King

The crowd came to laugh at a boy. By sunset, they would bow to him. The training arena of Ashkar roared beneath a ceiling of dark clouds….

The king hit the ground so hard that every guard in the convoy believed they had just witnessed treason. For one frozen heartbeat, the storm itself seemed…

The monster beneath Castle Valemore stopped roaring the moment the little boy touched it. For nearly six hundred years, the screams had echoed through the stone walls…

The second buried itself beside the boy’s knee. The third sliced through the sleeve of his coat. Still, the child did not move. Twelve-year-old Rowan knelt alone…

The desert never forgave arrogance. That was the first lesson every traveler learned in Ashkar. The second lesson was far more dangerous. Sometimes the desert watched. And…

Rain hammered the stones of Ashkar like a thousand tiny drums of judgment. Eleven-year-old Kael knelt at the center of the execution platform, chains biting into his…

The first drop of rain struck the arena floor like a warning. Then the sky broke open. Thunder rolled above the kingdom of Ashkar while sheets of…

The crowd laughed before the duel even began. Cold wind swept across the tournament grounds of Ashkar, bending the tall grass beyond the arena fence and dragging…

The first scream echoed across the arena long before the fire appeared. Rain crashed against the black stone battleground of Ashkar. Lightning split the sky above the…