Tales of Darkness and Light (Book 1 Complete)

Chapter 16: Of Thieves and New Perspectives

Chapter 15: Of Thieves and New Perspectives

Hayden Lochan

Luna Valadon. The new Queen of Alura.

Hayden had seen many things over the course of his life, all nearly impossible to believe. The horrors of Mordan were well known to him, ever since the day that his parents had died and his brother had vanished.

He had grown up the spare to the throne of Galys, a rich trading city. His family had been the second-most powerful in the entirety of Perrnath, second only to the King and Queen themselves.

Being the second-born son, he had always been the spare heir to his family's fortune, never expected or trained to rule. That had always been his brother Ethan's destiny. It was a simple fact of life, one that Hayden had always been grateful for.

It allowed him to spend hours hiding in the corner with some book or another, lost in an imaginary world while his brother was shuttled off to lesson after lesson by their parents.

Their mother had been... kind enough, and their father was strict and utterly disinterested in his second son, who preferred the book to the blade.

Ethan had been his dearest friend since before he could remember. His brother hadn't carried about his disinterest in the sword, but Ethan's love for it was what inspired Hayden to start lessons, earning a sliver of his father's approval at last.

But Hayden couldn't have cared less about that. The only approval he needed was his brother's. He was confident that Ethan would lead Galys into a new era of prosperity, and that he would be there by his side, advising him.

Then came the incident. The blood and lifeless faces of his parents staring up at him after the carnage had ended, his brother gone with the wind, only scattered clues and signs of struggle left behind.

He had spent the entire time hiding like a coward while his family had been slaughtered. The sword lessons had started in earnest. He would never be defenseless again.

It was when he was sent to live with the King and Queen, and when he started up a regular correspondence with the Lord of Salt City that he finally made sense of his new situation. He was to be the next ruler of Galys.

The responsibility that should have been Ethan's, that his brother had trained for all his life, was now his. He felt woefully unprepared, though Queen Mara and King Leon did all they could to help him.

He felt more alone than he ever could have imagined. And that was when, soon after Princess Jessica was born, a beacon of light encompassed the darkness of his heart.

For the first time since his brother had died, he had found a friend in Abigail Valadon. For someone used to the somber tone of the courtiers in Lasara, the boundless enthusiasm of the Alurian princess was a welcome reprieve.

He had found a fast friend in Abby, who quickly pulled him into her circle of friends. Eliza Barclay was shy and watchful, eyes often darting between the Valadon sisters like she was amazed by their sheer brilliance. Jason Valadon reminded him enough of Ethan to hurt, but he eventually found enough in common with the future King of Aluria to push that aside.

On more than one occasion, Hayden had been amazed at what his life had come to. How many people couldn't count among their friends such powerful future leaders?

Yet there had been one dark spot in the sea of light, and that had been Luna Valadon. There was something about her that had struck Hayden as odd, dark, and wrong. That was why when Abigail had whispered to him about the poisoning that her sister had caused, her eyes so full of resignation to the fact he wouldn't believe her, he had accepted her truth wholeheartedly.