Page 1 of Brutal Empire

PROLOGUE

Once upon a time,there was a little boy, an heir to an empire of liquid gold. He had money, fame, and dozens of girls vying for his name.

He was charming, but he wasn’t cold. He just didn’t know an honest day of work.

His parents arranged for his marriage—a princess for his newfound throne.

Despite having no say in his betrothment, this boy assumed his role, gave her his loyalty, and was ready to share his gold. Too bad for him, his new betrothed was already in love with crystals and snow.

This girl went missing, and this boy searched and searched until he realized that hell was real and all the monsters were here, on earth.

The once foolish boy changed. He wanted to forget about everything, including his last name.

He grew scales and claws, and this aloof boy learned to love the taste of blood.

His life was lonely with no meaning, just bloodlust killing to keep his heart beating.

Then one day, he came across an angel.

She was beautiful and warm, someone who needed guidance in this newfound world.

But his angel was broken with no home; she was fire and rage, someone who needed to be kept caged. Her one-track mind was to make everyone who harmed her pay.

Too bad for the world, they turned this billionaire into a demon, and together, they would make every person kneel and beg.

There’s no escaping their judgment day.

ONE

Location: Sweden

We wereall monsters in someone else’s story.

Do you think you are different? Think again. Actions have consequences. And consequences change us forever. It can be something minimal, like being a coward and not sticking up for someone in need. Or a monumental fuckup that you’re too ashamed to speak of out loud because the shame of it will choke you before you can let a word out.

Okay, my first monster, I didn’t know who it was.Hismemory was fractured and torn, something my fragile memory wanted to ignore. I met the second monster when I was sixteen, right off the heels of my first, but this one was much worse. He tore everything that was pure and holy about me. He tainted it with scars and blood. He took everything that made me human and stripped it away from me.

Now the third monster was staring back at me.

My fingers gripped the edge of the sink.

My hand went to the mirror, looking at my face, trying to remember a piece of the girl I had been—sharp bones, hollow cheeks, chestnut hair that fell waist-deep.

Who am I?

I looked deep into my dark brown eyes, trying to spark a new memory to come. I needed for it to come to me so I could reach and grasp it, trying to hold on to and will all of my missing pieces back together.

Who. Am. I?

Pale skin, marred body, and full of sins. I was nothing like the person I used to be. Then again, how did I know this? How did I know what kind of person I used to be if I couldn’t remember a thing?

Who am I?

I looked in the mirror once more. I’d worn many faces before but never my own. I was a stranger in my own skin. A beast covered in sheepskin. When I closed my eyes, I might not have known who I was, but I knew whothey were. I had demons, and lots of them. The bad thing was that it was not only in my dreams that they haunted me. My world was dark and full of nightmares.

I closed my eyes tightly. I was trying to trigger something—anything. I’d welcome any piece of my past life because, in this new world, there was no light, just darkness and blood. I opened my eyes and stared deep into the endless abyss of brown.

“Who am I?”

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