Cyprus: Future's Promise (Tales of the Executioners)

Short Story. Not for children. Roughly ten years before Cyprus joins the ranks of the Executioners, he's guard at the Stronghold in Munich, Germany, where he falls in love with Sadihra. The German equivalent of an Executioner, not only does she outrank him, but she's already taken. However, Cyprus has something on his side that no one realizes...

Cyprus' story continues in Heart of the Raven but can be read as a stand alone.