Chapter 1 PROLOGUE & EXCERPT.

Once upon a time, he was a prince.

Once upon a time he lived a luxury life, surrounded by servants who tended to his needs, respected by all. Feared by many.

Until the day the Evil king of Badrith attacked his kingdom unexpectedly, killed his family and took away his home.

Ten year old prince Damon was taken hostage, tortured and humiliated by king Judrith for TWO years before he escaped, faking his death.

Twenty years later, he came back seeking vengeance and also to reclaim all he had lost

EXCERPT

Flaming arrows fly across the air, the clashing sound of sword fighting fills the air, screams and cries, houses on fire, bodies dropping dead, loud cries and screams of agony saturated the air, smokes blurred the air.

Everywhere was in total chaos.

The palace was not excluded, the enemy kingdom had succeeded in invading the palace.

Damon walked out of his hiding spot and ran towards his father's almost lifeless body.

He had witnessed his father killed by king Judrith.

"Father ", he cried, dragging the king's hand.

Weakly, he took his son's hand into his bloody hands . His eyes fluttered, blurred with tears .

" D.. Damon", he stuttered.

" Father please, stand up. We have to save mama and Eleanor. Stand up ", he cried pulling his arm .

"Y–You must su...survive, You h..have t.to survive n-no m–matter what . ", He forced out.

" Father please, don't die. ", the little boy cried helplessly.

" Go. Go now. G..goo far away..from h..ere a..nd su..survive . Go", he ordered pulling his hand out of his hold forcefully.

His eyes were closing gradually, his breath slowed.

" Go Damon. And survive", he said lastly, his eyes slipped close and his breath stilled.

" Father, please, stand up ", he cried. His painful cry filled with agony.

The agony of losing everything, his home, his title and his family

But as a group of soldiers approached him, he stood up swiftly and hid. When they were out of sight, he ran out of the palace, as fast as his young legs could carry him into the darkness of that night.

The night that all that mattered to him.

CHAPTER ONE.

TWENTY YEARS LATER

A light knock sounded at his door. His gaze flickered to the entrance, curious. Who could be at his doorstep at this hour?

Another knock came, this time rough and urgent.

"Who is there?" he queried, his voice stern.

Violently, the door banged open, startling him. Yet, no one entered, and the door remained ajar.

Who was playing silly games with him tonight?

"What do you think you are doing?" he demanded, his voice hard and authoritative. He started closer to the door.

"Reveal yourself this moment!" he ordered loudly.

Silence.

Seeing no one, he braced himself and moved closer to the door, and made to close it.

A hand shot out from nowhere, gripping him by the neck, choking him. He gasped, almost knocked off his feet.

"Who are you?" he managed to say, struggling against the violent grip. He couldn't see the person's face; it was veiled by a mask, and their attire was all black.

An assassin.

"Who sent you?" he coughed, breathless, but the grip on his neck was impossibly tight.

"You evil!," the masked man spoke, releasing his grip.

"Ohh," he coughed uncontrollably, trying to catch his breath.

"Who are you?"

A scoff.

"Someone who would love to have you dead."

"You dare! I am King Judrith of Badrith! I'll have you killed for treason! " he boomed, trying desperately to conceal his fear.

A Soft chuckle.

The masked figure took a step closer, and Judrith instinctively recoiled.

"Like how you destroyed a whole family overnight. You are not human, Judrith."

King Judrith scoffed, subtly backing away. He couldn't let his fear be known.

"What do you mean? What do you know? Get out of here this instant!" he yelled.

Slowly and silently, the black-clad man unsheathed a dagger, its sharp edges glinting. King Judrith felt his stomach plummeting. He swallowed hard, frantically racking his brain for an escape.

"What do you want? Who are you? Tell me what you want, I will surely give it to you!" he pleaded, his voice meek and fearful. He winced at how weak he sounded.

He was a king, for goodness sake! A king who had to survive!

Instead of replying, the man took long, heavy strides toward him, the dagger raised, ready to plunge into his chest.

"My king, I..." a voice called from the doorway.

Judrith's eyes darted to the door, meeting the gaze of the man who had interrupted – his guard, Luke.

"What's going... Assassin? An intruder in the palace!" Luke yelled at the top of his voice, raising a flute to gain the attention of the other patrol guards.

Without a second thought, the assassin dashed out through the window.

"Are you okay, my king?" Luke asked worriedly, lowering himself to the king, who sat terrified on the floor.

"Go after him. Now!" Judrith ordered, his hand balled into a fist.

"Yes, my king," Luke bowed quickly and dashed out of the king's quarters, blowing the alarm flute to summon all nearby guards.

Who would dare attempt to kill the mighty, powerful King Judrith?

The thought left him fearful and humiliated.

Who would dare?

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He ran into a dark, foggy forest, his breath hard and heavy. He had narrowly escaped death.

"Your highness," he didn't look behind him before knowing who it was.

"Are you okay?"

He gave a curt nod, his demeanor cold.

"It's time,cole. We are getting back our home tomorrow," he declared, his will strong and unyielding, almost savage. His gaze blazed with rage.

"Tomorrow, we will seize Judrith!"

He spun on his heel, storming through the lonely path of the forest, his walk giving off an effortless dark aura.

Cole simply nodded; that was the only order he needed to hear. He knew what he had to do.

Tomorrow, the beginning of an end.