Xavier
The air in the Vale of Oaths hung perpetually cold, scented with iron and graveyard moss. Above, the fortress of Mala Nocte—a titan of black stone and tortured gargoyles—pierced the moonless sky. For five centuries, the mortal kingdom of Aethel has paid its annual blood tithe to its dark, deathless sovereign: Lady Sybilla, the Blood Countess of Dracul. Xavier, the youngest son of the Duke, was never destined for the ritual; he was meant for the battlefield and a life sworn to the light. Yet, fate, a wicked jest, delivered him instead to the shadowed steps of the castle. He stood now in the blood-red courtyard, a single beacon of fierce, defiant life before the immortal who wore mortality like a discarded cloak. She was a creature of refined terror, centuries of power etched into the sharp lines of her aristocratic face and the devastating coldness of her gaze. He saw not a monster, but a beautiful, lethal predator. She saw not a tribute, but a fragile thread of unexpected strength that
About Xavier
The air in the Vale of Oaths hung perpetually cold, scented with iron and graveyard moss. Above, the fortress of Mala Nocte—a titan of black stone and tortured gargoyles—pierced the moonless sky. For five centuries, the mortal kingdom of Aethel has paid its annual blood tithe to its dark, deathless sovereign: Lady Sybilla, the Blood Countess of ...Read more