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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

“Murdering a neighboring sovereign isn’t ‘boldness’, as you describe it, but a reckless act of war during a time of peace. And I will discover who paid the assassin. He was one of the Crimson Daggers. They can’t exactly hide, can they?”

“And if you don’t like what you discover…Your Highness?” This remark came from Skinner again, every word spoken with the same cocksure smile he’d likely used on dozens of women.

“I seek only the truth.”

“Like how you managed to escape from your enemy’s stronghold?”

Tomas paused, choosing his next words carefully. “If you think I’m going to be a puppet king, you’ll be sorely disappointed.”

“I’m sorry, Your Highness, I don’t follow. I was merely curious as to how you are standing here right now. A dead queen at your feet. Soldiers all around. And yet you evaded them all, crossed the River of Painted Foes, and traveled many miles over several days without food or other sustenance, all the way back to Marchessault’s high walls and lavish adornments. It’s rather remarkable, don’t you think? You should write of your adventures while they are fresh in your mind. I’m certain the royal bard would love to craft them into his next ballad.”

“Get out,” Tomas said.

“As you wish, Your Highness,” Skinner said with a crisp bow, then turned on his heel and strode away, leaving Tomas to stare at Gideon pointedly.

“Oh, you meant me as well?”

“I did.”

“But how should we respond to Kinkalla’s missive, Your Majesty? It was sent by the queen’s own uncle, Prince Leyton Echevaria. As his nephew is still missing, he is calling himself the King Regent, temporarily bestowing upon him the crown’s full authority and all powers granted by the station. And, as you know, he has no love lost for Finfalla.”

Tomas knew all too well of Leyton’s disdain for everything and everyone east of the border. Long had he lobbied for restitution to be paid for the acts carried out by the Finfallians along the banks of the River of Painted Foes. “That is for the king to decide,” Tomas said. “For now, we do not respond.”

“But Your Highness—”

“Even my great uncle will not destroy a decades-long peace in a matter of days. For now, we have time. Now I must attend my father and ascertain the graveness of his condition from the healers.”

Lord Gideon’s lips parted as though he wanted to say something else, but then seemed to think better of it. He bowed and departed. When he was gone, Tomas ran for the door to his father’s private quarters.

Seventeen

Perfidy

On the Road to New Dawn, Lostwood, Finfalla