Prologue

Fated.

I despised the word.

Because of my Fated love, I lost everything.

I remembered clearly the moment I died. It was nothing like I had imagined. No brilliant flash of light or a dark tunnel leading me to my ancestors. Instead, Gaben's curse seeped cold numbness into my bones, consuming me until nothing remained. The air was thick with smoke and dust, the scent of blood clinging to my senses.

As my life force dwindled, I clung to Gaben, my hands wound tightly around his throat. His eyes widened in shock as he felt his power seeping away into me, slowly destroying him too. He deserved it. He was no longer the man I loved—war had taken him from me long before that day.

In a final act, I summoned the last remnants of my magic and poured every ounce of hate, anger, and despair into the familiars surrounding me. They watched in horror as darkness oozed out from the ground, thick and suffocating like tar. It extended its long tendrils towards them, grasping at their human forms. The magic-wielders' twisted screams were silenced as they were consumed by shadow. The familiars morphed from humans into sinister beings of night and shadow, their forms designed to serve as a constant reminder to both Gaben and his people in Vakoso of their treachery. The creatures' eyes glowed red with malice and their wings fanned outwards as their screeches filled the battlefield. I commanded them to tear down the last of my enemies.

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Let Vakoso rot for what every single one of its inhabitants did to me.

As darkness closed in around me, Gaben fell dead at my side, his essence drained. My final thought was of him—my Fated lover, my killer. I died with his name on my lips and the taste of betrayal on my tongue.

----------------------------------------

To any outsider, my life must have seemed like a tragic fairy tale that mothers tell their children as a cautionary tale. A vivacious, young, naive woman twisted and shaped by the evilness of men the moment I was ripped from Gaben's arms, little more than a girl. I was not born into the lineage of Lambent royalty—no— the title of Queen Genoveva of Lambent and Vakoso, Mother of Familiars was earned over brutal years. As a girl, I was a peaceful dream. As a queen, I was a nightmare come alive.

And the latter was what the history books would remember.

----------------------------------------

It wasn't until much later that I came to understand—dead minds do not ponder, yet there I was, caught in relentless thought.

Oh, Gaben… What power did you give me, my love?