspire to write like her one day
iv. excited for this one!! it's childhood best friend to enemies to lovers + arranged marriage!

started: july 14, 2023
finished: tbd

break free and leave us in ruins
took this dagger in me and removed it