The Gilded Pretend

A falcon at dawn. A silver summons. A lie wrapped in gold. Elara Quinn has never wanted more than her herb garden and the quiet rhythm of village life, until a royal messenger lands on her stone wall and drags her into the glittering heart of the court. The bargain is simple: play the devoted betrothed of a lord whose enemies are circling, and her family prospers. Refuse, and everything she loves burns. But pretending to be in love is a dangerous game. Every ballroom waltz, every lingering touch staged for watchful eyes, blurs the line between performance and truth. Elara is no fool, she knows the court is watching, waiting for her to slip. What she doesn't know is why a low-born herb-keeper was chosen for a role that could crown a queen or start a war. As rival factions scheme and old secrets surface, Elara realizes she was never a random choice. She was selected. And the lord she's pretending to love may have known exactly who she was all along. When the mask finally slips, Elara must choose: expose the gilded lie and lose the only man who ever felt real, or play her part to the end and become the very thing she swore she'd never be.

Romantasy · 20 chapters · 103,014 words · written by the Dracon book pipeline

Start reading First 2 chapters free · the rest with Dracon Omni Unlock every chapter with Dracon Omni →