The King's Man: A Short Story Prequel to The Savage (The World of Pangaea‪)‬

A man robbed of his birthright will do anything for revenge.

His noble parents gave him the name Grayden D’Aksohn. Those who know him now—or know his reputation—simply call him Ax. He should have inherited a fortune and enough good farmland to please any man, save a greedy king. Today he has nothing but a blood-soaked past and a name to match.

His birthright was stolen by a thieving king, the one they used to call The Beast. These days people hail this selfsame king as a savior and throw flowers in his path whenever he walks out from his palace. But Ax knows better. King Armander is still a monster—one he was forced to serve.

As a young man with no means to earn his way, Ax joined the king’s Border Guard, a rough group of soldiers commissioned to protect the borderlands from raids by tribal savages. During his years of service, he has witnessed—and committed—atrocities most men cannot imagine.

When Ax commits crimes even the ruthless Border Guard cannot sanction, he is ousted from their ranks, beaten, and left to die in the jungle. All appears lost, until the dark gods grant him an unexpected opportunity.

Ax has waited fifteen long years for his revenge. He is determined that King Armander will die by his hand. But first, he wants the king to know the misery of a man who has lost all he holds dear.

Ax plans to start with Armander’s daughter.

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This short story sets the stage for The Savage, Book Two in the fantasy romance series, The World of Pangaea. If given a TV rating, it would be MLV, Mature due to Language and some Violence. Reader discretion is advised.

A note about the series: Each novel in the series has a short story prequel, and all may be read as stand-alones. There are no cliffhangers. However, characters do carry over. To know them better, and for more background on Pangaea, you may want to start with the short story that introduces the series, The King’s Witch, then continue with the rest of the series in order. The novels are romances, while the short stories are not. All are adult fiction.