Prologue
Griffin
Fifteen Years Ago - Grypheem
Griffin kneeled before his father, his nose pressed firmly to the marble ground. It was cool against his skin but nowhere as chilly as the anxiety that skittered along his body.
“Clear the room!” his father bellowed. There was shuffling and stomping as his command was followed.
“Father.” Drago’s voice was filled with concern as it cut through the noise.
“Your brother must learn. He cannot question hisfamilyin front of our people. He is eighteen now, a man.Leave.You are not king yet.”
Griffin’s ears heated in anger and shame. He had simply spoken the truth.
The woman by my father’s side is not my mother.
Once the oversized room was emptied and they werenearlyalone in the throne room, his father spoke again.
“Raise your head.”
Griffin did as told, his teeth grinding. “She isn’t my mother. It was not a lie.” He knew the words were a mistake, but he couldn’t catch them as they spilled from his lips, the righteousness within, clear and discernable.
“You are a fool. A child who doesn’t understand the world.” His father’s dull gray eyes narrowed, his nose crinkling in disgust. “Get to your feet,boy.”
Griffin flattened his hands to the marble, pushing down and getting up unsteadily. His attention landed on the other person still in this room.
The imposter.
Griffin sneered at her.
The woman had been touted as his mother but Griffin knew, with certainty, she was not. He had always felt there was something off.He didn’t look like either of hisparents.Didn’t have the same temperament. Didn’t have nearly anything in common. Especially not with this fraud. And now he knew why.
“I saw her.Mymother. The one I have never met before.“ Griffin turned his gaze to his father.“She was locked away on the Isles of Sacerdos! When I found her, the priests dragged me away. You have to rescue her! She is being held against her will!” Griffin marched towards his father, ignoring the woman by his side entirely. It wasn’t hard. In his eighteen years of life, she had only spoken a handful of times in his presence. She was a lifeless puppet, a tool used to stabilize his father’s reign.
His father stood in front of his throne, a crown adorned his head and he was dressed in black slacks and a button-up silk shirt, his arms folded across his chest, stretching the material and reminding Griffin of his father’s strength.
“Martha, you can leave. You don’t need to be here for this. You shouldn’t have to watch.”
Martha inclined her head, raising up and walking away without a word. Even her movements wereoff.As if each step she took was controlled by a set of strings. In some ways, Griffin doubted she was even human.
With the room now empty, save for them, his father took several paces forward until he stared at Griffin; they were nearly eye level now. His father bent over, whispering into his ear, “There are conversations better had in private. You cannot speak your mother into existence—it isn’t safe for her. I was not the only who held claim to her. We could not come to an agreement, and thus she must remainthere.That is the law.” He straightened up, grabbing hold of Griffin’s shoulders, shaking him. “Wake up, son!”
“But you are the king!” Griffin fought back.
“A man shackled to a throne he does not want is not a king. He is a puppet bowing for the sake of others.” The words were a fleeting hiss that disappeared into the space between them.
Griffin’s confusion was second only to his concern. “Father?” he murmured, studying the man before him. The words churned in his stomach uncomfortably. He had known his father to always take his sovereignty seriously, to work tirelessly to keep their country in order. But that wasallGriffin knew. Drago was to be the next in line and Griffin had no interest in learning a role he would never possess.
His father’s shoulders fell, his eyes turned glassy. In this moment, the man wasn’t his father at all, nor was he a king. He was a heart-broken man.
One who was never able to claim his Sacred Cherished.
“I hoped we would have more time.” There was an unrecognizable shadow that cast an eerie hue down his father’s face as he seemingly came to a decision. He raised his voice.“Son, your insolence cannot go unpunished. It is time for you to grow up. Every man must explore the world before they can truly establish themselves. Your brother spent a year in Violencia and now it is your turn. Except, I fear you will need more time to truly understand.” He turned his head. “Drago, I know you are out there! It is time to say good-bye to your brother. He will be there soon!”
Griffin opened his mouth to speak, but his father squeezed his shoulders tighter, offering a small shake of his head.
“Son, this is going to be the hardest part of your life. You are going to be challenged. Physically, mentally, spiritually. You have heard the stories of how Violencia came to be, but I want you to remember to keep your eyes wide open. To only trust what you see first-hand. Do you understand me?”
