An evil and feared emperor. A woman who is given in tribute by her father. An unexpected love between them.
Emperor Andras, The Demon of Galitia, strides malignantly into the throne room of the defeated Kingdom of Jotrel, the last kingdom to have resisted his conquest of the continent of Ostria.
When his new subjects kneel before him to offer tribute, the poorDuke Tyreseoffers his only daughter,Korbela, who mysteriously unnerves Andras.
Korbela spends her time with Andras attempting to defy and undermine him yet the more she does, she discovers he is a complex character, capable of kindness and brutality in equal measure. Underneath it all though, she finds years of war have caused Andras to be haunted by ademonthat urges him to commit acts of savagery causing him intense feelings of remorse that threatens to break him.
As a deep bond develops between them, Korbela must free Andras from the demon attempting to consume him before it is too late.
"The Demon and The Raven" is an enemies-to-lovers fantasy dark romance.
Prologue
Many, many years ago, before the rise of the five kingdoms, a demon rode out of his castle in the underworld ahead of his horde intent on conquering the human world. This demon was cruel. He defeated each kingdom until the human world was under the yolk of his tyranny. Any king that stood in his way was dismembered. Their screams continued after death as their souls were sent to the underworld to be tortured for eternity. Any heroes that tried to kill him were boiled alive and devoured by his pets.
He took delight in seeing the humans in chains, watching as his horde flogged the humans, breaking their will so they grovelled on their knees in front of him.
As the demon surveyed what he achieved a raven with green eyes flew down and sat on the back of his throne.
‘Your Demonic Majesty,’ the raven said. ‘You have conquered the human world. Are you now pleased?’
‘Of course, I am pleased. Why would I not be?’ The demon replied proudly.
‘What have you left to achieve now you have achieved your ambition?’
The demon realised that the raven was right. What did he have left to achieve? No one in the human world opposed him.
‘Maybe I will conquer the underworld then the heavens.’ The demon replied.
‘Are you sure you are strong enough to do that? If another demon attacked your lands in the underworld, could you stop them?’ cautioned the raven.
The demon realised that the raven was right again. He was not. The Underworld had stronger demons with greater hordes, but his ambition set him apart. The human world was the weakest of the three plains of existence and easily conquered by a strong enough demon and great enough horde. Conquering the human world would have also angered the angel hordes in heaven.
‘What would you have me do then Raven?’ the demon demanded.
‘Return to the underworld while you still have it all content in the knowledge you achieved your ambition.’ the raven suggested.
‘If I do that the human world would be free. All that I have done would be for nought.’
‘Yes, it would,’ the raven conceded, ‘but is keeping the human world worth losing all you have in the underworld?’
The raven was right yet again. Normally the demon would have punished the person who talked to him this way, but he liked this raven and enjoyed this debate. For once someone was not talking to him in a subservient way.
‘I like you raven,’ the demon said. ‘If I agree to free the human world and return to the underworld, would you come with me?’
Agreeing to the demon's request the raven followed the demon back to the underworld. The human world united together to be ruled by a council with each tribe represented. The human world then enjoyed one thousand years of peace and prosperity.
The demon and the raven continue to debate to this day.
Chapter 1
Andras confidently walked into the large throne room, a throne room dedicated to the vanity of a conquered dynasty. His black armour gleamed malevolently, and his red cloak flowing behind him, contrasting with his blond hair. His cold blue eyes stared straight ahead. The scar running down his cheek gave him an added appearance of malignancy. Soldiers from his conquering army stood to attention on either side of him creating a guard of honour.
All that stood against him were defeated. Kings, heroes, assassins, alliances. They all failed. None could match his power and guile. Any hope that could stop him was extinguished.
Each victory brought him more power and more people subjugated themselves to him. Those who didn’t were executed in the most brutal way possible. Andras enjoyed their screams as they were dismembered alive. At just 32 years old he achieved something no one in history had. He conquered the continent of Ostria, in a brilliant ten-year campaign of fear, deception, and brutality.
Andras sat on the throne. His grand vizier Melchom brought him the jewel-encrusted golden crown and placed it on his head, signifying the completion of his conquest, the end of freedom and Andras’s total control of the continent. His ambition was fulfilled. They said he was evil; they called him the Demon King of Galitia. Now, none dared to call him this.
Andras stood with his head adorned with the crown, Melchom bellowed theatrically,
‘All hail His Imperial Majesty, Emperor Andras! Ruler of all Ostria, King of the heavens and the underworld! Kneel before him and show your obedience to your new emperor!’
All in the room knelt. Andras glared at all kneeling before him looking for anyone who may defy him. He didn’t get where he was by being complacent. There are always a few who feign loyalty only to later turn against him.
Satisfied Andras finally commanded.
‘Bring in the prisoners.’
The army swept aside when he invaded was given the choice to serve him or die. Some knelt, others chose death. Their king and generals were kept alive, their fate already sealed.
The prisoners walked into the throne room in chains. Dirty and humiliated. Few had signs of resistance in their eyes. Once before the throne, they were forced to their knees. ‘How could, Jortrel, the most powerful nation in Ostria be led by these men,’ Andras thought contemptuously. ‘What did this country do to deserve such cowardly and self-serving leaders? As soon as defeat was inevitable, they ran, the cowards. The men who they commanded showed more bravery. These cowards betrayed their soldiers. If any of his generals or advisers did what they did, they would die painfully.’ Andras would enjoy seeing them dismembered.
‘You, cowardly former rulers of this nation,’ Melchom delivered the judgement and sentence of death. ‘You shamefully ran from battle in defeat while your men fought on and died bravely. You will not receive mercy from his Imperial Majesty. You will be dismembered in front of your former subjects. If you remain silent while you are dismembered, you may recover the honour in death that you denied yourself in life.’
The prisoners shook with fear. Some wet themselves, tears rolling down their faces unable to contemplate the fate that awaited them. Andras looked at them with unconcealed disgust.
‘Take them away,’ the Vizier ordered with contempt.
The prisoners were taken away begging for their lives, pathetically, as they did so.
‘Bring in his Imperial Majesty’s new loyal subjects!’ Melchom now commanded.
The Jortrelain nobles walked in and one by one professed their undying loyalty and laid gifts before Andras. Andras looked at them with explicit boredom as they gave jewels, gold, and other expensive gifts. However, one noble did make him take notice. Unlike the other nobles, he didn’t have chests of gold or jewels. Neither did he have expensive clothes, nor expensive spices. Instead, kneeling beside him was a woman with her head and face covered. The noble was nervous. With fear in his voice, he addressed his new master,
‘Your Imperial Majesty, I, Duke Priam of Tyrese, may be a noble by birth but my lands are poor. Even my family goes hungry when the harvests fail. I cannot offer you gold or jewels. The only thing that I have of value is my only daughter.’
Andras noticed the other nobles sneer in contempt. ‘The other nobles looked down on this one,’ he thought. With his short speech complete, Duke Priam removed the cloth covering this woman’s head and face. Long black hair cascaded down her back. Her clothes were not of the finest quality but looked like they were the best clothes she had, which showed that the duke was telling the truth but this woman….
‘What kind of tribute is this?’ Melchom thundered. The noble shook with fear. ‘You lie. You are not poor. For this insult…’
Andras raised his hand, stopping Melchom mid-sentence. For some reason, this woman had intrigued him. Very few people intrigued Andras. People were easy to read. But this woman, there was something about her. While her father trembled next to her, she knelt unmoved.
‘Raise your head,’ Andras commanded the woman emotionlessly. She complied. What Andras saw took his breath away, although he hid it from view. From a young age, he had become skilled at hiding his emotions.
This woman had deep green eyes which looked straight into his own. It wasn’t out of defiance; it was like she saw herself as his equal. Her face, although attractive, was not that of a great beauty. She had an inner beauty, though, which shone out of her. She remained utterly expressionless and her calm, strong demeanour made Andras, feel for the first time in his life, unnerved. Andras had no idea what she was thinking. Finally, after several moments Andras stood,
‘We are done for today.’ Looking at the kneeling noble he said, ‘I will accept your tribute. Take her away. Bathe and clothe her. Make sure she is treated well. She can stay in a room near mine and keep her under guard until I call for her. Give the tributes of gold and jewels to our victorious soldiers and the widows and orphans of the fallen,’ Andras ordered as he walked out of the throne room.
Melchom bowed in obedience. The young woman was taken away. Andras needed to rest.
‘Bow for His Imperial Majesty!’ Melchom demanded as Andras left the throne room. No one dared to disobey.