Review - Dragon's Descent by Sam Burns and W.M. Fawkes

Arkadii has watched over King Dimitri “Dima” for more than a decade. The two were lovers once, but when Dima ascended the throne after his father’s brutal murder, he turned his back on his guardian, fearing their love would make him weak. Arkadii has had to stand watch over the man he loves while Dima descends into madness under the pressure that tradition says the kings of Voronezh must bear alone. Seeing Dima so miserable for so long makes Arkadii consider the unthinkable: perhaps someone should put an end to the king’s suffering. Not that Arkadii could bring himself to harm Dima, but there’s obviously a plot to kill the king and Arkadii doesn’t want to live without him.

This third and final book of the To Kill a King series turns the focus on the king himself and his long-time guard, former lover, Arkadii. Although a new couple takes center stage in this story, the first two books have been leading up to this one, so you should read them first. Be warned that this story is very dark, at least for the first half. In case it’s not clear, we’re talking about suicidal thoughts.

The first few chapters are flashbacks to times before Dima was king, so we get a sense of what the relationship was like, as well as Dima’s personality before the tragic events that saw him taking the throne. The change in the king’s mental state is quite dramatic, but believable in the context it’s presented. It’s so convincing that the story might have you wondering if Dima can come back from such a deep depression.

Dima may be king, but the fate of the nation really rests on Arkadii. He is the one who knows Dima best and is probably the only one that can bring him back from the madness that envelopes him. Despair over Dima’s state of mind understandably nearly pushes Arkadii into his own mental breakdown. There are times when you’re not sure exactly how things will turn out. Will the entire kingdom get a happily ever after or not?

“Dragon's Descent” is only available from Amazon (commissionable link).