Prologue and Author's Note
Welcome to my story!
This is an unedited draft and only part of what I initially had planned, but I have decided to release it as is. I can no longer continue with the editing process, nor do I have the motivation or skills to keep trying to execute what I’ve had in mind. As such, there are some continuity issues, but I’ll do my best to tighten it up as I release everything.
In the interest of releasing something so that I can move on, please enjoy the unedited draft and know that I’m aware it’s not exactly the best it could possibly be right now. But I’m ready to move on! I’m ready to find my passion again. I hope this story is enjoyable regardless of the state it’s in and hey, maybe I’m just a perfectionist.
So this book is dedicated to anyone who has ever been in the learning phase. It’s frustrating. It’s uncomfortable. But it means you’re getting somewhere. This is for anyone who has ever thought about giving up only to realize they’re more capable than they originally thought. This is for those who know their limits, and are ready to sacrifice what could have been greater for the sake of their mental health.
This book is also dedicated to L! You’ve been there with me every step of the way and stuck with me as my number one fan. I can’t thank you enough for all you’ve done to support me. You’re my motivation, my inspiration, and most importantly, my family. I hope to go through life with you for as long as you'll have me.
-Pix
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
~ ~ Virgil ~ ~
My mind’s eye floated aimlessly above a place I hadn’t seen in a long time. I watched myself as a toddler, running away from my mother at the speed of light. I was always a problematic kid, and I got my powers early.
Seeing my mother again brought a dull ache to my chest, the kind that was so familiar, it may as well have been a part of me. I haven’t seen her since the funeral, but this memory brought her back to life. She was just as lively and happy as I remember as she caught younger me, her smile wide while she tickled me.
Her death had been sudden, the kind you couldn’t prepare for. One night she was having dinner with us like usual and the next, my father told us she was gone. The memory appeared in front of me as I felt it, the way my heart dropped through my stomach and the world drained of color. I was eleven years old, and nothing was ever the same.
From there, a collage of memories flowed through my mind, the way things changed after she was gone. My father’s demeanor hardened, suggestions became orders, opinions became expectations. One particular moment stuck out to me, when I snuck out to visit the village. I was fifteen at the time and all I wanted was to see what was out there; get away from all the pressure for a little while.
He sent his personal guard to find me and drag me back to the castle, and then locked me in my room for two weeks.
When my mind picked the next memory, it wasn’t hard to recognize it as that night. My perspective kept me floating among the trees as if I were a ghost forced to relive this moment of my life.
Seventeen-year-old me, accompanied by a fourteen-year-old Adrian hurried through the forest, our hearts pounding in our ears, breaths coming out faster and faster. He had fashioned a raft out of logs and rope while I came up with the route we would take away from the castle, and on this night, it all came together in what we planned to be a daring escape.
But in the moment, as it was happening for real and not just in our practice runs, our breaths came out fast and our hands shook.
We took the raft away from Votira, along the coastline until we found ourselves in the middle of the ocean. From there, we used the stars to find our way to Dunstead. After four days on the water, we touched the sandy shores of a private beach. Though at the time, we hadn’t known who it belonged to. We never could have guessed we would land on the beach of our best friend’s childhood home.
Xander Delaney smuggled us into the mansion after finding us on the property. He gave us a room nobody ever used and while he was only eighteen, he had the responsibility and kindness to take us in when we needed it. We lived there for almost a year until I turned eighteen and bought our own house in the city. Soon after, Adrian went to school to become a doctor. He met Leslie during college, got married after only a few months, and then we bought a mansion to house our charity project.
I didn’t want for many things in my life, but as I thought about everything I had been through and everything I still wanted to do, I arrived at the same conclusion over and over again. I need to find my soulmate.
The thought brought me back to my own body instead of watching it from above. I walked aimlessly through a void and a group of people appeared in the distance. As I got closer, I realized they were soldiers, their shiny metal armor becoming more clear. They surrounded someone, like they targeted them. I strode closer, pushing two of the soldiers aside to get a look at the person in the middle.
A man cowering on the floor looked up at me after the soldiers backed off, his eyes widened and his breaths uneven. He brushed snow white hair out of his face, watching me as if I’d strike him down at any moment. I couldn’t focus on any of his facial features, all I saw was that hair and those eyes.
Suddenly, one of the soldiers thrust his sword into the boy’s chest, sending a wave of pain and agony through me as if I were the one stabbed. All I could see was a red haze over my eyes, rage overtaking me, grief for someone I didn’t even know. I looked down to see a sword in my hand. When did I grab that?
All I knew was that I had to avenge the white-haired man.
One Year Later
All the preparations were done. The mansion my brother and I turned into a charity foundation now had to be taken over by someone new as we went into hiding. I entrusted it to a close friend who promised to continue helping people.
My father knew I was alive. He would stop at nothing to make sure I couldn’t take his crown, his power. He created a new army out of suits of armor and vampiric black smoke to animate them, an undead force that would never stop stalking me.
But I’m a hard man to kill.
