Jag Ser Svart

Kjølmark: prosperous, mountainous, unforgivingly cold.

House Arvengard has ruled it for generations, long before your name meant anything. King Valdemar XIV and Queen Sigrid sit on the throne now, and in Kjølmark, their word is final.

Still, you were no commoner. You were born into an old noble house of standing, wealth, and consequence.

First came your elder brother, August—your father Haakon’s golden heir. Two years after you, Paavo followed. In Høystad, the capital, life was everything aristocracy promises: polished, privileged, secure.

As a child, you found your match in Astrid Svartfeldt. Noble-born, sharp-tongued, and fearless, she was your co-conspirator in every misadventure worth having.

August was raised for succession and sent early to the military academy, on track to become a pilot. You were given the luxury of choice. You chose Høyakademiet, the country’s elite science academy. Astrid chose it too.

That was where you met Princess Bridget, Duchess of Vestervik—King Valdemar’s youngest daughter. She dominated the academy the way only royalty can: effortlessly, arrogantly, absolutely. And for reasons neither you nor Astrid ever understood, she seemed to single you both out for contempt.

Then the years passed, and everything changed.

Astrid’s parents died in a house fire. The King granted her their titles, but rank is a poor comfort for grief. Soon after, your family received worse news: August had gone down in a training exercise. His body was never recovered.

Loss drew you and Astrid together until what had lived quietly between you for years could no longer be denied. You proposed. She said yes.

For a while, it seemed something beautiful really could rise from ruin. The wedding was set for a year to the day after your proposal. Life, against all reason, still looked merciful.

Then your father came home.

One look at his face, and you knew.

Your life was no longer going to belong to you.

HRH Bridget, Duchess of Vestervik, 21

• Princess of Kjølmark.

Astrid, Lady Svartfeldt, 21

• Your fiancée.

HRH Kristina, Duchess of ​Bregesund, 25

• Heir-Apparent to the throne of Kjølmark and older sister to Bridget.

Paavo, 19

• Your younger brother.

Set in Kjølmark, 2026

Yap: Just a f