Vinyamar has always been on the brink of collapse, or so Queen Vendetta believes. To ensure her position on the throne, she murdered her kin. Now, to guarantee her success, she will build her empire on broken souls and corpses. Still, she lacks the lethality of dark magic. Vendetta has but one option, and nothing will get in her way.

Malice Reap, born of snow and darkness, is taken from his kin as a babe. Brought up in the castle Hordes Reap built, Malice must learn to survive as the queen's mutt or watch as those he loves are subjected to misery.

Under the queen's bloodied tutelage, Malice discovers his lineage, his race, and finds the best way to fight fire is not with fire or water. Blood and darkness will prevail in the end, but is it worth losing everything?

A Tale of Origins, book two in The Black Throne trilogy, goes back in time to follow the upbringing of Malice Reap. Watch as history unfolds into the present and shapes what the future will hold. All darkness originates somewhere, and for some, it starts with blood.