The Curse of Thelonious [✓]

prologue

PROLOGUE

Emperor Thelonious heaved, heavy breaths pushing through his tattered down-turned lips.  The crimson ribbons of blood coating his shaking body dripped onto his hands where he still held the object he had slaved months to produce. He could hear the lamenting cries of the infant piercing the air, but took no heed, instead focusing on the atmosphere.

The air around him was roaring in distress – almost as though it too, was outraged over the despicable act he had just committed. The wind was more powerful than ever before; forcibly trying to blow him away but he stood strong. The Emperor’s feet bore into the cliff he was standing on against the waves of the sea crashing violently below, the sting of the sea salt strong. He held his ground, however, and lifted his head proudly. He wasn’t going anywhere. And as the blood seeped into the cracks of the object between his calloused fingertips, his cerulean eyes narrowed in a barely contained rage.

“Never again,” he vowed in fury, promising his entire bloodline as he walked away from the scene, leaving the child to fend for itself. “Never again will we be betrayed.”