Page 1 of Queen of Shadows and Ruin (The Nightfire Quartet #4)

PROLOGUE

ONE THOUSAND YEARS AGO

City of Taaranas

Aravind Ashvin had spent the night with his cock buried inside a courtesan, feeling like a god. He’d barely slept. He’d come with a grunt, sweat coating his skin and a shiver rolling down his spine. As he drove into her perfect cunt, he couldn’t help thinking about the world continuing around him.

The people of Taaranas slept in their beds and dined with their families, toasting to their health, none the wiser to what they’d witness this afternoon.

History. Destiny.

Today, he would tap into an unimaginable source of power alongside his twin brother.

It would signal the moment the Ashvins would finally rule the world.

He strode past the wide doors of their dark castle, bracketing one end of the city. The grand boulevards stretched in three directions, paved with silver stones and lined with homes, shops, and businesses. Despite the early hour, many were already awake, preparing for the market or their daily errands.

None of it would matter soon.

The snow had been swept earlier where it gathered along the edges of the street. The biting wind nipped at his nose and ears. It was a cold that would bring lesser men to their knees, but Aravind had always found the chill invigorating.

With a scepter clutched in his hand, he thunked along the stones, his gait sure and steady. It did little but look impressive, but he was nothing if not a slave to appearances. He wore a long robe covered with jewels that dusted the pavers underfoot.

Everyone quickly cleared his path, lining up along the wide street and bowing their heads in deference.

It was a beautiful city. Magnificent, in fact.

Over the centuries, his family had crafted Taaranas to greatness from a humble rocky plain surrounded by the Pathara Vala Mountains, erecting opulent buildings to rival every kingdom. Stretching for miles, it now housed thousands of citizens. Soaring snowy peaks loomed in the distance, casting long, cold shadows over the city when the sun fell below the horizon.

As Aravind passed the onlookers, he dipped his chin, acknowledging their respect but maintaining his steady pace. Though he usually enjoyed mingling with his subjects and basking in their adoration, he didn’t have time for their courtesies today.

It was more than likely that Manish was already at the temple. If Aravind knew his brother, he’d probably slept on the floor last night.

Aravind, on the other hand, had chosen to enjoy his lady friend instead. Still reveling in the afterglow, he felt like nothing could stop him. Even now, his cock stirred at the memory of her heaving breasts and the way her tight pussy had clenched around him.

He adjusted himself, grateful that his ostentatious robe covered the tenting fabric in his pants. Sex and power had always been his greatest vices, and soon, he would have everything he’d ever wanted.

Aravind had spent years studying magic and researching its properties alongside his brother.

Nightfire.

That gift unique only to them. Passed down by their mother, who’d died when they were merely children, she’d left them with this kingdom and its legacy and this wild, untamed power that gusted through their veins.

Their father had met with a ‘tragic’ accident once the brothers came of age. Or so the story went. No one could prove what really happened to the former king of Taaranas, and now, decades later, there was no one left to care.

Aravind and Manish had taken their crown, happily agreeing to share it to honor their mother’s dying wish.

Manish was the only person in this life he trusted implicitly.

Aravind continued his walk towards the giant temple standing sentinel at the opposite end of Taaranas’s wide main boulevard.

The brothers had built it as an homage to Andhera, the God of Darkness, their chosen deity. Aravind loved to stand on the wide steps leading to the entrance where he’d recite sermons, interjected with his laudable opinions before receiving his subjects, demanding they bow to their knees and swear loyalty and unwavering faith.

The silver-stepped structure rose nearly as high as the castle, sparkling in the morning light. But its most remarkable feature was the glittering silver star that hung above it, suspended in space.

It spun slowly on an invisible axis, catching flashes of weak winter light.

It was a reminder of their power.

Of what would happen should anyone try to cross the Ashvins.

Aravind continued walking, bounding up the steps, light on his feet. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt such excitement. He felt like a small boy receiving sweets.

The temple formed a large square made of creamy marble, carved with the likeness of Andhera. His terrifying horned visage adorned every wall and pillar, whittled to nearly lifelike perfection by an army of sculptors they’d commissioned for the task. He’d never admit to the shiver that crept down his spine whenever Aravind found himself alone here at night.

As he entered, he found Manish standing over the crystal-blue pool burrowed into the center of the room.

“Finally awake?” Manish asked as Aravind approached.

Aravind smirked. “I had things to attend to.”

Manish rolled his eyes. Though he also enjoyed the regular company of the fairer sex, he wasn’t as governed by his urges, making him the more responsible brother. When Aravind claimed the brothers had been researching ways of tapping into their power, he really meant that Manish had shouldered most of the work. It was his nature, and he thrived on it.

“I think we’re ready to begin,” Manish said, his unblinking gaze focused on the pool’s surface. Lights created through magic illuminated the deep well, giving Aravind a clear view straight to the bottom many feet below.

He nodded as his stomach churned with anticipation.

They’d coveted this for years. Planned for it. Dreamed of it. But now that it was time, he was faced with the enormous weight of this final step they’d take in their quest to seize power across the continent.

“We’ll need to create a rip in the world between ours and the demon realm,” Manish said, still gazing into the pool.

Aravind nodded. He already knew this, but he sensed that Manish was nervous, and repeating the familiar instructions was a way to calm himself.

“Then we’ll establish a portal to call the nairatta to us.”

Aravind nodded. This he knew, too. They’d discussed their plans a thousand times late into the night with several bottles of wine and liquor emptying between them.

“And how will we control them?” Aravind asked, also knowing the answer while allowing his brother to work out his anxiety.

Manish met his gaze, his dark eyes reflecting in the pool’s light.

“Our nightfire will call them,” he said, his voice low and rich with the unmistakable pull of destiny. “Once they enter our world, our magic will control them. Fuel them. Give them life. They will answer only to us.”

Aravind nodded, the corner of his mouth curling up into a smile.

Manish inhaled a long breath before he focused on the pool again.

They’d constructed it to help channel their magic. The water had been sourced from the sacred fountain of Pavitra Jal in Matsya with great difficulty and for an exorbitant amount of gold. Amongst many other traits, such as healing illnesses and curing drought, the holy water also allowed those with strong magic to tap into other worlds, acting as a conduit and helping one connect to the demon realm.

Aravind moved to the far side of the pool, peering across at his brother.

“Ready?” Manish asked, and he nodded.

“Mother will be pleased.”

Manish nodded, his eyes glassing over. “I wish we could remember her.”

“We will see her again,” Aravind promised. “In another life.”

Their mother had been possessed of a need for power, too. When the twins were young boys, they loved listening to stories about how she’d conquered territories and brought her enemies to their knees. Manish and Aravind knew she would have loved being here today, and though she’d been lost to the heavens for many years, they wanted to make her proud.

Manish nodded, and they both focused on the pool, stretching their hands out.

Aravind called upon the six anchors spinning in his heart, joining them to create his nightfire. It sparked at his fingertips before channeling out into ribbons of starry night.

It had always been the most beautiful sight.

The brothers focused their magic into the well, forcing it deep, sinking into the earth, questing for the hidden places where only the most sinister creatures dwelled.

Aravind could feel it. His magic burrowed down, funneling into another world where darkness and power reigned.

It took a few minutes before they heard the screams.

Their eyes met, and Aravind smiled before Manish returned it with a grin. They turned and ran for the door, stopping at the temple’s steps.

The city had erupted into chaos. The sky was black, churning with smoky clouds as lightning, red as blood, flashed across the horizon.

Stars glowed like a million silver flames.

Taaranas echoed with fear and screams.

Then something appeared high in the mountains.

Light flashed across the stone as a portal of blackness darker than night opened and then spread to form a door large enough to accommodate a monster.

Or rather, a demon. Thousands of them.

Aravind could have wept.

They’d done it. After so many years of planning, they’d done it.

He met Manish’s wide-eyed gaze as they returned their attention to the portal. As one, they raised their hands, filtering out streams of nightfire, channeling their magic into the world they sought.

Aravind felt it—the presence existing beyond this plane. The dark things living in a world that had been lost to time and memory but would soon reign again.

He called them. Invited them in.

There was a shift, and then came the moment when he knew everything was about to change.

Finally they appeared.

Larger than life, covered in armor, their sharp teeth glinting in the light. Fierce, deadly, and even more terrifying than Aravind’s most vivid fantasies could have imagined.

The nairatta marched from the portal, forming a sinuous line as they wound down the mountain. They beat their chests and clanged their swords against their shields, the sound echoing through the barren landscape.

The people screamed—their cries rose over the sounds of thunder and the wet snarls of an army of demons arriving to destroy everything in their path.

Aravind dropped his hands, mesmerized by the sight. Then he looked at Manish, who stared into the distance, his mouth slack.

A moment later, he turned to Aravind, and their gazes met.

“We did it,” he whispered.

Aravind nodded. “And now we will rule the world.”