Stray Cat Strut - Somnus Deus Ex - Three

[COMPLETE] Can a royal Romeo and Juliet find their happy ending?

Ayleth, Princess of Zenithra, is secretly trained in hand-to-hand combat, and collects swear words she doesn't know how to use. During the Festival of Peace, in which every royal son on the continent will be at the castle for a month, she is instructed by her parents to find a husband. Yet, Ayleth has never even been kissed—until the very first ball, when she meets the man in the Lion mask.

Etan is a seasoned warrior, and the Prince of Summitras. He attends the Festival hoping to find a powerful wife who will help him conquer the dark sorcery of their bloodsworn enemies, the Kingdom of Zenithra. But at the very first ball, he discovers the masked woman who captures his heart is the Heir to the evil empire.

Ayleth and Etan face an impossible battle. Will their love survive? Or will their parents' dark dealings keep them apart forever?

[Mature content. No sexual violence.]

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“You…” She stepped back. Then back again, her mouth dropped open. “You… You cannot be…”

“I am,” Etan said, and his hair raked back as he pushed his mask off his handsome face. So handsome her heart raced.

His hair was ebony black, his skin a warm brown that threatened to fade in in the winter months. He stared at her with glittering green eyes, over high cheekbones and a noble nose, his jaw tight and shadowed this late in the day. His chin was high over the pillar of his neck that she’d just touched with its hard lines and steel strength, so different to her own. And his chest... She gasped and covered her eyes. She’d humiliated herself revealing her stupid, childish curiosity.

“No, Ayleth. This changes nothing.”

“How can you say that? It changes everything!” She was horrified to realize she was crying.

“Ayleth, please.” His voice cracked on the plea and she stared at him, shoving her mask up and off, despite how it would pull her hair out of the beautiful twist the maid had managed for her.

His eyes locked on hers and she couldn’t think. She couldn’t breathe.

She had met her One. And he was the son of her bloodsworn enemy.

She stared at him as he stepped forward again, offering both hands, palm up. “Touch me,” he whispered. “Hold my hands. This is real, Ayleth. I don’t know how it happened, but this is real. Please don’t deny it.”

She couldn’t resist. She raised a trembling hand to his cheek, letting her palm catch on the scruff of his jaw. He blew out a breath and put his hand over hers, and that jolt that happened whenever they touched shivered through her again.

“Please, Ayleth.”

“I cannot deny it,” she whispered.

The good-natured Hou Yuxiao arrived in a martial arts world clearly divided between good and evil with a magical dual-colored lotus flower and became the Family Head of a small, insignificant Demon Path family in a county town, overseeing three younger brothers and a sister.The second brother was hot-tempered, the fourth brother was prone to fratricide, the youngest lived amongst the Demon Path but spent all day studying Confucian classics, and the only sister turned out to be a...Looking at the four problematic children, Hou Yuxiao fell into deep thought!It was a time of great contention,with Dynasties desperate for virtuous talents, seeking to stabilize their reign over The World,with sects dominating certain regions, aspiring to tower over all living beings,with families carrying on centuries of legacy, aiming to pursue happiness forever,with gangs reigning supreme, striving to build everlasting power,with academies resolving doubts and imparting knowledge, hoping people would promote the practice of farming and reading to future generations,...Thousand-Faced Handsome Man Hou Yuxiao, Black Extinction Demon Blade Hou Yucheng, Nation-Topping Demon Consort Hou Yuling, Blood Sword of Sunrise Hou Yujie, and Saint-Overturning Demon Confucian Hou Yuduan...Years later, looking back, the Hou Clan had already ascended to the pinnacle.

Listen here, because I've seen it with my very own eyes.William Oh was born on the hundredth floor of The Tower, to the greatest Climbers of the ancient world, steeped in the Tower's lethal miasma from the moment he drew breath, giving him strange and unnatural powers.They say he is an immortal being who circles the dreams of mortal men, resurfacing wherever the need is greatest. Those who disparage him will fall into despair, but if you're a Climber in a tight scrape, look to the sky and say a little prayer.Maybe he will appear?Odds are probably better if you pay for my drink.- Rumor overheard on a 1st Floor Tavern. Originator did not pay his tab.

Let’s fight! Go! Who am I afraid of with a chip that turns into a brain cell? ! Get promoted and get rich! The nest treasures are all mine!

- Description from novelbuddy