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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

“It’s not like I had time to count them, but yes. Almost as many as my father. Almost as many as me. No wonder it was so strong.”

“I agree, it’s concerning. Now, did the bear ever get a good view of its attacker? The one that started all this?”

Soraya released a quiet breath, simultaneously relieved that his interrogation had moved on to less complicated topics, and also exhilarated by the revelation that she’d earned a new leaf. “Just flashes here and there. The dark skin, inlaid with golden rivulets. The leathery wings.”

“And when the form stood over the bear when it was underwater?”

Soraya hesitated, because she’d been taught never to make guesses based on her visions. “It was hard to see through the water…”

“Try. Please. It could be important.”

She inhaled deeply, and then said the thing that had been pulling at her mind ever since the bear had taken its last breath. “The bear’s attacker looked almost…human.”

Shim gave nothing away with his expression, but then stood and walked over to the tree branch. He reclaimed his shirt and dragged it back over his scaled hood and muscular frame, which was now dry. Then he opened the mouth of his pack, reached in, and extracted the bear’s heart, holding it up so they could both see it.

Nestled in his hand, gleaming gold, it continued to beat.

Nine

Bryony

Kestrel, Finfalla

“By the Sculptor’s hand,” Bryony murmured, sinking into the warm water. Although she was well away from the iciness of the forest, that unnatural cold seemed to have embedded itself deep into the core of her bones. Ordering a heated bath the second she’d barged through the inn’s door might’ve been considered a splurge, but she didn’t particularly care. Especially now, as the water seemed to penetrate her sore muscles, breathing new life into them. She didn’t even mind the series of stings arising from the cuts and jabs Lostwood had bestowed upon her as a toll for passing through its borders.

The horse bite on her hand hurt the most, so she unwrapped the makeshift bandage to inspect it. “Shite,” she breathed when she saw the discoloration and telltale signs of the early stages of an infection. She would require the services of a healer sooner rather than later lest she lose the hand. She felt she already had enough wooden body parts as it was.