Ruthless Royals

Copyright The characters in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author. Copyright © Rebecca L. Garcia 2023 www.rebeccagarciabooks.com All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, nor translated into a machine language, without the written permission of the publisher. The moral right of the author had been asserted. This was a work of fiction. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events and organizations was purely coincidental. CONTENT WARNING: Please note this is a dark fantasy romance intended for readers 18+. This book contains scenes or mentions of sex, graphic violence, torture scenes, suicide, demons, adult language, blood, human trafficking and slavery, and murder. Please go to my website to read the complete list of content warnings: www.rebeccagarciabooks.com/contentwarnings Contents DEDICATION 1. ONE 2. TWO 3. THREE 4. FOUR 5. FIVE 6. SIX 7. SEVEN 8. EIGHT 9. NINE 10. TEN 11. ELEVEN 12. TWELVE 13. THIRTEEN 14. FOURTEEN 15. FIFTEEN 16. SIXTEEN 17. SEVENTEEN 18. EIGHTEEN 19. NINETEEN 20. TWENTY 21. TWENTY-ONE 22. TWENTY-TWO 23. TWENTY-THREE 24. TWENTY-FOUR 25. TWENTY-FIVE 26. TWENTY-SIX 27. TWENTY-SEVEN 28. TWENTY-EIGHT 29. TWENTY-NINE 30. THIRTY 31. THIRTY-ONE 32. THIRTY-TWO 33. THIRTY-THREE 34. THIRTY-FOUR 35. THIRTY-FIVE 36. THIRTY-SIX 37. THIRTY-SEVEN 38. THIRTY-EIGHT 39. EPILOGUE ACKNOWLEDGMENTS GLOSSARY ALSO BY REBECCA L. GARCIA ABOUT THE AUTHOR DEDICATION F or Hope, We should never fear the darkness, for often we find ourselves in the jaws of defeat and realize our true power and worth. This is the theme of the series, and I am grateful for your support in bringing these books to life in with special edition versions. Thank you, and welcome back to Sanmorte… PRONUNCIATION GUIDE Adormai—Adore-me Aniccipere–Ann-iss-sep-heir Avyanna—Av-Yah-Nah Azia-Az-Eye-Ah Baldoria–Bal-door-ee-ah Dragoirmer—Drag-er-mare Draven: Dray-ven Erianna–Air-ee-anna Hamza–Ham-zah Jaiunere–Shaun-air Kalon–Kal-on Laveniuess–Lav-en-nwass Niall: Nye-ill Malum Dominor—Mal-oom Dom-ee-nore Ravena–Rav-ee-nah Salenia–Sal-ee-nah Salvius—Sal-vee-us Salvor—Sal-vore Sangaree–Sang-ah-ree Sanmorte–San-moor-tay Seraphina–Sair-ah-feen-ah Sargon–Sar-gone Stagma—Stag-mah Vitarem—Vye-tear-em ONE Olivia I squinted through the downpour along the cobblestone walkway, scanning the street for any sign of aniccipere, but there were none. Thankfully, most of the ones in this part of the city had gone. I relaxed my shoulders, but my heart still pounded at the thought of running into one of them. I squeezed Sebastian’s hand, grounding myself as the flashbacks threatened to throw me into another panic attack. Swallowing thickly, I shook my head, as if to scatter thoughts of them and continued down the road. Sebastian's wings cast a shadow on the ground, shielding us from the storm. The cold seeped through my jacket as we hurried toward the shadow market on the other side of the city. He held me close, as if he could sense my fear in our bond—which was likely. The barrier I’d formed in my mind to prevent others’ emotions from consuming me was still strong, but the soulmate bond was different. Whenever he felt something deeply, I could sense it, taste it even. It was a beautiful thing to share with another person, but it made us vulnerable. Especially when those emotions were negative. Knowing each other’s pain but being helpless in stopping it, was awful. All we could do was be there for each other after everything that happened, but the nightmares, the anxiety, the terror—they were all our own to deal with and sometimes, it was suffocating. I glanced up at him, relaxing on seeing his piercing blue eyes. He was on edge; I could tell by his clenched jaw and tense shoulders. But we were okay. Azia had disguised me well with a spell, so no one would recognize me. But that didn’t stop my husband from tugging me closer every time someone made eye contact with us. No one could know I was alive. Sebastian clasped my hand tighter as I cast my eyes up at the ominous-gray sky, black clouds merging as if in warning of what was to come. The lightning streaked purple and blue, illuminating the afternoon sky. Rain pooled on the sidewalk and soaked through my shoes as we walked around the corner. I halted, the blood rushing into my cheeks as I stared at the newspaper stand. There it was—my face, staring out from the front page of a newspaper. ‘Another blow to the monarchy. Princess Seraphina, announced dead.’ My eyes climbed the wooden stand, with a small roof protecting the pages from the onslaught of rain. Fortunately, the stack with my picture was shorter than the others. A picture of my father, sitting on his throne wearing a crown of rubies, covered the front page of the rest. ‘Our beloved king, slaughtered by the aniccipere.’ My stomach dipped as if a brick had slid into it. “I guess we know for sure he’s dead now.” We knew he had been taken prisoner and assumed it wouldn’t be long before he was killed. There was no way Salenia or Kalon would allow him to live. Still, it was like a punch in the chest. I was an orphan. Salenia would pay for this once we found a way to kill her. Sebastian had wanted to tear her heart out, but according to Azia, she would only come back and possess another body. Then we would have no idea who she was. Pain shot through my chest as I stared at my father’s face, thinking of what could have been. I hadn’t got to explore our relationship, to really feel that bond we shared. He’d come to save me from the aniccipere, and in his own twisted way, loved me. I couldn’t help but grieve for a relationship I never had with him. Then there was my mom. A lump formed in my throat, and I quickly buried those feelings. I couldn’t linger on them, not now when so many people were relying on me. If I allowed myself to take it all in, I feared it would