Vicious Knight (Sins or Saints #1)

Prologue

Thorne

One year ago

Life is what you make it.

There is no such thing as good luck or bad .

There is only giving and taking.

Conquering and defeat. War and the peace you allow.

I learned from an age too young for most that you have to know when to choose your battles.

Sometimes you have to wait for the perfect moment to strike. Or for the right opportunity to come along to get what you want.

Like now.

Tonight is my initiation. The moment I’ve been waiting for my whole life.

In just a handful of minutes I’ll become a member of the Knights, one of the most powerful secret societies in the world.

Becoming a Knight will define everything I do next with my life.

It will be the foundation of my success.

Pushing my shoulders back, I walk through the large oak doors of the ceremonial hall. The instant I’m inside the scent of power wraps around me and sinks beneath my skin.

That potent scent is everywhere—in the ceiling above, the stone floor beneath my feet, and it ripples through the members of the Knights Council standing on either side of the room watching me.

Like me, they’re wearing the black Knight’s tunic with theblue-silver Raventhorn Crest embossed in the center.

In another world we could be mistaken for Templar Knights, but we couldn’t be more opposite. Ours is a society borne from darkness and danger.

Aleksander Ivanov, my uncle and leader of the Knights, stands at the head of the hall.

He is the sovereign of our beginning and our end. The man tasked with ensuring we live by the Oath, and die by it.

I focus on him and, like always, my thoughts collide. We’re family, but it’s in name only.

If my dear uncle truly had things his way I’d be long dead and just as much a ghostly memory as my father, mother, and sister.

After their massacre my uncle took me in and raised me along with his sons, but he’s grown to despise me.

I bow my head respectfully when I reach him. He does the same with that emotionless stare he always gives me.

“Raise your right hand.” His voice rumbles through the hall.

I obey, lifting my hand.

“Thorne Nicholai Ivanov. Do you swear your life and allegiance to our cause?”

“I do.” Those simple words reflect my deepest desires and all the hard work I’ve put in to get to this point in my life.

“Then please take the Oath.” His unwavering gaze scrutinizes me, finally showing some emotion.

In his eyes I see dread laced with the undertone of fear. He doesn’t know I can see the latter, but it’s as clear as his presence before me.

In his eyes I see his fear of the threat he thinks I’ll become to him some day.

He’s scared I’ll be just like my father. A man who could unearth the deepest of secrets. People say that’s what got him killed. People also say that’s why no one to this day has been able to find out who was responsible for killing my family.

Since I’m a literal chip off the old block, my uncle thinks I’m death. A disaster waiting to happen.

That’s why he didn’t want me to make it this far. But that’s too fucking bad because I’m here.

“I uramentum est vita nostra et mors nostra ,” I say in Latin, which translates to: The oath is our life and our death.

Aleksander picks up the ceremonial blade from the stand next to him and slices a thin line across my palm. Blood seeps from the wound and I turn my hand over, allowing it to drop into the fountain between us.

My blood blends with the water and he nods his agreement with my vow, displaying acceptance so the members can see. However, we both know this is just for show.

The Oath dictates that my uncle now owns my ass. Except he doesn’t really.

You can’t own death. It’s a bitter truth for him. At the same time, I won’t be a fool and take comfort in that notion.

To get what I want, or have any part of my family’s legacy, I’ll have to play by my uncle’s rules for a little longer.

He will make everything harder for me from tonight onwards.

Tonight is round one, and I won.

Now I just have to keep on winning by doing what I do best—being the conqueror.

Failure is not an option. To fail is to die.

I would never give my uncle such a pleasure.

I’m Thorne Ivanov. I always get what I want.

This path will be no different.

I’ll make sure of it.