Click here to read parts 1-16! Rebellions did not pick up traction quickly. Tristan was slow to learn that lesson. Connor laughed at her nervous energy, having learned years ago that a soldier’s and rebel’s closest companion was boredom. Her whole being felt rushed to move the cause forward, but reality dedicated that they must ...

Click here to read parts 1-15! As soon as Anfir opened the tent flap, Tristan knew why he’d led them there. Fenrir hobbled up from the cot where a redheaded girl was attempting to tend to his bandaged leg. The woman’s cat-like features turned down in a scowl as she watched Fenrir hoist himself up ...

Click here to read parts 1-14! They were leaving again. Angie plodded along beside them, thrilled to set out on an adventure her mother had unknowingly agreed to when Anfir offered to “hire” her daughter. It didn’t hurt that the woman was fond of Anfir and thought he was a distant nobleman. Tristan wrung her ...

Click here to read parts 1-10. Tutti filled them with tea until Sarai’s stomach felt like it would burst. She hid a smile behind her cup as Connor grimaced into his mug and Tristan poked her tongue out in distaste. Very few people had the stomach for Tutti’s special blend of dandelion tea. Sarai discretely ...

Click here to read parts 1-9. Trigger Warning: This story contains themes of violence, death, blood, and torture Of the many duels Sarai had been involved in, only one stayed as fresh in her memory as each yesterday. There had been a young man from a village, thin and barely getting by with the work ...

The man sang like a canary, and Connor emerged with a plan, leaving the guards life in the hands of the ship’s doctor. Anfir’s rebellion could use any other information he possessed. He wiped the blood off his hands as he made his way to the captain’s quarters. Sarai looked up from the map she ...

Click here to read parts 1-7. If Sarai had any say in it, she’d never get on a boat again in her life. The short trip to the Islands had been nausea-inducing, the ride to the port closest to Tutti’s village was a carnival of torture. Out of sight of land, they maneuvered between Doerman ...

Read parts 1-6 here! Three days they stayed in the concealed house, planning and preparing for their next step—finally, the day to depart arrived. Conner heaved a sigh of relief once the blue guard’s vest was tossed in a pile of bedraggled uniforms. Some were Doerman, and some belonged to old Vamaser, a few were ...

(Read Previous Parts Here) Planning couldn’t happen in a vacuum. Throughout the journey, Connor and Sarai sat through many edits and decisions made on their behalf with only mild complaining. Connor likely accepted it because he was a soldier and used to taking orders, Sarai because she could barely focus over the roiling in her ...

Sarai took Tristan away under the cover of a heavy storm. As thunder rolled through the slums, stinging rain washed over the streets, wiping them clean of dirt and trash, pooling it in heavy streams down towards the harbor. Tristan was small enough that Sarai found it easier to carry her over the rivulets while ...