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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

He went to her then, hoping that his touch would be able to break through whatever fog had settled over her mind where his words had failed. He caressed her cheek with his hand, pushed locks of hair damp with sweat and twined with twigs and leaves away from her forehead. He pulled her to his chest, so she could hear his heart beating. Beating for her, and for Bryony. “Love, we need this. Our family needs this. I won’t raise a daughter without her mother.”

He expected her to spew more nonsense about learning and work and everything she wanted to show him, but instead, to his surprise, she looked up at him, and it was Cora, the woman he’d fallen in love with, the woman he’d married and created a beautiful child with. Her eyes met his and it was like the first time he’d dared to meet her gaze all over again. Perfect. Meant to be. Fated. “You are right, husband of mine. I am sorry. But where will we go?”

Relief spilled through him. “Last Dawn. We will go to Last Dawn. Live with salty air in our lungs. Make a home there. It will be a fresh start for all of us. Now come to bed. Take your rest. I’ll clean everything up before Bryony awakens.”

He caught her gaze as he started to gather up the dead bats, saw the way she flinched as though he’d physically struck her. But then her expression evened out, she managed a smile, and she leaned forward to kiss his cheek. “Thank you, I’ll do that. Don’t be too long, I have trouble sleeping without you by my side.”

“I won’t,” Cainan said. He kept his eyes averted, careful not to touch any of the godsblood spatter that glowed amongst the massacre, bundling it up in the cloth and tying it off tightly with the rope.

Then he went outside to burn it all.

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Cainan grunted as he struggled to move Mick’s body to one side of the cell, out of view of the corridor, where his door, once as immovable as the stone walls in which it was set, stood wide open for the first time in two decades.

His body felt heavier than it should’ve been, as though he was not only carrying his friend’s corpse but the weight of his family—those who relied on him.

The battle drew nearer, the grunts and cries of guards punctuated by the ringing of steel. A quintet of guards came into view, backing up down the hall, swords raised to defend themselves. Suddenly, a swarm of vicious birds appeared, pecking a guard’s face, his hands, making him drop his weapon as he fell back with a cry.