Chapter 1

In the heart of a forgotten kingdom, where echoes of ancient feasts still lingered in the black marble halls, Queen Lysara’s palace stood as a temple of forbidden pleasures.

Crystal chandeliers spilled light over tapestries woven with golden threads, and the air was heavy with exotic spices and sweet wine.

Yet beneath this opulence pulsed a current of cruelty.

The queen, her beauty sharp as a dagger, ruled not only her lands but the desires and fears of those who served her.

Her eyes, a venomous green, could strip a soul bare with a single glance.

In the palace kitchens, the head chef, Darius, had once been the court’s prized jewel.

His skilled, precise hands transformed humble ingredients into dishes that made nobles moan with delight. But greed betrayed him.

For months, he had stolen rare and expensive provisions, crimson fruits from the royal gardens, cured meats from rare beasts, and iced creams reserved for the royalty, taken from far kingdoms, to sell in clandestine markets.

When Queen Lysara uncovered his treachery, she did not scream, or demand his execution.

Instead, she smiled, a slow, dangerous curve of her lush lips.

“Darius,” she whispered, her voice like poisoned velvet, “you’ve tasted what is mine. Now, I shall savor your fate.”

That night, chained in a private chamber under the castle dungeon, Darius felt the weight of his fate.

There would be no blood, nor conventional torture.

Lysara’s punishment would be far more intimate, far more devastating.

She would reshape him, molding his body and will until nothing remained of the man he once was, only a reflection of her darkest desires, a ironic punishment like those of hell...


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