Years upon years of abuse had caused the third son to turn from a man to a monster. What was once a lively, curious boy had endured a lifetime of hardship at the hands of his aggressive father, his cold and brutal step mother, and his callous older two brothers. The staff saw how the royal family treated Mikael and did the same.

Royal by blood, but Mikael Vinn was treated more like a pest. Beaten, starved, neglected, all for the crime of being born the product of infidelity. A bastard. Unloved. Left to fester in his hated...with a single saving grace. His maid. A peasant given the task of keeping him looking presentable to preserve their image, and the only person in his entire life to treat him like a person no matter what anyone else said.

The day he saw his father strike his little light was the day he vowed to see the halls of the palace painted with the blood of his family.

He felt nothing when he showed up to court to slaughter his family and the full court, declaring himself king. He felt nothing when he ordered the execution of half the palace staff for the abuse he endured at their hands. The beginning of a bloody reign, but he had his little light of a maid by his side safe from harm, and he would do anything to see they remained such.