THE DEVIL'S JEWEL
The man they called the devil incarnate.
Stories about him were told to scare misbehaving children. Tales of entire villages that had dared to oppose him, reduced to ash and memory. Of nobles who'd crossed him and simply... disappeared. Of the way he'd taken his own throne, through methods so brutal that even hardened soldiers refused to speak of them openly.
"No." The word escaped her lips as she sprang to her feet, the chair scraping against stone. "Father, tell me you're joking. Please."
"This is no joke, Eryndra." King Alric's voice was flat, emotionless, but she could see his hands gripping the arms of his chair so tightly his knuckles were white.