Of Blood And Shadows

Prologue

AERWYN

Aerwyn was fucked, and she knew it. More fucked than she had been yesterday in Princess Poppy's bed. Nah, this time, she was really fucked.

"Aerwyn Sparrows, by royal command, you are to follow us without any comment," a guard commanded.

It wasn't the fact that she was being arrested that was the problem—nope. It was the swarm of news reporters taking pictures of her while she was in the ugliest nightgown to ever exist. She knew she should've worn her sexy nightwear after coming back from Poppy's party, but she was just too lazy. Besides, she could always change if someone knocked, right? Wrong. The royal guards had literally knocked her door down and handcuffed her without warning.

"Can I at least change? This won't do any good for my mysterious image," Aerwyn pleaded.

"The only mysterious image you'll have is when your fans wonder why the fuck you stabbed Princess Poppy to death," the guard snapped.

For a moment, Aerwyn stood still. She understood the words, but her brain refused to process them. So, she stood there, mouth hanging open like a fish out of water. Great, the photos were gonna destroy her already wounded reputation. They'd be making memes of her for the rest of her life.

The guard dragged her outside and shoved her into the car. Flashlights from the cameras blinded her, but she didn't care. As Aerwyn tried to remember what happened after the hot sex with Poppy, her mind drew a complete blank. She didn't remember shit until she got to her apartment and passed out.

Had she accidentally killed Poppy by giving her too many orgasms in one go?

"Get out, bitch," the guard yelled, snapping her back to reality.

Aerwyn's mouth curled into a smirk as she looked up at the guard. "Say 'please,' and I'll consider it."

The guard rolled his eyes, yanked her by the hair, and shoved her to the floor. "Hey! Quit manhandling me, okay? Do you know how much I paid for my hair? And this flawless skin?"

"You've got a lot of nerve. Let's see if you're still laughing when you're strapped to the chair."

"Look, I didn't kill Princess Poppy, alright? She was like my almost-best-friend—but not really?" Aerwyn trailed off. "But that's not the point. The point is, I've never hurt a fly."

Except for that one cockroach, but that doesn't count. It literally flew when she hit it. She shuddered at the memory.

"Right," the guard huffed, picking her up and dragging her into the palace.

Aerwyn had only been to the palace twice. Both times had ended with her nearly shooting the King and Queen in their rotten little spines. Not that she'd ever harm them—she wouldn't even hurt a fly—but she would pay good money to see their brains splattered on the floor.

"Your Majesty," the guards said, bowing low. Aerwyn considered just standing there looking dumb, but given the current predicament, she'd rather not tempt them.

Queen Adelina stood abruptly and charged at Aerwyn like a bull seeing red. It took Aerwyn approximately five seconds to realize she had just been slapped. "You whore! I told you to stay away from my daughter, and now you've killed her! I'll have you executed if it's the last thing I do!" The queen sobbed and collapsed dramatically.

King Jared rushed to her, calling for maids to take the queen to the palace infirmary. In all fairness, Aerwyn should probably feel bad for the woman who just lost her heir, but honestly, all she wanted to do was laugh at how absurd the whole display was. She tried to rub her slapped cheek with her shoulder, but the guards held her still. Stupid fucks.