Chapter 1 His fury

I am Fyr Cloud.

I am the eldest daughter of the prestigious Cloud Family. My mother passed away when I was young, leaving my father, the most renowned Executioner in the city, to raise me. People feared him. They bowed to his authority.

But fear is a funny thing.

No matter how powerful my father was, no matter how many lives he held in his hands, his power was nothing compared to the monster who ruled this city.

Demi Shire.

They called him the Devil in human skin. Ruthless. Merciless. A man who killed without blinking and ruled with an iron fist.

And today... that devil had come to our door.

His beloved bride was dead. Killed in what they called an accident, but the grief had turned his heart into ash and his mind into pure rage. He blamed the entire city. And unfortunately, the trail of evidence led straight to our doorstep.

Our mansion was surrounded by his assassins. Not a single window was left unwatched. My father and I stood frozen, our bodies trembling beneath his terrifying gaze. We knew one thing for certain: Demi Shire did not just kill people. He destroyed them.

“Tell me,” his voice boomed, low and dangerous, his jaw tight with barely contained fury. “Who killed my bride?”

“None of us did!” my stepmother shrieked, her voice cracking in terror. “We had nothing to do with it!”

But her words meant nothing to him.

His cold eyes locked onto her, and a cruel smirk touched his lips. “If no one confesses by the time I finish counting... I will mount every single one of your heads on spikes in the streets.”

I dared to steal a glance at my boyfriend, Kean Cruz, standing nearby. He was shaking violently, a gun pressed directly against his temple. His eyes begged for help, and my heart shattered.

I knew what I had to do.

“I will count,” Demi announced, his voice like ice. “And if no one steps forward... you are all doomed.”

One...

Two...

THREE—

“It was me!”

My voice pierced the silence, shaking and weak, but it was enough. I stepped forward, my legs feeling like jelly. I had no choice. I loved my family. I loved Kean. If I didn’t take the blame, we would all die here today.

Slowly, deliberately, Demi Shire walked toward me. The sound of his boots against the floor was like a countdown to my death. He drew his sword—a legendary blade passed down from his ancestors, sharp enough to cut through steel.

“Do you know this sword?” he whispered, his eyes pitch black and empty. A devilish smile curved his lips upwards. “Today, I am going to use it to end your life.”

“How did you kill her?” he demanded.

“I... I saw her lying on the road,” I lied, my hands ice cold and my voice trembling. “I tried to help her, but she was terrified. She panicked... and in the confusion, I accidentally pushed her into oncoming traffic.”

“Daughter! No!” My father fell to his knees, tears streaming down his face. “You killed no one! Please, stop this lie!”

“I’m sorry, Father,” I said, my voice hoarse and breaking. “But that is the truth.”

Demi said nothing. He simply pressed the sharp tip of the blade against my chest, right over my heart.

I didn’t flinch. Instead, I grabbed his hand and drove the sword forward myself, piercing my own flesh.

Blood bubbled up my throat, warm and metallic.

“Is this enough?” I gasped, looking him straight in the eye. “You have your culprit. Now... spare my family.”

He looked at the blood staining his blade, then back at me.

And then... he smiled. A smile so dark it sent chills down my soul.

“You think so?”

Darkness claimed my vision. My body went limp, and I fell. As the world faded to black, the last thing I heard was his voice, commanding his men with absolute certainty:

“She cannot die.”

I didn’t understand what he meant then.

But little did I know... death would have been a mercy compared to what he had planned for me.