"Azrel?"

Azrel stopped looking at his changed form and saw that he was alone again save for one dark-haired girl; she held her hand to him. He tried to remember if they had met before.

"I am a monster." He shied away from her but she stepped closer regardless.

"Azrel take my hand." She spoke with the voice of a thousand women before her. Being close to her made him feel more at ease. He felt human again.

"Please?" She spoke softly and he felt his heart buckle for her.

He reached for her hand feeling like he might crush her with his new claws. When they touched, he felt calm for the first time since he was a child.

***

Anaya and Azrel are hiding secrets. She is a spy for the rebels against her own will. He has a new power that changes him into a beastly creature. Posing as siblings, their love becomes another secret they bare. Together they must find a way to save the kingdom and each other. 

Spoils of War is created by Jo Thromby, an eGlobal Creative Publishing signed author.

Spoils of War

"Tell me again the names of the last three kings." 


Anaya closed her eyes, remembering the words on the page. 


"Bartith the third, Evlar the seventh, and Islo the third. The current king. Then, of course, there is Azrel the first, who will be king." 


She did not open her eyes, but she could feel her teacher step closer. His name was Hethper, he used to be a counselor for the king but now was serving the rebels as an inside source. 


"Before that, there was Yaslar the second, Islo the second, Evlar the sixth—" She was cut off by a grunt, and she opened her eyes. 


Hethper was a teacher of everything Dermnith. He was very knowledgeable about everything that concerned the Dermnith court. 


"Yes, well, you know your history well enough, but becoming the princess is more than knowing facts about the kingdom."


He instructed her to stand; she did and blew the veil she now wore all day out of her face. He pointed at her, and she shifted it back into place.


Chapter 12: The Deserter