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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

She wished she hadn’t, Jereb’s disappointed expression there to greet her. “You’re saying you did what you did out of pure curiosity?” He turned around, offering a glance in the direction of the other novices, as though he suspected her of having an accomplice. No, Perfidy realized. In the direction o’ Gruff. “Because if someone else put you up to this…”

“They didn’t,” Perfidy said quickly. “It was my dumb choice. I can see that now an’ I regret it. I’ll accept whutever consequence Lady Brenner thinks is fair.”

“Fine. Have it your way, though you may soon wish you hadn’t protected whoever else was involved.” Once more, he stared daggers at Gruff. “Now I’m going back to bed and I’d better not be woken up again.”

Perfidy felt awful as she watched him reenter the sleeping quarters, Julio and Mirac in tow behind him. Clemmy and Aliza also left, leaving the door open a crack for her. Gruff was the last to go, mouthing a silent Thank you before disappearing behind the closed door.

Perfidy lingered only a few moments more, wincing as she reached up to touch first her nose, then her ear, both of which were crusted with blood. The damn stick’s blows had been brutal, solid cracks meant to inflict real damage on its victim. If she hadn’t been the one being brutalized, she might’ve enjoyed the spectacle. There were more than a few people back in Northpoint she wouldn’t mind introducing to Lady Brenner’s magic stick. “A real, live magic stick,” she said, a grin forming on her lips. “Well, I’ll be damned. No one back home would believe me if I told ’em. Not that I’d want to anyway. The bastards.”

That grin still plastered on her lips, she returned to the sleeping quarters and settled into bed. For some reason, she slept better than she had in a while.

Twenty-Four

Bryony

The Oath, Finfalla

Bryony stared at the parts of her body she’d thought she’d lost to the wraithlike demons. In her mind’s eye, she could almost see what it would look like if she had been dismembered. Such a vivid imagining wasn’t difficult for one who’d lost a leg once before.

Still, she shivered at the thought and kept walking, feeling Aria’s breath too close for comfort behind her. The return journey to the hall of mirrors couldn’t pass by quickly enough, but eventually she spilled out of the tunnel, careful to avert her eyes to the mirrors and not directly at Allegro, who stood in the center of the space, unmoving, her eyes closed. Had she been standing there like that the entire time, as still as a statue? “Where’s Ludo?” Bryony asked.