cleenTeenStories

Wed to the War King   CHAPTER 4: The Language of Scars Queen Aria's POV The castle healers had barred the door like I was some invading army rather than a queen. Three hours I'd paced the length of that damned corridor, my bloodied nightgown still clinging to my skin, the phantom weight of Kael's body slumped against mine making my arms tremble. "He's stable," Head Healer Lin finally announced, wiping her hands on a stained cloth. "But he shouldn't be moved—" I was already pushing past her. The chamber smelled of crushed herbs and copper, the heavy drapes drawn against the dawn. Kael lay propped up on a mountain of pillows, his torso wrapped in bandages that did nothing to diminish the sheer presence of him. Moonlight caught the sweat-slicked planes of his chest, the old scars I knew by heart—the jagged one from Greymere where my dagger had slipped, the neat line from Silverpass where I'd nicked him through his armor. His eyes ope...

  Wed to the War King CHAPTER 5: The Fractured Crown Queen Aria's POV The riots began at dawn. I stood on the palace balcony, watching my capital burn—not from enemy invasion, but from within. The people I'd sworn to protect now tore through the streets, their shouts rising like smoke into the winter air. "Death to the Vareen alliance!" "Our queen beds the enemy!" My fingers turned bloodless against the railing. Three days. Three days since Kael had left to quell unrest in his own kingdom, and already my council whispered of civil war. "Your Majesty." Lord Torin appeared at my shoulder, his usually impeccable robes stained with soot. "The eastern provinces have declared for your cousin. The northern lords refuse to send troops. If we don't act—" "I know." The words tasted like ash. I turned from the carnage, my crown suddenly too heavy. "Prepare my horse. I'll ride out to the villages myself." ...

Wed to the War King   CHAPTER 6: Ashes & Absolution Queen Aria's POV The royal dungeon smelled of damp stone and despair—of old blood and older regrets. I stood before Prince Eliam’s cell, my fingers tracing the rough grooves in the wall where countless prisoners had carved their final prayers. The torchlight flickered, casting monstrous shadows that danced across his hollowed cheeks. Three weeks in darkness had whittled him down to something less than human, but his eyes still glittered with venom. "You misunderstand," he rasped, chains biting into his wrists as he leaned forward. "I didn’t act alone." Behind me, Kael’s presence was a living thing—warm and solid against the dungeon’s chill. His hand settled at the small of my back, fingers pressing just hard enough to remind me: I’m here. Breathe. "Names," Kael demanded, his voice low and lethal. Eliam’s cracked lips twisted. "Your precious Lord Torin wept like a babe when my me...

Wed to the War King   CHAPTER 7: Of Scars and Sacred Oaths Queen Aria's POV The scar on Kael's back was the first thing I noticed when he removed his shirt that evening. Not the new wound from the assassin's blade—that one we tended together, my fingers careful against the healing flesh. No, this was older. A jagged line cutting diagonally across his shoulder blade, long since faded to silver. I traced it without thinking. "This wasn't from battle." Kael stilled beneath my touch. The firelight painted his profile in gold and shadow as he turned to face me. "No." The silence stretched, thick with unspoken history. "It was a promise," he said at last, catching my wrist and pressing my palm flat over the scar. "Made when I was twelve years old." The Boy in the Snow (Kael's Memory) "The boy's half-dead, Your Majesty." I woke to unfamiliar voices, my body shaking with fever, my vision blurr...

Wed to the War King   CHAPTER 8: Bleeding Crowns Kael's POV The battlefield was a living nightmare. Rain fell in icy sheets, turning the earth to a churning sea of mud and blood. The screams of dying men and horses pierced through the thunderous roar of clashing steel, the air thick with the stench of iron and burning flesh. Lightning split the sky, illuminating the carnage in flashes of ghostly white—bodies tangled in death, arrows protruding from shields like spines on some monstrous beast. I cut through the chaos, my sword arm burning with exhaustion, my armor slick with rain and other men's blood. Somewhere in this hellscape, Aria fought—her crimson cloak a beacon amidst the slaughter. Then I saw it. A glint of poisoned steel in the storm-dark. " Aria! " My voice was lost in the din of battle. The assassin—one of Dainthar's last loyalists—lunged from the press of bodies, his blade aimed true. Aria turned, her sword flashing up—but too late. ...

Wed to the War King     CHAPTER 3: The Weight of Crowns & Other Fragile Things Queen Aria's POV The castle was too quiet at this hour. I told myself I'd only come to the war room to review supply reports. Not because I'd seen the light burning under the door from my chambers. Not because some traitorous part of me had memorized the rhythm of his late-night footsteps. Yet here I stood, watching moonlight fracture through stained glass across Kael's bowed shoulders. The map between us was a living thing—our borders stitched together with red thread like an open wound neither of us knew how to heal. "You should be asleep," I said, my voice too loud in the hollow dark. His fingers hovered over Silverpass, where the ink was worn thin from too much study. "Do you ever wonder," he began, then stopped. The candlelight caught the new scar along his jaw—the one I'd given him during our wedding duel. "If we'd met differently. Not on...

Wed to the War King   CHAPTER 2: The Secret Admirer And Other Crimes Queen Aria's POV The training yard was my sanctuary—the one place where the weight of my crown didn't choke me. The rhythmic  clang  of steel against steel, the burn in my muscles, the way the world narrowed to just this moment, this breath, this strike— And then the velvet box appeared. One moment, the weapons rack held only my well-worn practice swords. The next, a small package sat perched atop them, tied with a silver ribbon that matched Vareen's crest. Oh, hell no. "Poison?" Rina, my ever-vigilant guard, lunged forward, hand on her own blade. I flipped the box open with my dagger. Nestled inside was a delicate hairpin—crafted to look like a flickering flame, the jewels catching the morning light. A note curled beneath it: For when you want to stab me in style. -K I scowled. "He's mocking me." Rina coughed. "Or flirting." I snapped the box shut. "Same thing....

Wed to the War King SYNOPSIS: When warrior Queen Aria and frost King Kael enter a marriage of convenience to unite their warring kingdoms, they expect betrayal—not the searing connection that forms when Aria takes a poisoned blade for him. With her life hanging by a thread, Kael tears both realms apart to save her, forcing bitter enemies to work together and revealing his secret devotion. As Aria wakes to a changed world—their armies united, their people healing—they must confront the dangerous truth: their political alliance has become something real, just as old enemies emerge from the shadows to destroy them both. A sword-sharp romance where love doesn't just cross battle lines—it erases them. (Enemies-to-lovers, marriage of convenience, "who hurt you" vibes.)  C HAPTER 1: The War Ends With a Ring Queen Aria's POV I was going to murder him. Not later. Not in some strategic, politically advantageous way.  Right now. King Kael of Vareen stood across the batt...

  Title: Married by 9, Divorced by 5 🔥 SYNOPSIS: When feminist assistant Lila Iyer is forced into a fake marriage with her billionaire boss Bentley Ryder to save his reputation, they agree: no feelings, no drama, just business. But when exes, secrets, and unexpected kisses get in the way, their pretend marriage starts feeling a little too real. 💘 TROPES: ✔ Fake Marriage ✔ Billionaire Boss x Assistant ✔ Enemies-to-Lovers (kind of) ✔ Slow Burn Romance 📌 Think: The Proposal meets Crazy Rich Asians — with a spicy dash of feminist sass and billionaire charm. Part 1: The Proposal I Didn't Ask For (Unless It's Pizza) Let me just start by saying this: I don’t believe in marriage. You could literally bring Beyoncé herself to officiate my wedding, and I’d still rather marry a croissant. But life? Life has this nasty little habit of saying “Oh, you hate something? Cool. Let me throw you directly into it and watch you flail like a drunk duck.” And that's exactly how I, ...

  Title: Married by 9, Divorced by 5 Part 2: Ring Before Spring (or My Mother Will Disown Me) Fake engagement rule #1: Never tell your mother. Fake engagement rule #2: ESPECIALLY don't tell your immigrant, romantically unhinged, chai-obsessed mother who’s been manifesting your wedding since the day you learned to walk straight. Guess what Bentley did by 8 a.m.? I stormed in like a caffeinated raccoon, flinging open the glass door. “You. Called. My. Mother.” Bentley, innocent as ever, looked up from his laptop. “Oh yay! Morning, wife.” “Don’t wife me, you snitchy little corgi. Why would you call Amma ?!” He looked genuinely confused. “Because… she sent you 11 missed calls titled ‘Are You Dead?’ and I panicked?” “You could’ve texted her back ! Instead you told her we’re engaged?!” Bentley leaned back, hands behind his head, full smug mode activated. “Relax, Lila. I was charming. She likes me.” “That’s the problem !” He blinked. “Wait… is this the first time she’s lik...