Sovereign of Shadows

Chapter 1

Kira

TORTURE IS AN UNDERSTATEMENT of what transpires down here. No flowing air, no window, no sound of the bustling city stories up above. Just the cold hard concrete walls, ceiling, and floor of the blood-begrimed playroom.

Oh. And the whimpering cries of the young man chained to the floor in front of me.

I sit on the lone chair, the only thing kept clean for the highest member in the room. David, Bryce, and Samuel surround him while Malia stands behind me.

Samuel called three hours ago saying that we've caught a member of the last Sovereign's guild.

We arrived from Switzerland three months ago. Two months ago, the council received intel that Bade, the last Sovereign, is truly still alive and has started to move against us, causing numerous problems in many sectors.

Why? He's fucking uncatchable and a genius.

Since I am the one directly challenged here, Supremo and the council put his banishment on my plate.

Only a fellow Sovereign should remove a Sovereign, he said.

No fuckin' problem.

Now, my first agenda of the day is questioning his stupid minion who got caught.

So far, he has not said anything useful. Not that I'm expecting him to, his current boss may have been a vicious and cunning figure of the order, but this one's not.

Who on earth gets sent on a spying mission and gets caught going out?

Newbies.

Which means this one had just been trained.

I stand up and reach for his hair, gripping it to the side so the side of his head is hit by the light. Right behind his ear is a small scar the size of a 5-centavo coin tells me that I'm right.

It's still reddish, at least six months old.

Anger starts to boil within me, "So your boss takes my new recruits to be his minions, huh?" I grip his hair tighter. " How dare he!"

"Sovereign-" His blood-stained hand tries to reach for my forearm, but I immediately slam his face down and stand back up, hitting the swaying light in the process.

His head jerked. The sole hanging light bulb that illuminates the room swaying low back and forth hits his already blown head in the process and he lets out another cry. "Sovereign, please," he pleads.

Yes, he knows me. He was posing as one of my guards. Samuel caught him because he tried to sneak out of the villa before dawn. When he was asked where he was going, he stuttered. They searched him and found a copy of the profiles we had on the last Sovereign court.

"Please what?" My head tilts to the side and I raise an eyebrow. "Have mercy? What a thick face," A small smile tugs a corner of my lip when he lowers his head in defeat and I fall back to my seat. His chest heaving brings me no fun. "Did you forget your oath or did Bade have you swear to his own vows?"

He doesn't answer. But I hear him still groaning and grunting. I nod to David. He approaches and pulls up his head by his hair. "Answer the sovereign, traitor,"

"Tell me," I urge.

"Sovereign, we mean no–"

Bryce hits his back with a wooden slab. "Wrong answer!"

He releases his head and he coughs out blood.

"What, Bade means no harm to the Order?" I go back to my seat and inspect my bloodied fingers. Fuck, I need a manicure. "In case you still don't know, you've already brought harm to us all"