The Heir

I'm not sure anyone knows what they're looking for until they find it.

I only have one heart, and I'm saving it.

You can be brave and still be feminine. You can lead and still love flowers. Most importantly, you can be queen and still be a bride.

There are some things you don't learn about yourself until you let someone else into the most intimate places of your heart.

I’m smart and beautiful and strong. I don’t need to be rescued.

Didn't they know who I was, what they'd trained me for? I was Eadlyn Schreave. No one was more powerful than me. So if they thought I was going down without a fight, they were sadly mistaken.

I couldn’t help but notice it was always this way. At state events or important dinners, Mom was beside Dad or situated right behind him. But when they were just husband and wife—not king and queen—he followed her everywhere.

I kept thinking that I couldn't live my life for other people, that love was nothing but chains. And maybe it was, but so help me, I needed these chains.

You know how your mother and I met,” Dad began. I rolled my eyes. “Everyone does. You two are practically a fairy tale.

I’m not sure if fate or destiny is real. But I can tell you that sometimes the very thing you’ve been hoping for will walk through the door, determined to fend you off. And still, somehow, you will find that you are enough.

When you know who matters most to you, giving things up, even yourself, doesn’t really feel like a sacrifice.

I could not hold my breath for seven minutes. I couldn’t even make it to one. I once tried to run a mile in seven minutes after hearing some athletes could do it in four but failed spectacularly when a side stitch crippled me about halfway in. However, there was one thing I managed to do in seven minutes that most would say is quite impressive: I became queen. By seven tiny minutes I beat my brother, Ahren, into the world, so the throne that ought to have been his was mine. Had I been born a generation earlier, it wouldn’t have mattered. Ahren was the male, so Ahren would have been the heir. Alas, Mom and Dad couldn’t stand to watch their firstborn be stripped of a title by an unfortunate but rather lovely set of breasts. So they changed the law, and the people rejoiced, and I was trained day by day to become the next ruler of Illéa.

I'm happy, Ahren. I'm a princess. I have everything." "I think you're mistaking comfort for joy.

I was slow to pick up on their hints. I knew what the Selection was, but never, not even once, had it been suggested as an option for any of us, let alone me. "No." Mom put up her hands, cautioning me. "Just listen-" "A Selection?" I burst out. "That’s insane!" "Eadlyn, you're being irrational. " I glared at her. "You promised- you promised- you'd never force me into marrying someone for an alliance. How is this any better?" "Hear us out," she urged. "No!" I shouted. "I won't do it.

I'm eighteen. I'm genetically encoded to fight with my parents.

I’m not sure anyone knows what they’re looking for until they find it.

It was a bubble of pure joy. There were no cameras around to capture it, no reporters to tell the world about it. And for some reason, that made it so much better.

Your Highness," he greeted. "It's 'Royal Pain in the Ass' to you, sir.

failure meant having my life led by someone else.

It wasn’t all that long ago that he’d stood where I did, that my mom’s face was one of many in his world. And yet, despite all the impediments and all the time that had passed, they were still deeply in love. It was obvious in everything, from their shared room to the way they fretted over each other to the way they seemed to be incapable of not flirting with each other even after being married so long.

I watched him go and told myself that the only reason I was smiling like that was because the cameras were hidden somewhere, not because of anything Kile Woodwork had done.

My Selection wasn’t a farce, but it wasn’t that far off. My father chose all the contestants by hand, picking young women with political alliances, influential families, or enough charm to make the entire country worship the ground they walked on. He knew he had to make it varied enough to seem legit, so there were three Fives thrown into the mix but nothing below that. The Fives were meant to be little more than throwaways to keep anyone from being suspicious.” I realized my mouth was gaping open and shut it immediately. “Mom?” “Was meant to be gone almost immediately. Truth be told, she barely made it past my father ’s attempts to sway my opinion or remove her himself. And look at her now.” His whole face changed. “Though it was hard for me to imagine, she is even more beloved as queen than my mother. She has made four beautiful, intelligent, strong children. And she has been the source of every happiness in my life.

I never got to tell you so many things. Like how I wish I could command a room like you. It’s so impressive. Or how your eyes sparkle when you make a joke. It’s really pretty.

Are you all right? I know last night was kind of scary.” “I just didn’t expect it. It was asparagus. . . . He literally punched someone over a vegetable.” Kile laughed. “See, this is why you stick with butter.” “Oh, you and your stupid butter.

Love did nothing but break down defenses, and I could not afford that.

Welcome to the first ever Selection Variety Show, starring a bunch of losers competing for your attention.

I didn't know it would be so easy to make you smile

You are Eadlyn Schreave. You are the next person in line to run this country, and you will be the first girl to do it on your own. No one,” I said, “is as powerful as you.