Page 1 of The Heart of a Villain

CHAPTER ONE

“Every villain has a backstory.

Where his soul burned in hell for eternity before it vanished into thin air,

leaving nothing but hollowness inside.”

Rush

Rush, 7 years old

“Please, help me! Please!” Rafael’s scream echoes through the space as wind whooshes over me, flapping my pirate jacket back. The mask on my face slides to the side, blocking my vision of him for a second. “Please, help me!” my twin shouts again, plastering himself against a tree, while birds chirp in the distance and the waterfall splashes loudly several feet away, sweat trailing down his forehead.

“He is going to kill me!” He closes his eyes and breathes heavily. Albeit a small smile graces his mouth that quickly turns into a frown when he peeks one eye open and kicks William a little, who stands by him, holding a wooden sword. “William. Your part!” he hisses, and our butler snaps out of his distraction, blinks several times, and then clears his throat.

He steps in front of Rafael, presses the tip of the sword to his stomach, and announces in his soft voice that really doesn’t fit the situation much, “I shall cut you and feed you to the… to the…”

“The sharks!” Rafael supplies, and William nods while George huffs in exasperation behind me, wiping away his own sweat with a handkerchief.

I told him not to wear his uniform!

“Right. I shall feed you to the sharks!” William glances at George, clearly asking for help.

I decide to step in when Rafael yelps, “Help! Someone!” His voice is high-pitched. The crown on his head falls on his nose, and William quickly puts it back in place, earning himself a smile. “The bad man will kill me!”

George asks in a hushed whisper, “Shouldn’t we go in now?”

I click my tongue. “Rafael isn’t done acting.”

My twin straightens his back; his silky, navy-blue shirt glistens in the bright sunlight streaming from above and only adds vividness to his emerald eyes. His shoulder-length hair hides underneath the crown. No stranger passing through the woods would ever doubt he is a prince in danger, kidnapped by a horrible man in order to get a ransom.

But then, this island is our kingdom in a way too, right? So they wouldn’t be too far off in their assumptions either.

Fisting the branch in my hand harder, I push the leaves to the side to get a better look at the situation, where Rafael stomps loudly on the ground, sending rocks flying under his boots while addressing William, who is holding his chin high.

“You shall be punished for your betrayal, William.” Our butler freezes, and my twin continues, “The king will feed you to the sharks himself.” Rafael’s eyes narrow, and an odd expression crosses his face. “While I stand by and watch!”

William pales; the pulse in his neck beats rapidly, if the blue vein is any indication. George tenses next to me, stepping toward them, ready to reassure William, and I groan inwardly.

Whenever one of them is in pain, the other is ready to fly to help, as if they cannot bear the thought of it.

Love is so stupid and lame. It sucks all the fun out of people!

“That’s very rude, Rafael,” William scolds, breaking character, and my brother shrugs.

“It’s part of the game. Focus, William!”

“Five more minutes and we end this, Rush,” George tells me, patting my shoulder, and I look at him, noticing worry etched in his features. “We should be back at the castle soon.” A smile curves his lips. “We welcome a new baby today.”

“Whatever,” I say, despising the reminder of our mom’s pregnancy—or rather how she shouted in pain when the butlers ushered us outside just hours ago when Dad barked his orders.

They didn’t want us staying in the castle while she was giving birth because it might scare us, but all that did was terrify us even more.

And make us hate this little creature who brings so much agony to Mom.

Okay, so, that’s not true, since it’s cute while kicking Mom’s stomach. But still, I’m holding a grudge for right now.

Rafael’s voice snaps me out of my thoughts as he shouts once again, “Someone, please, help me!”

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