Prologue

Crimson letters glistened across the thin sheet of parchment. Dipping the quill into the basin of blood, the white-cloaked figure inscribed the final letters across the page. A sigh escaped his lips as he closed the tome, for its completion was merely the beginning.

His finger caressed the name engraved upon the ornate cover.

The memory of his father’s words whispered through his mind. Are you certain you understand the consequences? Yes, he had answered. Yet even now, he heard the strain in his father’s voice. And you understand the sacrifice? She is worth it.He pressed his fingertips to his lips and then against her name.

Rising from the alabaster bench, he withdrew from the walled enclosure, wound his way through the lush foliage of the royal gardens, then crossed the palace courtyard. The throne room doors opened and he strode through the vast hall.

The shimmering emblem in the center of the floor cast a golden glow upon his ageless features. On the far end of the columned hall lay a tiered dais; its first level was barren, the second encompassed an array of white stones ablaze with an incessant flame, and the third held a gold throne and the one who sat upon it.

He walked through the midst of the fire, unburned by its flames. Bowing before the throne, he presented the tome to the King.

His voice was but a whisper. “It is finished.”