BooksBarbecue
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

The man stalked forward. There was no self-satisfied smugness in his expression, no arrogance, just a neutral expression that was far scarier. Tomas stepped back, wondering whether he should turn and run at full tilt, take his chances with the gap to the previous ledge once more. Though the soldier didn’t seem to be moving too fast, he also seemed to be gaining with each step.

Without warning, he exploded forward, a mad rush that caught Tomas by surprise. He tried to turn, to flee as he’d been considering, but his feet tangled and then he was tripping backwards and the soldier’s sword was arcing toward him like a falling star. Another star slashed forward to meet the first, sparks flying as they collided. The second star was faster, nimbler, darting past the first and stabbing into flesh.

Tomas closed his eyes.

“Come on. You’ve done well so far and I’ve bought us some time, but they won’t give up their chase so easily.”

The assassin hauled him to his feet.

A picture containing caliper, device Description automatically generated

Tomas felt like he’d been run over by an entire team of horses. Followed by the wagon they were pulling. Then by the parade that had been marching behind them. Everything hurt. His muscles were bruised. His bones, too. Even his bruises seemed to have bruises. Every step forward felt like an unachievable task that he somehow achieved anyway—mostly because his relentless companion was always there to steady him when he stumbled or lend him his strength when his own faltered.

Eventually, the narrow pathway had broadened as they reached the cliff’s foothills and then they were back on real land, wide and expansive, where a false step led only to a bit of embarrassment and not a death fall. “We can’t stop now,” the assassin said. “We must get to the river.”

Tomas knew this, and yet his entire body was screaming for him to stop. To collapse. To just lay there for however long it took for the sky to come crashing down on his head. He didn’t, however, not out of fear or stubborn pride, or even that survival instinct that had pushed him so effectively earlier during their escape. No, he refused to stop because it was his sworn duty to keep going, a matter of his birthright. He was the sole heir to Finfalla, and if he was caught and executed for a crime he didn’t commit, chaos would rule these lands. His kingdom, his people, would suffer.

Not so long as there is air in my lungs, he thought, grimacing as the pain in his shoulder flared up. His companion had declared it to be ‘only a flesh wound’ but that didn’t make it hurt any less.