Shayla's POV
There’s a certain beauty in shadows, in the way they hide you, mold you, and demand that you survive. My world was born in the darkness, raised by the ruthless whisper of what could be mine if I just took it. I learned early that power wasn’t given; it was clawed from the hands of those too weak to hold it. And now, here I am—the last true heir of the Shadow Realm, the daughter who was never meant to rule, the princess who made sure no one else could take her place.
They all underestimated me, my siblings and their pathetic ambition. Each of them thought they could keep me in my place, ignore me, shove me into the dark corners. But I showed them. One by one, I silenced their little schemes. Their betrayal turned out to be nothing compared to the cruelty I perfected. They mad
