An instant New York Time bestseller! Carry On meets Arthurian legend in this subversive, “delightfully original and whimsical” ( Kirkus Reviews ) young adult fantasy about what happens after the chosen one wins the kingdom and has to get married to keep it…and to stay alive. Arek hadn’t thought much about what would happen after he completed the prophecy that said he was destined to save the Kingdom of Ere from its evil ruler. So now that he’s finally managed to (somewhat clumsily) behead the evil king (turns out magical swords yanked from bogs don’t come pre-sharpened), he and his rag-tag group of quest companions are at a bit of a loss for what to do next. As a temporary safeguard, Arek’s best friend and mage, Matt, convinces him to assume the throne until the true heir can be rescued from her tower. Except that she’s dead. Now Arek is stuck as king, a role that comes with a magical catch: choose a spouse by your eighteenth birthday, or wither away into nothing. With his eighteenth birthday only three months away, and only Matt in on the secret, Arek embarks on a desperate bid to find a spouse to save his life—starting with his quest companions. But his attempts at wooing his friends go painfully and hilariously wrong…until he discovers that love might have been in front of him all along. The characters have the same dynamic as a well-organized ­Dungeons & Dragons party and are well rounded and easy to root for." ― School Library Journal "Reading like the love child of a late-night D&D session gone awry and a romantic drama, Lukens has crafted a delightfully original and whimsical narrative." ― Kirkus Reviews "Lukens has created a magically expansive world where there's no homophobia and the only roadblock to romance is having the courage to delve into your own heart. An adventure that's both madcap and tender." ― Booklist F.T. Lukens is a New York Times bestselling author of YA speculative fiction including the novels Spell Bound , So This Is Ever After , and In Deeper Waters (2022 ALA Rainbow Booklist; Junior Library Guild Selection), as well as other science fiction and fantasy works. Their contemporary fantasy novel The Rules and Regulations for Mediating Myths & Magic was a 2017 Cybils Award finalist in YA Speculative Fiction and won the Bisexual Book Award for Speculative Fiction. F.T. resides in North Carolina with their spouse, three kids, three dogs, and three cats. Chapter 1 CHAPTER 1 I’d been envisioning what it would be like to behead the Vile One since the old wizard had shown up at my door the day after I turned seventeen and told me my destiny—that I would be the person who ended the dark shadow of evil that ruled our realm. Well, okay, not that specific second because who believes a drunken stranger with a crooked hat carrying around a humming staff? No one. That’s who. At least, you shouldn’t. That’s unsafe. Let me amend. I’d been envisioning this moment since after we’d had tea and he’d explained a few things and told me about the prophecy . Though it didn’t feel real, as in very likely, and downright probable, until I pulled a magical sword from a bog and a beam of light shot down from the sky, anointing me with supernatural purpose. After that, I kept a vision in my head about what would happen when I separated the Vile One’s head from his shoulders in the final climactic battle. The cut would be clean. There would be artistic arterial spray, and the disembodied head would roll down the steps of the raised dais and come to rest at the feet of my best friend. Everyone would cheer, and I’d finally be the hero I was prophesied to become. I’d feel different. Righteous. Awesome. Accomplished. Finally grown-up. Unfortunately, as things seem to have gone since the start of this whole journey, that did not happen. Not even a little bit. Fueled by adrenaline and vigor, I swung my blade for the death blow, expecting to cleanly remove the Vile One’s head. Instead, the blunted edge buried halfway through his neck and jarred to a stop on his spinal column. Huh. Who knew that prophesied weapons didn’t come ready-to-use? Apparently, magic swords that spring from bogs don’t rise pre-sharpened. Stunned at this unexpected turn of events, I froze long enough to draw attention from the party of questors supporting me. “Arek!” Sionna yelled from somewhere in the chaos. “Finish him off!” I wrenched the blade from the Vile One’s throat, did my level best to ignore the astonished look on his face, the open mouth, the wide eyes, the gush of blood running down the front of his black robes, and struck again. And again. I hacked at the twitching body, which had fallen backward and slumped on the front of the throne, propped up like a grotesque doll, until I was certain he was dead, and no amount of magic could bring him back. Finally, the neck gave way and the head plopped onto the ground, splattering like an overripe pumpkin. Dead eyes peered up at me from sunken