*Xander*

I’d never used my powers before, not like this. That shadow of darkness was a mystery to me still, its presence life-long, but dormant. I’d heard the stories passed down from generation to generation.

I’d been old enough to witness my uncle, who showed much more of a promise to the powers of the Dark Lord than I ever had, overcome the soul-sucking darkness in his veins as he laid his heart before a woman with the blood of the White Queens. ...