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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

“Why?” Perfidy asked. “Why did they do this to her? Ain’t never hurt nobody. Only ever did good in this world.”

“I told you before. They don’t understand.”

“’Cause they’re ants?”

That predatory smile again. “Exactly. You’re a fast learner.”

“That’s whut Ma always says—said.” Fresh tears escaped from their prison.

“Your mother was a wise woman.”

Was a wise woman. Perfidy decided in that moment she hated the word ‘was’. “Whut’s the point in bein’ wise if ye’re dead. Don’ make ye any less dead.”

“With every tragedy comes opportunity.”

“Opportunity fer whut?”

“You no longer have anything tying you to this place.”

“Northpoint is my home. Always has bin.”

“But it doesn’t have to be forever. Do you really want to stay here for the rest of your life after all that’s happened here?”

Memories rose to the surface: her pa’s note on the table, two simple words—I’m sorry—scrawled in barely legible handwriting; her mother’s tear-streaked face as she faded back into her cell. They sank back into the shadows.

“I have nowhere else to go.”

“What if that wasn’t true? What if there was a place just for people like you?”

“Like me?”

“Like us. I can take you there, if you want. Will you come with me?” The woman stretched her gloved hand toward her.

It was madness. It was impulsive. Perfidy hadn’t even had time to grieve, hadn’t even had time to process, well, anything. Here, in Northpoint, she had a house to live in, a house with a roof that no longer leaked. She had a warm bed to sleep in. And yet, the woman was right. Northpoint was no longer her home, and it never would be again. She had nothing left here but pain and pitying stares.

After only another moment’s hesitation, she took her hand.

Fourteen

Bryony

Kestrel, Finfalla

She’d left her mother behind her.

Outside the door, she was greeted by screams and more fire. Frantic and wild, she spun around, taking in the horrifying scene. The entire town was aflame. There was ol’ Mr. Potter’s bakery, its windows, usually filled with aromatic delights, shattered and coughing out smoke. There was the market where her mother surprised her with a piece of fresh fruit whenever she had a coin to spare, now spitting out sparks as its walls crumbled to ash and ruin. No structure had been spared, the inferno complete.

Father? she tried to say, but though her lips moved, no sound arose. She coughed again, and this time hacked up something black and phlegmy onto the road. As tears streamed down her face, everything was spinning, a kaleidoscopic tornado of flame and smoke.