Prologue

"Is it worth it, my Lord?" a soft voice asked in the back of his mind. "Is it worth ruining her life?"

"Silence," Ronim spoke aloud, sitting in a throne made of clouds, watching his marked mortal scurry around her home with his unborn child.

"You know she won't love that child," the voice responded. "Not after what you did."

"I asked for silence!" he yelled.

"You know I'm right, Ronim. What you did to that child down there will not make up for what you did."

"She loves me."

"She hates you." The voice dripped with distain. "Like I hated you for killing me. My child."

"Silence!" he shouted, throwing his hands over his ears, trying to drown out the woman.

A face appeared in the cloud in front of him. A soft, young face riddled with pain. "Like you hate yourself."