Magnus\'s POV

Faith, it\'s a strong word. It can work miracles if put on the right people, and can wreak havoc if put on the wrong person. Faith can either save you, or destroy you based on whom you put your faith in. For me, that person was my father. The king of Arpholeus.

As a commander, I knew I had to lead my army to victory but if history were to be studied thoroughly, one would notice how Maefhaelore was not to be underestimated. Throughout the years Maefaelore never budged because our attacks were futile, and from the inside. When something is this strong, you need to reach to the core of it.

And that\'s where came Cresyle. The one secret door to the guards of the palace. She convinced the queen somehow to let me present my case, where I dressed simply as a merchant. I was afraid I\'d be recognised, which I was, but not as the king\'s son but as the commander of the Arpholean army.

I excused myself under the ruse that all I wanted was an audience with the queen. I hadn\'t brought any weapons with me and neither did I bring a second soul with me. I convinced her I was here in peace, because if I were to rally, I would never be able to take down the army of Maefaelore on my own. My \'peace\' offering was all that I had to offer.

My primary reason to visit the kingdom was to familiarise myself with the palace as much as I could. To train my army accordingly, so that they can bring this palace down when the time comes, but it all changed when I spotted her. The young girl, filled with life, who resembled her mother so much that it was hard not to tell who she was.

I could tell she fell for me instantly when she spotted me, no matter how much she looked away, she couldn\'t help but sneak glances at me. I might not have been blessed with the brightest fortune, but I had been blessed with inexplicable charms, something that often came in handy. And that\'s when a new plan hatched into my mind. To take down Maefhaelore, to bring Arphokeus the Victory it long deserved. To claim the throne that was rightfully mine.

The more I associated myself with Cassie, the more I became awed by her innocence, so much so that at one point I started to feel guilty for using her. I assumed she would be just like her mother, vicious and crafty, but her innocence was beyond anything.

She never questioned me, nor my suspicious behavior, always accepting whatever ridiculous excuses I came up with. The faith she put in me… was sure to destroy her. I wish it didn\'t have to be this way, but if this is what it was gonna cost us, then I would gladly take it.

Like a fool she revealed to me everything that I needed and possibly more in exchange for having a future with me, where we lived together in a kingdom of peace. I convinced her we could have it, while internally snorting to myself for her childish wishes, and her naivety.

The concept of peace was fake. You can never have peace because somewhere down the line you are making someone unhappy, which eventually was bound to come back to destroy you. If only I knew at that time that I was not just the person conning but also the one getting conned. I wonder what choice I would have made back then.

I started to reveal the details, including my formulated plans to take down Marfhaelore to my father. The more I said, the more he praised me for my intellect and my bravery, but deep down he was just planning to take all the credit for my hard work.

What I had in my mind was to separate Cassie, before we attacked. Sure she was Maefhaelorean, but she was a good person who didn\'t deserve to die. Did I catch feelings for her? No, It was merely my guilt which led me to decide that. My father however felt differently, he said, \' if you don\'t dig till the root, the tree will always come back, bigger and stronger than ever.\' Of course I tried to protest, but I had to agree with him since he was my father. After all he was just ensuring that I had no one else who threatened my reign, that I rightfully ruled both the kingdoms with no opposition.

Surely my father had much more political knowledge than me, and I didn\'t dare question it. But I also couldn\'t bring it in my heart to let that little girl die. So when our attack striked, I stayed hidden, in the palace of Maefhaelore wearing a mask that hid my entire face. It wasn\'t hard to blend in, but at that moment, I was a shadow.

The princess was a wonderful warrior in her own might, but even she couldn\'t take so many soldiers at once. When they were about to kill her, using my magic, I managed to decapitate each and every one of them. She looked around for the person who saved her life, but she found none as I hid in the shadows pretty well.

She walked away, to fight somewhere else and instead of following I looked around, "Why would you try to protect her after bringing her so much misery"? An unfamiliar, and yet much familiar voice spoke, making me look around frantically. The voice belonged to a woman and it sent chills down my spine.

A beautiful woman emerged, wearing clothes I couldn\'t quite understand as I have never seen anyone wear such a thing. She came to me, face to face, folded her arms and spoke, "Why did you do that? Don\'t you want her dead"?

"It\'s none of your business" I spat. She raised an eyebrow with a smirk which seemed so familiar that it triggered a memory I didn\'t know I had. \'Thank you for your cooperation\' I heard in her voice, and finally I recalled who this woman was.

"Victoria… or shall I say Adrianna" I smirked in recognition.

"How about tell me why you saved her. My name hardly matters" She shrugged. "I am done recalling my past, but it seems you have a long way to go. Looks like I will finally decode the mystery known as Magnus" She tilted her head coyly and smirked.

I paled as soon as I realised what her presence here meant. The darkest secrets of my life, my deepest vulnerabilities were about to be exposed. But why was she here? Why her? Or all people. The one person whom I cannot fool. "There is nothing to see," I declared with confidence, hoping to send her away.

"Oh dear Magnus, I have learned not to trust you a long time ago" She smiled while patting my arm.

"You"! A sudden shout grabbed both of our attention. I looked for the source and if I wasn\'t mistaken, it was none other than the one who trained Victoria, Maland, I suppose. He was the first person to spot me in this castle, and I realised if he lived I might not be able to carry.

He attacked me which I fended off, pretty easily, but taking him down, that was another challenge. My battle with him continued, and I almost fell off the edge in the process, making me fear for my dear life momentarily. After what seemed like hours, I decided that if I were to escape this fight, swords and daggers won\'t be enough. I need something more, something I was sure this guy won\'t have. The power of pure magic.

Summoning my magic, which was tainted with dark magic since I returned from the dark realm, I shot at him. It was only meant to disarm him, to knock him out, but another soldier stepped forward, taking the full blow and dying at that very second. Since when did my magic become this deadly, I paled. Maland crouched down, mourning the loss of his soldier while staring at me enraged.

He drew his sword, and was about to strike me when the sword abruptly fell from his hand. His hand was a bit of a darker shade, dying as it crept slowly through his body. Turns out when the dead soldier took the full blow, a part of it touched his hand, thus cursing him to death. If he didn\'t receive a cure soon, he might die for real. I couldn\'t care less about that as this soldier, Maland, meant nothing to me, so I left him to die as I tried to catch up with Cassie. "It was you," Victoria mumbled from my side. Whose presence I almost forgot until recently. "You are the one who cursed Maland\'s hand" She looked at me sternly.

"I didn\'t mean to" I admitted honestly, but brushing it off I sighed. "Not that it matters, he should be dead, he is lucky to be alive." I smirked. It vanished as soon as everything changed and I stood in front of my father, accompanied by Victoria.