Of Spite and Strife: Desiny's Call

By A. I. Lakewood

A prophesy of destruction, an unwilling leader, and a throne of lies. What do they all have in common?

Astraea Kinge is involved in all of them.

Please mind the TWs.

TW:

Kidnaping
Assault
Sexual Assault
Torture
Murder
Body-shaming
Mentions/Depictions of Eating Disorder
Extreme Graphic Sexual Intercourse
Miscarriage
Still-birth

Over fifty yeas have passed since the prophesy foretelling the destruction of the kingdom, and the birth of a girl who would bring it all down. Though to have expired, nobody paid attention to the prophesy, nobody gave it any mind.

Until Astraea Kinge comes to court, and catches the eye of Prince Simon Ambrose de Vaux. The second he set his eyes on her, he knew exactly who she was, and what she was destined to do. In order to stop that, he decides to take matters into his own hands, and Astraea is thrown into a life of darkness, torture, and suffering that she can see no way out of.

She struggles to survive Ambrose's abuse, but it leaves its mark on her, but she hits a breakthrough when she finds out exactly why Ambrose hates her so much, and suddenly, the man in front of her wasn't the monster she thought he was. She's struggling to see him as a beast, when all she can truly see is a wounded child striking out. She sets out to help the prince heal from his ghastly past and free herself from his abusive reign in the same go, but when she finds herself in too deep, she must make the choice to stay with the monster she loves, or flee to find a better life.

One choice may lead to her ultimate demise, and the other is sure a path to war.

Small excerpt:

I nodded. "I know. Besides, he's not so bad. There's got to be something redeeming about him, right? He's got your blood in him. Maybe I can reach him, turn him to our side."

Osric smacked my shoulder lightly. "Don't even try it, girl. He's not the type to play chess with and hold his hand while you blow him kisses. He might be our blood, but he was royal-raised. And besides, you don't know what the crown did to that boy. He's as twisted as twisted comes now."

"Ric is right. Be careful, Astraea. You can't go into things thinking you can turn him around. You can't. He's as bad as any true de Vaux." Father turned toward Celia, fixing her with a steady scowl. "You know what's at stake if she's harmed. You do your best."

She swallowed, nodding. "Yes, sir. Of course."

I still didn't know the full truth behind anything, really. What was at stake? What was it that my family was fighting for? I was supposed to destroy the kingdom as they all knew it-why were they fighting for that? What was it that I was destined to do that had them rallying behind me like that?

And is the reason behind all that the reason that servant boy sacrificed his life for me? A shiver ran down my spine. Celia knew exactly who I was, before I even told her. What if that servant boy knew too? What if he'd done what he'd done, because of some stupid prophesy made years before I was born?

And what if all those people were placing their faith in the wrong person?

I didn't want to destroy anything. I just wanted to survive.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B0C5PCN78B
• ISBN13: 9798374277562
• Release Date: May 2023
• Publisher: Independently Published
• Length: 422 Pages
• Weight: 1.24 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.0" x 9.0"