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Back Forsworn
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

“I only did what I was commanded. What my masters paid me to do.”

Tomas hated that his mother’s death could be boiled down to something as mundane as ‘business’, but he hated even more that it was true. Was the assassin truly to blame for his mother’s death? Or the individual or individuals who’d paid for her murder? “They also paid you to secure my safe escape and escort me back to Marchessault?”

“Not Marchessault. But yes, to Finfalla. As soon as we cross the River of Painted Foes, you’re on your own again.”

“Why would they—”

“Enough questions. We must leave—now.” The man didn’t assume Tomas would fall in line behind him, instead guaranteeing his cooperation by pulling him along beside him like an uncooperative child.

“Let go. I won’t resist.”

The man hesitated only a moment but then did as he was asked. It felt less like him obeying a direct order from his sovereign, and more his own knowledge that Tomas was in no position to flee. Which, sadly, was true.

“Won’t there be soldiers guarding the cliffs?” Tomas asked as he struggled to keep up. The man moved like he was made of a mixture of wind and water, a fluid grace to each movement, no effort wasted as he jogged over the uneven terrain.

“We are in a time of peace…or at least we were…with Kinkallian lands to our back and a sheer cliff to the front. They’ll pursue us, yes, but it’ll be from behind, not blocking the path ahead. So if you can stop your dawdling, it would be in your best interest.”

Tomas was already breathing so heavily he couldn’t even get a word out to respond. And yet he managed to go a little faster, especially when he heard a shout from behind. “Down!” the assassin commanded him, stopping and whirling so suddenly that Tomas didn’t have time to even think about dodging. He grabbed Tomas behind the neck and shoved him face first into the dirt.

Just in time, too, for Tomas felt something zip past, narrowly missing his right ear before sending chips of rock and dirt flying as it embedded itself in the cliff. On his chest and gasping for breath, he stared at the arrow protruding from the ground. “Don’t. Move,” the assassin said. Even if Tomas wanted to, he didn’t think he could, the man’s hand pressing on his back to keep him down.

Zip-zip-zip! Zip-zip-zip!

A barrage of arrows whipped past, carving up the landscape around and ahead of them.