Chapters (53)
- Map of Kingdom of Finfalla and Surrounding Area- Western Half
- Map of Kingdom of Finfalla and Surrounding Area - Eastern Half
- Map of Kingdom of Finfalla and Surrounding Area - Full Map
- Important Trigger Warning
- Prologue
- PART I
- One
- Two
- Three
- Four
- Five
- Six
- Seven
- Eight
- Nine
- Ten
- Eleven
- Twelve
- Interlude: The River of Life
- PART II
- Thirteen
- Fourteen
- Fifteen
- Sixteen
- Seventeen
- Eighteen
- Nineteen
- Interlude: Fallow Fields
- PART III
- Twenty
- Twenty-One
- Twenty-Two
- Twenty-Three
- Twenty-Four
- Twenty-Five
- Interlude: Of Man and Monster
- PART IV
- Twenty-Six
- Twenty-Seven
- Twenty-Eight
- Twenty-Nine
- Thirty
- Thirty-One
- Thirty-Two
- Thirty-Three
- Thirty-Four
- POSTLUDES
- Postlude 1: Lana Vica
- Postlude 2: Ludo Vica
- Postlude 3: Cainan
- Acknowledgments
- An excerpt from Heartsworn, Volume II in The Forsworn Oath, available for preorder now!
- PART I
She could practically see the greed flashing in his eyes as he considered her proposition. She didn’t need him to say yes to know that he was hooked and ready to be pulled in. That was the thing about greedy men: they were as predictable as the tides. Offer them a bit of gold and they would deliver their own mother, shackled and gagged. “Two gold coins,” she said, barely a whisper. “Your man will get the same when I meet him, and the same again once he’s delivered me to the prison.”
If his eyes were dinner plates before, now they were full moons. He licked his lips, as though tasting all the fine things he could buy with that kind of coin. “I’ll be right back,” he said.
She smiled and sipped her burning drink, finally casting her eyes about the rest of the room, careful not to let them settle on anyone in particular who might take offense to such a brazen stare. In one corner, four men played an exuberant game, throwing their chosen cards down with vigor, bandying crude insults back and forth between them. Not a single one of their mothers was safe from being mentioned by their vile lips.
Another table had devolved into an arm-wrestling match, bets being offered up by the spectators, half of which cheered while the other half groaned as one of the arms was slammed to the wood, rattling the half-empty glasses about. Coin exchanged hands and a man who’d apparently bet more than he had to offer was tossed through the doorway like the emptying of the bathwater. None of the tavern’s patrons batted an eye; such an event was likely a nightly occurrence. The match continued with new bets being shouted supporting one or the other of the two new combatants.
Her gaze continued to roam until they returned to the bar, where she found herself face to face with a crooked-nosed old man who had less teeth than good sense. “Hullo,” he said.
“Goodbye,” she said.
He smiled with lips as crooked as his nose, showcasing what was left of his yellowing chompers. “A bold one. I like that.”
“Unless you want to leave with even fewer teeth than you entered with, I strongly suggest choosing another seat.”
“Fine, I can take a hint. I’ll be gone after I get one kiss, and it better be a good one.”