Page 1 of Shadows of Ruin

Prologue

KADE, SEVEN YEARS AGO

The crowd gathered for today’s execution stared gleefully at the bleeding man, trembling on his knees.

The show hadn’t even begun, yet blood stained the cobblestone of the dais in the courtyard beneath him.

“Those who stand against Mysthaven will be swiftly brought to justice.” The king’s brash voice echoed through the jagged mountains surrounding the palace courtyard. “Traitors are the reason the darkness spreads in our lands. With their lies, they seek to control you.”

My hands tightened into a fist watching the large man, broken at the feet of the king. The involuntary twitch garnered the king’s attention, and his eyes narrowed on me.

This execution was the third this week alone. The plots against the king, against our kingdom, seemed to be increasing. I nodded toward the king, his black velvet robe billowing behind him in the wind, just like his black hair underneath his black glittering crown.

Always black.

Dark.

Perhaps on someone else, the crown would look beautiful.The dark material shimmered in the sunlight. On him, it merely amplified the cold cruelness stored within.

“Traitors must therefore be punished accordingly.” A sinister smile curved his lips upward as the king gestured to the two guards holding the latesttraitorat his feet. “Kade.” The king summoned me forward.

My shadows pooled at my feet, swirling around me. My power had increased significantly in the past year, the shadows developing a mind of their own. Usually, I wielded them as a deadly extension of the king’s will, but lately an internal battle between my shadows and me flared. Rare in the grand scheme of using my powers, but enough for me to take notice.

They hated the king. Their reluctance to follow my commands around him had been the first sign that perhaps somewhere deep inside me, I didn’t like the monster I’d become.

The Monster of Mysthaven.

The king stepped back, as murmurs from the crowd hummed around me. Their bubbling excitement at the public displays of violence disturbed me. It hadn’t before, but now…something didn’t feel right.

“Storm,” the king shouted, pointing at one of the guards holding the man.

Storm. He hid our friendship well. He glanced at me, barely acknowledging my presence. It reminded me of eight years ago when he spoke to me in annoyed grunts, requesting we train together.

No one spoke to me, except this man. A man who dared to befriend the shadow-cloaked monster.

He stared at me now while he drew his sword and presented it to me with an exaggerated bow. We both knew this was a damn show. A show of the king’s power through us, his Guardians.

The king inclined his head toward me, giving hismonsterspace to work. “This is what happens when you choose to defyyour king,” he roared to the eager onlookers. Their shouts of excitement filled the air as their arms punched the sky in heady anticipation of the impending execution. I chose to ignore the disgust building at their enthusiasm.

I flipped the sword in my hand and briefly met the traitor’s gaze. His eyes didn’t hold wrath or anger. They didn’t even contain spite.

For one moment, I hesitated.

Instead, the man on the stone ground watched me with something that made my skin crawl.

Hope.

As if I would somehow do the right thing and defy the king’s orders. I could barely tell right from wrong anymore. Not that I ever admitted that out loud.

King Dargan approached me and placed a hand on my shoulder, squeezing tightly. Dread coiled in my gut. I knew he noticed my hesitation. The gesture wasn’t in comfort or reassurance, like he wanted others to believe. His voice dropped. “You do as you’re told, when you’re told, or you will face punishment as well.”

He squeezed my shoulder roughly once more and took two large steps back. I clenched my jaw, wishing the traitor would look away as I sliced the sword forward hurriedly through the man’s neck, but not completely. And his gaze never left mine. Blood spattered as the crowd cheered. The man’s head clung to his body in a desperate attempt to remain attached.

Nausea churned deep within me, and I pulled my arms back and swung again. Harder. Faster. With one more clean swing over the man’s neck, his head rolled from atop his body.

Thethudon the ground as it fell turned my stomach. Gasps from the crowd tittered around us, but none of them dared to run.

“Remove the body,” the king ordered the additionalguards lining the courtyard. He prowled toward the shadows, returning with a leather whip in hand.

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