Lillian is well known around the kingdom as a rebellious troublemaker who’s always looking for a new adventure… She’s also the princess and sole heir to the throne of Rykiss. When a ruthless and power-hungry king invades and threatens to destroy the kingdom unless she becomes his queen, she can see only one solution. Little does she know, she’s about to fall into a pit of heated passion, thrilling danger, and endless ecstasy.
Age Rating: 18+
Power by Bec Middleton is now available to read on the Galatea app! Read the first two chapters below, or download Galatea for the full experience.
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1
Lillian is well known around the kingdom as a rebellious troublemaker who’s always looking for a new adventure… She’s also the princess and sole heir to the throne of Rykiss. When a ruthless and power-hungry king invades and threatens to destroy the kingdom unless she becomes his queen, she can see only one solution. Little does she know, she’s about to fall into a pit of heated passion, thrilling danger, and endless ecstasy.
Age Rating: 18+
Original Author: Bec Middleton
King Draxus marched through the centre of his large campsite, his thick black boots squelching against the oozing mud below as he moved along at a quickened pace.
After a recent raid on a small village nearby it was apparent that one of the villagers they now held captive had important information that would only be shared with the one known as the ‘Dragon King’.
King Draxus was known as the Dragon King.
As he soon approached the interrogation tent, two of his darkly-dressed soldiers noticed him.
They quickly reached down to open the flaps at the entrance of the tent, gaining him access as he bent down and stepped inside in one smooth movement.
It was slightly darker inside the tent as a tall, built black man with long black braided hair stepped forward and gave a quick bow of his head.
It was General Shasharan, one of Draxus’ most loyal followers and his commander and chief.
“My King,” the General greeted him respectfully.
“Which one is it?” Draxus’ voice bellowed, deep and husky from beneath his large horned helmet as he glanced down between the three men kneeling before him.
A second figure dressed in black and gold armour and covered in an assortment of tattoos stepped up from behind one of the kneeling men, grabbing him violently by his hair as he spoke.
“This one, Sire.”
The villager kneeling let out a loud groan of pain as his hair was pulled back, lifting his face up for the King to see. Draxus moved to stand before him.
“Stand him up!”
Hearing their King’s command, the tattooed man grabbed the prisoner kneeling before them and lifted him up by both the scruff of his hair and his torn shirt.
The prisoner, too afraid to look the King in the eye as he stood before him, kept his eyes focused on the ground. Draxus stepped forward, coming almost face to face with him now.
“I believe you have something to tell me.” Draxus’ voice was calm, yet hinted at a warning.
The prisoner looked to be a man in his forties or fifties with scruffy brown hair and blue eyes. His skin was dirty and his clothes worn and torn in several areas.
Draxus guessed this man may have been a farmer from his appearance, but didn’t think much more on the matter.
It was clear that the prisoner was afraid as he hesitated to reply.
“Speak, dog!” the tattooed man demanded from behind him, through clenched teeth and with a firm grip.
“I… I have a message… It’s… it’s meant for the Dragon King.” the terrified prisoner announced, still unable to make eye contact with Draxus.
“Fool! Who do you think stands before you!” General Shasharan spat, his dark eyes narrow with disgust. “Speak now before we cut out your tongue!”
Hearing his threat, the villager quickly glanced across at the General, then up to meet the bright amber eyes of the man standing before him.
King Draxus’ attire was truly intimidating, with his giant horned helmet covered in spikes and covering most of his face, only revealing his mouth and those captivating eyes.
The villager opened his mouth to speak.
“The message…it comes from a lady who came to our village only a week ago. One with long hair, the shade of coal and eyes bright as the stars…” he began, clearly afraid for his life.
“And?” Draxus countered impatiently.
“She said to tell you that you’re on the right track, whatever that means. That you’ll find what you’re searching for very soon…” he paused and closed his eyes tightly together.
It was as if trying to remember what to say next.
“Something about a girl with…a marking,” he finally continued. “That you’d find her soon?”
“What girl with a marking?” General Shasharan questioned from where he stood.
The villager turned to the General, seeming unsure.
“She didn’t say, sir… Just that I had to pass this information on to the Dragon King himself.”
Draxus looked down as he thought to himself while the others continued their conversation and questioning in the background. He knew who the woman with the black hair and white eyes was.
Her name was Rayvinn, a powerfully selfish and conniving sorceress who Draxus had been unfortunate enough to have crossed paths with before.
But what did the villager mean about being on the right track? And the girl he was referring to; the one with a marking. Was this the same one he had been searching for all these years?
None of it made any sense as he mulled it over silently for a moment.
Draxus suddenly drifted back into the conversation as it continued on without him.
“Even if he is telling the truth, that crazy witch is probably far from here by now.” Shasharan pointed out.
“So what, we’re supposed to believe the word of some servant scum… I say we put an end to him… to all three of them, right here, right now.” the tattooed man argued.
“Zaar, you don’t get to make that call!” the General reminded, his finger pointing toward the man with the tattoos as he remained holding onto the villager firmly.
Draxus looked directly into the villager’s eyes for a moment, as if he suddenly sensed something was not quite right.
As the villager met his eyes Draxus focused harder, putting all of his power into his gaze and watching the man’s reaction as he did so.
Taking one last step forward, right up to meeting him face to face now, Draxus maintained his hypnotic eye contact with his captive villager while never blinking once.
He was determined to break through whatever vale hid the truth from them here.
His eyes suddenly began to change from their usual amber shade, glowing brightly and forming into more of a luminescent colour of bright gold.
There was a vertical black line in the centre as he activated his powers and stared the villager down.
Suddenly the villager closed his eyes tightly shut and let out a pained grunt as he began to shake his head violently.
His entire body tensed up and he began crying out as if he were in incredible pain, all the while still in Zaar’s firm grasp from behind.
“What the fuck’s happening?” Zaar asked, looking to the General for answers.
The General shrugged as he stood watching as the villager began shaking all over, eventually hard enough that even Zaar could no longer hold onto him and stepped back in astonishment.
As Draxus opened his mouth and spoke a single word, his voice came out incredibly deeper than it usually had, like the voice of a dragon.
“Reveal.”
In the fraction of a second, the two kneeling villagers on either side of the standing prisoner suddenly disappeared into shadows of scattered black dust.
The prisoner threw his head back to stare straight up with his mouth open wide.
His eyes turned white and his appearance transformed into that of an entirely different person; a beautiful young-looking woman wearing a long black tattered halter-neck gown.
Zaar and Shasharan both stepped back in shock upon seeing her standing there, in the middle of their interrogation tent.
With her long black hair reaching down to her buttocks and her white eyes locked straight on their King, she had changed entirely.
The imposter locked her sights onto their King who continued to stand his ground before her as she suddenly spoke. Draxus didn’t seem surprised by the transformation, not even in the slightest.
“What gave me away?” she asked, her voice seeming to echo as she spoke with a sadistic grin.
Before anyone could speak Draxus lunged forwards and grabbed her around the throat, catching even her off guard as he pulled her in closer to his face and spoke with a snarl.
“You’ve got a lot of nerve showing your face here, Rayvinn!” he said, tightening his grip on her throat until it was uncomfortable.
She let out a choked sound, then smiled defiantly.
“Oh…still sore about…what happened before?” she taunted with a hoarse voice from her throat being crushed. “I…said I…was sorry.”
“You tried to kill me!” he snapped, clearly holding back from finishing her. “You’re nothing but an insane old witch.”
“Old!” She seemed hurt by his comment. “Come on baby, don’t pretend you’re not even a little bit happy to see me.”
“Who’s pretending?”
“I come with good news…” Her left brow rose as she smirked at him. “Let me go and I’ll share it with you…”
Draxus’ snarl suddenly smoothed over as he looked her up and down for a moment in thought. Could he trust her again? Should he bother?
“I want nothing more from you.” He suddenly released his grip on her and took a step back. “Now get the hell out of here before I have you killed.”
“Ouch!” Rayvinn said with a frown. “You’re not even going to hear me out?”
“Go, while you still can.” General Shasharan warned from where he stood.
“Alright.” She faked a pout, taking a step toward the exit with a taunting grin. “But it’s about the girl, Draxus… You know, the one from your dreams…”
Her tone was purely to taunt him as she continued taking purposely slow, lingering steps toward the exit, waiting for him to stop her. And she knew that he eventually would.
She playfully shook her ass as she walked just to add to further taunting him.
General Shasharan and Zaar looked to one another, both preparing to unsheathe their swords and assist with her removal if necessary, but they stopped upon seeing Draxus raise his hand to cease them.
“Wait.” His command was stern.
Rayvinn’s eyes glowed brightly as a big smile spread across her face and she turned to face the Dragon King once more.
“I knew you’d come round.”
“General, Zaar, leave us.” Draxus commanded, keeping his eyes fixed on their apparent guest.
Looking to one another, both the General and Zaar let out huffs as they quickly both obeyed their King’s command and exited the tent, leaving Draxus alone with the manipulative sorceress.
“Well?” his patience had worn thin by now. “Tell me what you know.”
“Why so rushed…aren’t you going to offer me a drink or something?” she asked with furrowed brows.
“Rayvinn!” his shout caused her to gasp. “Do NOT test me!”
After a moment of silent deliberation, Rayvinn smiled and then walked across towards him as she spoke.
“What if I said I knew the girl's exact location… right now?”
His now normally amber eyes narrowed as she stepped closer and closer towards him.
“I’d say, what’s in it for you?”
“Hmm…getting clever I see.” Her eyes gleamed.
Stepping right up in front of him now, her hand moving up to meet his chest as her fingers carefully slid down his dark armour.
“What if I said I could bring the two of you together…would you be happy with me then?”
Her expression was filled with heated lust as she stared deeply into his eyes and Draxus was well aware of her obvious intentions.
She had always been interested in him, in his power, but he had learned the hard way that she was not to be trusted.
“How?” His voice was stern.
She smiled up at him with glowing white irises.
“Now, now, King of Dragons…” she paused and reached down between his legs, massaging her fingers over the bulge in his pants as she whispered into his mouth.
“You leave that to me.”
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2
It was early in the morning and the bright warmth of the sun had already begun to beat down upon the lands below, bringing about the promise of new growth and rejuvenated life.
A grand procession had just arrived at Castle Woodsend after a long journey up from the South.
A royal meeting had been arranged between the Kingdom of Rykiss’ ruler, King Greggory, and the powerful Warlord King Draxus, who ruled over the majority of the Southern lands, including Westoria.
King Draxus was no ordinary man and had become quite infamous over the past ten years or so. Many who knew him feared him.
No one would dare to challenge his rule and a rare few had managed to survive his wrath; King Greggory was one of those who knew and feared Draxus.
Standing high above on his own private balcony, King Greggory watched as around fifty or so black horses and a large black carriage rolled up to the base of the staircase at the castle's main entrance.
As he stood watching over the movement below him a sudden warmth began to surround him, along with a familiar scent as two loving arms wrapped around his waist from behind.
It was his beautiful wife, Queen Katherine.
“You don’t have to do this, you know.” her gentle voice spoke from behind him, making him smile.
Greggory let out a long and exaggerated sigh.
“Yes, I do…times have been extremely hard for our people of late. The last thing they need now is a possible war added to their troubles. Especially one we cannot possibly think to win.”
Releasing her grip from him, the Queen moved around to his side; turning his face with her hand to meet her gaze, ever so gently. Her warm smile was somewhat comforting to him.
“You and I both know the type of man we are choosing to invite into our home. The possible dangers this meeting can cause. Is it really necessary, Greggory?” she asked with furrowed brows.
Lifting his hand to cup the side of her face gently, King Greggory forced a smile to mask his inner worries.
“Katherine, how many times do we have to discuss this? You know how powerful this man is, the forces at his command. We cannot risk him becoming our enemy.”
Greggory continued, “This meeting is to negotiate a peaceful solution…for us all.”
“For us to kneel before a tyrant? I still don’t agree with it.” she snapped, rolling her eyes and pulling away from his hand. “I’ve seen his army and all of his power. We have nothing to fear from him.”
His voice was a whisper now intended solely for his ears alone, “My love, if only you know the half of it…”
“And what of Lillian, have arrangements been made to ensure her safety for the duration of these negotiations of yours?” Katherine interrogated, “I won’t allow her to become involved in all of this.”
Greggory frowned.
“Of course, my men will ensure that she remains hidden inside the castle the entire time. She will be nowhere near any of this. I promise, you have nothing to worry about, my love.”
He pulled her in for another hug and added “I take it you still wish to remain here in our chambers until their departure?”
“Yes. I want nothing to do with this… madness.”
He nodded and then kissed her tenderly on top of her head.
“I’ll ensure things run smoothly and that he and his forces are gone from here as soon as possible.” he assured her with another smile. “You have my word.”
“I’ll hold you to it!” she taunted with a deviant smile. “Don’t think you being King gives you some sort of immunity to being punished, my lord.”
Greggory smiled at her sarcasm.
The two leaned in together to share one last kiss and then the King stepped away and straightened his robes.
“Well, wish me luck.”
“Good luck, my love. You may need it.”
With those assuring words Greggory smiled as he began to make his way down to meet and greet his arriving guests. Queen Katherine was left standing on her own to watch the procession below.
It was clear that this morning was going to be a difficult one; unfortunately they had no idea of just how difficult!
***
Meanwhile, great efforts had been made to ensure that the Princess was kept as far away from all of the drama as possible.
She was sitting at her desk, brushing her long golden hair in the mirror in front of her.
Several guards had been posted by her door this morning, which she found quite unusual but pushed the worry aside easily.
This wasn’t the first time something like this had happened before, after all. Her father had many visitors attend the castle over the years.
Lillian had no interest in all of the boring politics her father engaged in on a daily basis.
She was eager to get down to her large flower garden and begin another day’s work of careful pruning and sampling in the smells and surrounds of such a magical place.
It was one of her few escapes from her dull and at times depressing life of being a Princess.
Reaching down she grasped the handle to her bedroom chamber door and turned it, but paused in concern when she realised that it had been locked! She had been locked in her own room!
Who in the entire Kingdom would be brave enough to do such a thing to her? Then it clicked and she huffed angrily; her father.
Lifting her clenched fist toward the surface of the wooden door, she slammed it down twice and angrily shouted out for someone on the other side of it to hear.
“I demand to know why this door has been locked!”
She paused for a moment, awaiting a reply.
“Apologies, your majesty. We’ve been given strict orders from the King to ensure you remain in your chambers until this evening.” A faceless voice explained. “It’s for your own safety.”
“My safety!” she shouted back, angrily. “What are you talking about? This is ridiculous! Open the door at once!”
But this time there was no reply and the infuriated Princess pursed her lips tightly together, hitting the door one last time for good measure.
She groaned loudly and turned back around, her emerald green eyes catching sight of the balcony doors. A possible escape route, she thought to herself as she smiled.
As this was not the first time Lillian had been locked in her room, she had other means of escape in mind immediately after being told she had been ordered to stay.
And the balcony was the easiest way down to the garden.
***
After a careful climb down a nearby tree, Lillian finally placed her two delicate feet down onto the soft strands of grass below and tidied her hair as she checked to make sure that no one had sighted her.
After all, she had just broken one of the King’s commands.
When the coast was clear she quickly stepped across towards the nearby corridor and began making her way down toward the flower garden.
She had no idea of what was currently happening at the other side of the castle, but would soon unintentionally find out…
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