Edris’s lay-about life of privilege ends abruptly when his father, Lord Elros, announces that his adolescent son will enter the military in the spring. Edris has only six months to ready himself to serve a king who despises his family and will undoubtedly make his life beyond miserable.

To prepare him, Lord Elros puts Edris through a brutal training regime. Not only does he demand Edris beat every man with whom he spars, but he also insists his son knock them unconscious—even if that means fighting dirty.

About to crack under the relentless pressure, the sensitive Edris seeks a way to get out from under his father’s heavy thumb. A solution presents itself when an announcement for the latest Kings’ Quest arrives. According to the royal proclamation, the adventurer who finds the fabled Sword of Betrayal will win one thousand gold pieces, money Edris could use to start his own life with the woman he loves.

Edris proposes to undertake the quest in order to get in better shape; however, Lord Elros has another idea—Edris will undertake the quest so he can get close to, and kill, the king’s son.

Excerpt

“As I was saying,” Edros went on, “the kings take turns selecting relics that have been lost throughout the ages or have been alluded to in tales. These can be anything from worthless trinkets to golden statues to ancient artifacts.”

“Why would the kings want worthless trinkets?” Edris asked.

“To prevent other kings from getting their covetous little hands on them.” Edros took a sip of wine and returned the goblet to the end table next to him. “Ed, kings don’t need rusty armor or ruby rings. These quests have nothing to do with the items themselves. The kings are playing a game against each other. They’re sending their adventurers out to compete. It’s all about honor. And to kings—”

“Honor is everything.”

“Precisely. There’s nothing more important to kings than their honor. And when you win, you win more than gold. You win favor…and power.”

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About the Author

By day, Robert Evert is an old and decrepit university professor who teaches hordes of smelly college students who rarely deign to look up from their damned phones to pay attention to the many brilliant and exciting things he has to say in class. By night, he is an aspiring writer.

Once young and idealistic and built like a skinny Norwegian god, Robert has been beaten down by time, pointless faculty meetings, and hundreds of students who repeatedly come up to him and ask: “I wasn’t in class last week. Did I miss anything?” He is now a shell of a man who sits in his darkened office sobbing while he waits patiently for Ragnarök.

When Robert isn’t daydreaming about walking through the streets of Bree or sitting in the Great Hall at Hogwarts, he writes fantasy stories which he reads to the critical acclaim of his two dogs and three cats.

His wife wants him to stop grumbling to himself and finish doing the dishes.

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