Chapter 1

When Emerson Sanford convinced me, Bella Sommers, to leave my home and follow him, he failed to mention one detail: he already had a Queen in his palace.

From the moment I arrived, Queen Luna made her contempt clear. She struck my face, forced me to stand in penance, and once ordered me to retrieve her pendant from the palace's frozen pond.

When I could endure no more, I confronted Emerson. "You betrayed my trust," I told him. "I am going home. Back to the mountains."

He thought I was bluffing, playing some desperate game for his attention. "Don't make a scene, Bella," he warned coolly.

What he never knew was that my family's mountains held not just trees and streams, but veins of gold. Two rich mines, to be exact.

Months later, Emerson stood at my gate, pleading with me to return with him.

Before I could reply, the man beside me nervously caught my sleeve.

"I am your lawful husband," he whispered, voice tight with emotion, "the one who married into your family. You promised you would take no other."

*****

While Emerson was busy celebrating Queen Luna's birthday in the great hall, I was still stuck in the freezing palace pond, dredging for her pendant.

Daisy came running, tears streaking her cheeks. "Bella, they won't let me through to see the King! The Queen's doing this on purpose. Please, come out. You'll catch your death. What if you get sick?"

The head maid, Mary Tucker, stationed by Luna to watch me, heard her and shoved Daisy hard to the ground. "Know your place, girl. Don't you dare talk about Her Majesty that way!

"Miss Sommers is in service to Her Majesty. She ought to be grateful for the privilege."

That was it. I'd had enough.

I hauled myself out of the water and sent Mary flying with one solid kick.

Dad always said I wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed, but I was strong as an ox. So he hired every combat instructor he could find to train me.

But when I entered the palace, Emerson made me swear I'd never raise a hand inside these walls. So I'd kept my strength hidden.

Now everyone stared, jaws slack, as Mary sailed through the air and thudded onto the stone path.

I helped Daisy up. "Are you hurt?"

Daisy snapped back to reality, guilt and panic flooding her face. "Bella! Now you'll be punished because of me. What do we do? This is all my fault."

Mary staggered up, screeching, "How dare you! You, backwoods nobody. How dare you lay hands on me! Her Majesty will make you regret this."

I didn't even look at her.

Once I saw that Daisy was okay, I patted her hand. "Don't be scared. I'm done with this place. Let's go."

Daisy burst into tears of relief. "You're really leaving? Thank heaven! Where will we go?"

Mary, seeing herself ignored, yelled, "Every inch here belongs to Her Majesty! There's nowhere to run. And you still haven't answered for insulting Her Majesty the other day. His Majesty will never let you leave."

Daisy trembled.

I squeezed her shoulder. "Don't listen. My dad always said if things don't work out in the world, just head back to the mountains and live off the land."

"Okay. Wait, what?" Daisy's voice jumped. "The mountains? You mean... actually living there?"

I bit my tongue before saying aloud that my family owned not one, but two gold mines up there.

Now I finally understood how right Dad had always been.

He warned me years ago, "Bella, never save some random guy on the road on a whim. Even if they walk away, they'll leave nothing but trouble behind."

That was five years after Mom left us. I was only five, and I'd managed to set the neighboring woods on fire.

After Dad paid for the damages, he gave me that piece of wisdom.

I kept that warning close to heart right up until I turned sixteen and finally came down from the mountains. That was when I found Daisy, fleeing her hometown and left half-dead after a brutal beating.

But Daisy was just a girl in need, not some random guy.

Later, I found Emerson by the river, beaten half to death and unconscious. I would admit, the man was handsome.

I told myself I'd saved him after some serious thinking, not on a whim, and that meant I hadn't really broken Dad's rule.

*****

Emerson was a wreck, but luckily, I'd come down the mountain with plenty of cash.

So yes, I basically bought his life back.

He was so grateful. He said he wanted to take me home and spend the rest of his life repaying me.

Daisy leaned in and whispered, "Don't trust a pretty face. Always get the details first."

So I shook my nearly empty coin pouch and asked, "Where are you from? Is your family well-off?"

Emerson grinned. "My family is from the Sterling Kingdom. We have more than enough. You can manage all our finances from now on."

The Sterling Kingdom? That was exactly where I was headed.

And that was how I ended up leaving with Emerson.