My Cruel Alpha

POV Luella

The carriage hit another rut as Ainsworth Royal Court came into view. I smoothed my traveling dress, hands trembling despite twenty-two years of preparation.

This is what I was born for. What Father trained me for.

"My lady, you're gripping that cushion rather tightly," Lady Celeste said. "Though I understand why, considering what we've heard about Prince Kyrell."

I don't want to think about him. My arrangement was with Crown Prince Tobias, not his volatile brother.

"I'd rather focus on meeting my intended," I said.

"But you must be prepared," Celeste insisted. "The stories are disturbing. They say he's heartless, discards lovers when he's finished. That he enjoys tormenting people who cross him. And his shadow magic... there are whispers he's driven court ladies to madness."

"Enough." The word came out too sharp. "I'm marrying Tobias, not Kyrell."

But what if his hatred for his brother extends to anyone Tobias cares about?

The carriage stopped. A young maid approached with a crystal goblet even before I had time to open the door.

"For you, my lady. The journey from Shadowpine territory is long."

"Thank you." I drank gratefully. This is it. Everything I've worked toward starts now.

The sound of breaking bone cracked through the air.

Screams followed, then an unnatural crackling I'd never heard before. I nearly dropped the goblet.

"Stay here," I ordered Celeste, pushing open the carriage door.

The courtyard revealed exactly what the rumors described. Three men lay groaning on the stones, bodies twisted. Dark magic moved through the air. At the center stood Prince Kyrell.

He was tall and lean, with black hair falling across angular features. His skin was pale and his eyes are black. The shadow magic responded to his movements, wrapping around him obediently.