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Chapters (53)
  1. Map of Kingdom of Finfalla and Surrounding Area- Western Half
  2. Map of Kingdom of Finfalla and Surrounding Area - Eastern Half
  3. Map of Kingdom of Finfalla and Surrounding Area - Full Map
  4. Important Trigger Warning
  5. Prologue
  6. PART I
  7. One
  8. Two
  9. Three
  10. Four
  11. Five
  12. Six
  13. Seven
  14. Eight
  15. Nine
  16. Ten
  17. Eleven
  18. Twelve
  19. Interlude: The River of Life
  20. PART II
  21. Thirteen
  22. Fourteen
  23. Fifteen
  24. Sixteen
  25. Seventeen
  26. Eighteen
  27. Nineteen
  28. Interlude: Fallow Fields
  29. PART III
  30. Twenty
  31. Twenty-One
  32. Twenty-Two
  33. Twenty-Three
  34. Twenty-Four
  35. Twenty-Five
  36. Interlude: Of Man and Monster
  37. PART IV
  38. Twenty-Six
  39. Twenty-Seven
  40. Twenty-Eight
  41. Twenty-Nine
  42. Thirty
  43. Thirty-One
  44. Thirty-Two
  45. Thirty-Three
  46. Thirty-Four
  47. POSTLUDES
  48. Postlude 1: Lana Vica
  49. Postlude 2: Ludo Vica
  50. Postlude 3: Cainan
  51. Acknowledgments
  52. An excerpt from Heartsworn, Volume II in The Forsworn Oath, available for preorder now!
  53. PART I

With that, she rose and turned away, holding her desire to sprint from the throne room at bay, even as Cainan’s image flashed in her mind.

Father, where are you? she wondered.

Two

Ludo

Marchessault, Finfalla

“Do you know why you’re here?” the king asked. The ruler of one of the largest kingdoms in the known world was facing away, staring out the window as though searching for an answer to a mystery that had plagued him his entire life. Against the light streaming into the room, his majestic crown was a dark silhouette that might’ve been a demon roosting before hunting for souls in the night.

“Yes, Your Majesty,” Ludo said. His entire body felt as tense as a bowstring just waiting to be drawn back for the kill. He’d waited a long time for this day, a day he never thought would come. In fact, so certain was he that it wouldn’t that he’d been making other plans, plans that would’ve likely resulted in his own death or incarceration. Not that he cared. His life had been made forfeit a long time ago. He held back a chuckle at his own mental lies. One hand started to move up to adjust the patch over the scarred pit that was once his right eye, but he stopped it. It was a nervous habit he’d been trying to vanquish for a while now. “You wish for me to capture the escaped prisoner. Cainan.”

“Capture, kill, the outcome matters little to me, so long as the Fire Eater is brought to justice before he can burn anything else down. Those who helped him escape must be captured or killed too. I won’t have panic and fear run rampant across my kingdom.”

“How did he escape?”

“The details are still rather…hazy. There is talk of ghouls and goblins, of course, but it’s all the usual superstitious rot. Go to Comman Dur and find the truth. Then find the Fire Eater.”

“You can count on me, Your Majesty,” Ludo said, shifting slightly. The metal of one of the daggers strapped to his ankles pressed uncomfortably against his skin so he shifted back.

“Of course I can. You’re the only one I can count on. You’ve served me well for years now. And I hope you’ll serve my son just as well long after I’m gone.”

“You’ll live for a hundred more years, Father,” the crown prince, who’d been standing silent against the wall, said. “Unlike House Echevaria, us Vedrans are built of tougher material.”

“Do not speak of what you don’t understand,” the king said, finally turning his head.

“What don’t I understand?” Tomas said. “Ever since the Nightdawn—”

“Do not use that term!” the king snapped.

“Why shouldn’t I? Everyone else does.”

“Behind closed doors, maybe, but none dare to in my presence.”