Sword & Coffee: Double Shot Destiny
Virellion is a kingdom that has been shaped by the three pillars, magic, hierarchy, and controland the one who knows it the most is the Crown Prince Kael Dravaryn.
Since his childhood, Kael has been cursed with a dangerous, ancient fire that thrives on emotion and power. As a result, he has been working on self, control for many years. To his people, he appears to be calm, strong, and inaccessible. The ruling council sees him not only as their future king but also as a risky factoran instrument that can be directed, kept under surveillance, and, if needed, locked up. If the demon inside him is ever unleashed, it will not only kill him. It will also wipe out the entire kingdom.
Lyra Vale has nothing to do with palace schemes. She keeps her head down, works at the Moonbrew Caf, and tries not to notice the odd vibration within hera presence she has never understood.
She has no magic. At least, she doesn't know any. What she does have is a gut feeling to hold her ground even when the threat is life, threatening.
When Kael becomes violent in a containment chamber and Lyra naturally goes out to him, the utterly unexpected happens: the curse backs off. The fire listens.
Their bond is there right from the start, disturbing, and undeniable. Lyra is the only one who can keep Kaels magic from going out of controlnot by making it stronger but by opposing it. His power devours, hers counteracts. Where his curse twists, hers calms.
The ruling council promptly starts to feel that something has changed. And in a kingdom where power is taken, not handed over, Lyra turns into more than just a girl with a freakshe turns into a tool. A danger. A fix.
Kael and Lyra, who have been thrown together, try to figure out what Lyra's power is and where Kael's curse came from. What they find is way before the throne: the flame in Kael was never meant to be tamed by one person only. It had to be paired with a partneran opposite force that was forgotten in history. Lyra is not a mishap. She is the other half of the ancient harmony that was lost.
While the council veer towards absolute confrontation, and the rumor of uprising permeates the city, Kael is standing at a crossroad: Will he continue to be a mere instrument of the kingdom's willor will he go against centuries of domination to save the one who has brought him back to life?
Unfortunately, equilibrium requires giving up something.
And if smashing the spell equates to smashing the throne
Virellion is going to be faced with the dilemma of choosing between its crown prince and the flame which was never destined to be its ruler.