Prologue

Miaka’s P.O.V

Gods grant favours to only those who work for it.

But sometimes miracles happen. Someone somewhere gets a surprise that changes their lives forever. Sometimes it’s a pleasant surprise, sometimes unpleasant. And sometimes that miracle might as well be a curse. And sometimes, we spend our entire life debating if that miracle was actually a curse in disguise or a blessing.

I’m one such miracle.

Eighteen years ago, a war was started between Hades and Suzaku, the Beast God of Fire and of the South, about who would rule over the Fires of Hell in the Southern Hemisphere. The war claimed many lives and went on for years until two of the fiercest warrior women; the Demon Zara, Hades’s most trusted Lieutenant and the Angel Alysa, Suzaku’s most trusted commander, died fighting each other.

The Gods were grief stricken and ended the war immediately before it claimed any more of those they loved. A truce was made between the Gods as they retrieved Zara and Alysa’s souls and combined them to form a being which was neither Demon, nor Angel but both. And thus, I was born.

A celestial hybrid, but a hybrid none the less.

It is the biggest secret of my life…or it was, until a few moments ago.

“The choice is yours, Miaka.” Rihero Von Palestine, the dragon King’s face was an unreadable mask, his aura dead calm. “Either I let the Dark Council know about your actual identity and they strip you of all your power and hunt you down until you’re dead. Or, you can marry me and together we rule everything.”

“You think I’m scared of death?” I asked him, masking my emotions behind iron control.

“No.” Rihero lifted his shoulders lightly in a shrug. “But you’re scared of what will happen after you die. The only reason the Dark Council is stable as of now is because of you.”

“And marrying you is going to solve everything?” I arched an eyebrow. “What guarantee do I have that you wouldn’t turn on me after I’ve agreed to this ridiculous proposal?”

“You don’t.” Another shrug. “But like I said, you don’t have a choice.”

“Fine.” I shrugged. Rihero’s lips tilted up on one side, thinking that he had won this battle. That was until he heard what I had to say next. “Tell them. I’m tired of keeping secrets anyway.”

If he was shocked, he didn’t show it. His expression remained the same.

Honestly, I couldn’t figure out if I should be shocked or disgusted or angry or repulsed or everything at once. What exactly had gotten into Rihero? I know that he’s nearly two thousand years old and people of that age often get too bored with life and want some kind of excitement in it. But I had never expected that the man I had thought of as a father figure would want to marry me and would resort to blackmailing to get what he wants.

What the hell was wrong with him?

I had known Rihero from a very early age, but not as early as I had known the other members of the Dark Council.

I wasn’t born, but brought into the world through a ray of light falling down from the heavens. And I was specifically sent to this dimension to rule as King because on my back, I had the birthmark that determines the Kings of this dimension, the mark of the Phoenix.

As the Kings and Queens of other dimensions had arrived to greet me, Rihero had been absent, subtly telling everyone that he was least interested in matters regarding the other dimension members.

But when I was four, I remember falling into a pit of vipers as I explored the outskirts of my territory. I had escaped my charge and was running wildly through a field when I had accidentally fallen into a large cave like hole in the ground that had been filled with vipers. The snakes had immediately begun to wrap around me, hissing and spitting poison. And that was when I had seen him…Rihero.

His expressions had been impassive even then as he had reached in and hauled me out, even as many a viper had stung his arm. He hadn’t bothered with the snakes; he had simply dusted me off and reminded me to always follow the rules.

And then he had walked of like nothing had happened as I had stared after him for as long as I could. He’d become my Hero, the father figure I didn’t have. But now, looking at the man sitting opposite to me, I was having a hard time understanding what could possibly have gone wrong. Was it really him? Or was this an imposter wearing his skin?

“If we are done here, I’d like to excuse myself,” I told him with the politest smile I could manage. “I have some errands to run.”

“You have no idea what you’re getting yourself into.”

That was all the explanation I got before Rihero’s image disappeared from the mental vault I had created especially for this conversation.

A second later, I opened my eyes to the sight of millions of books around me in the palace library. And the only question on my mind was:

“What the hell just happened?”

N.B: This is book 5 of The Dark Council Series. The first book is called The Vampire's Bride and the second is called The Incubus's Secretary. Both these books have been published and are available on A****n. A different version of The Incubus's Secretary is present here, called The Incubus and His Secretary. Book 3 and 4 are still WIP and I'm not focusing on them at the moment. Hope you enjoy and please do check out my published books to know more about the series.