The Lineage

Wes Aettian never wanted, nor expected, to be King of Cassia. Not once in his 19 years had he even thought about it; that duty always fell to the firstborn son. Or so he thought. Of course, he also never expected his country to be invaded, his family to be forced into hiding for a year, or his father to die before he could explain all the secrets he had kept from his son – plans for resistance made even before the war began, the origin of his family's bloodline, and the role it plays in the universal battle between good and evil. The only thing his father left him was a simple metal ring too large for his thumb: a constant reminder of how big were the shoes he had to fill and how small it made him feel.