Chapter 1
King draven pov:-
Kingdom of Veyrion
They called me many things.
Ruthless.
Merciless.
Cold-blooded.
But the name that followed me wherever I went was the one I hated most.
The Heartless King.
I never corrected them.
Fear was useful.
From the highest tower of Blackthorn Castle, I could see almost every corner of my kingdom. Veyrion stretched beneath the mountains like a dark crown—its stone cities, endless forests, fortified borders, and silver rivers all answering to one ruler.
Me.
King Kael Draven.
I had inherited the throne at an age when most men were still learning how to hold a sword. My father had left me a kingdom surrounded by enemies, an empty throne room, and a lesson I never forgot:
Trust no one.
So I didn’t.
My court feared me. My soldiers obeyed me. My enemies whispered my name like a curse.
And I preferred it that way.
That morning, I stood before the enormous windows of the throne room while two nobles knelt before me.
“Your Majesty,” one of them stammered, “the southern villages have requested another month to pay their taxes.”
I turned slowly.
“Another month?”
The noble swallowed.
“They suffered losses after the winter storm.”
I walked down the steps of my throne.
“Did the storm also prevent them from asking for my permission?”
Silence.
“No, Your Majesty.”
“Then they will pay.”
“But, Your Majesty—”
“Enough.”
My voice echoed through the hall.
The noble immediately lowered his head.
I looked toward my guards.
“Send the royal officers tomorrow.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
The nobles were dismissed.
As the great doors closed behind them, I returned to my throne.
This was Veyrion.
A kingdom built through blood, defended by steel, and ruled by a king who had forgotten how to be anything but hard.
Beyond our eastern borders lay the Valerian Empire—the richest and most powerful empire on the continent.
Our kingdoms had been enemies for generations.
Their banners had burned our villages.
Our armies had crossed their borders.
Neither side trusted the other.
And I certainly had no intention of changing that.
I leaned back against my throne and stared at the empty hall.
Love.
Mercy.
Trust.
People spoke of these things as though they were treasures.
I knew better.
They were weaknesses.
And I had no weakness.
Or at least, that was what I believed.
Until fate placed a mysterious girl in my path.
A girl I would find alone in the forbidden forest.
A girl whose true identity I would never imagine.
A girl who would eventually become the greatest threat to the walls I had built around my heart.
But that morning, I knew none of it.
I was simply King Kael Draven.
The ruler of Veyrion.
The man everyone feared.
And the man who believed his heart had been dead long ago.
