2026-04-27 18:08:54
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Chapter 17. Hidden talents
Back in the free city of Nidus, the counting house in Mival Lawson's sprawling compound had become Calista’s small kingdom of inks and numbers. Her hands which were once soft and unused to labor now moved with confident precision across ledgers and her mind which was sharpened by royal tutors in Miraolden had become her greatest weapon. This growth had not gone unnoticed by the Mival.One humid afternoon, while reviewing the latest spice caravan manifests, Calista paused over a long column of figures. She frowned, quill hovering.“Master,” she said quietly when Mival entered the room, “the eastern supplier has inflated the weight of the saffron shipment by nearly fifteen percent. If we pay the current rate, we will lose over two hundred crowns on this alone.”Mival leaned over the table, eyes narrowing as he examined her neat annotations. He had grown used to her corrections, but this one was bolder than usual.“You are certain?”Calista nodded. “The density of saffron threads varies
Chapter 16. Family escort
The four years since the fall for Miraolden had been not challenging, and had come with a lot of growing up, Liam the seventeen year old prince who was dragged from his father's burning palace was now twenty-one, yet he still wore the name Laim like armor and his eyes which were once bright with youthful defiance now carried the quiet, dangerous patience of a man who had learned that vengeance required more than rage. He had risen steadily in Lord Ermin Rein’s household. He was no longer scrubbing pots or mucking stables; now he served among the upper servants, trusted with escort duties and light guard work. Colvin and Beatrix had grown used to his presence. The arrogant boy who once made his life hell had slowly become something closer to a rival, then a reluctant comrade. Beatrix’s curiosity had deepened into something warmer, though neither spoke of it.The spring trade fair in Korthos was always a time of opportunity and danger. Merchants from across Etoibard gathered, deals wer
Chapter 15. Fleeting hope
The counting house in Mival Lawson’s compound was a sanctuary of quiet order amid the bustling chaos of Nidus. Sunlight filtered through high latticed windows, casting golden bars across the long cedar table where Calista Walton worked. At nineteen, four years into her captivity, she had become indispensable to the merchant prince.Every morning began the same, she arrived before the household fully stirred, dressed in a simple blue tunic, hair neatly braided. Lena would sometimes leave a small fig or piece of flatbread on her stool, it was a silent gesture of friendship. Calista ate quickly, then opened the heavy ledgers.Mival’s accounts were complex tapestries of trade involving shipments of saffron and pepper from the southern deserts, bolts of dyed silk from eastern ports, and rare gems cut in hidden workshops. Calista’s quill moved with precision, cross-checking weights, calculating duties owed to the Merchant Council, noting profit margins, and flagging discrepancies.She had a
Chapter 14. Defiance
The spring fair in Preliand arrived like a storm of color and noise, transforming Lord Varyn’s estate from quiet oppression into controlled chaos. Traders poured through the gates, caravans of spices from the east, bolts of silk from across the sea, jugglers and musicians hired for entertainment. Guards drank freely causing their watches to lax. Slaves worked double shifts, cooking, cleaning, serving but whispers of opportunity ran like wildfire through the barracks.Tamira’s heart beats a constant rhythm of now or never. Four years in slavery and for two years she had planned with Elara, old Jorin the blacksmith, and Marta the cook. They had hoarded coins scraped from forgotten corners, fashioned tools from scrap and mapped every shadow on the estate. The drainage grate behind the pigsty had loose bars, wide enough for a determined body and it led to a culvert that emptied into the vineyards beyond the walls.The plan was simple in outline, but brutal in risk.On the fair’s final nig
Chapter 13: Rise amongst slaves
Back in Etoibard, the spring council journey began at dawn with the Rein household stirring like a hive preparing for war. Servants loaded carts with trunks of fine clothes, crates of wine, and gifts for allies, bolts of silk, jeweled daggers, and rare books. Guards in green cloaks checked weapons and horses. Lord Ermin Rein rode at the head, his face set in determined lines, his wife Seline beside him in a covered litter. Colvin flanked his father, eager and armored, while Beatrix rode a gentle mare, cloaked against the morning chill.Laim, still called by his pit name, rode near the rear with the escort of ten household guards and five armed slaves, including himself. He wore a simple leather jerkin over mail, with a short sword at his hip and a round shield strapped to his saddle. The weight of steel felt both familiar and strange after months of labor. His ribs twinged with old pain when the horse jostled, but he ignored it.The road to Korthos wound through olive groves and past
Chapter 12: Life in Nidus
The free city of Nidus rose from the southern horizon like a glittering mirage with white walls baking under a relentless sun, domes and minarets catching the light, and the harbor a forest of masts from a hundred nations. There were no kings here, only the Merchant Council, and gold was the only law most people respected.With chains on her wrists and her heart still raw from the separation, Calista Walton stood on the deck of the slaver ship as it docked. The voyage from Miraolden had taken weeks, cooped in the hold with other captives, fed on weevil bread and brackish water. She had hidden her royal bearing the best way she could with her head down, eyes dull and answers short. But fear gnawed at her constantly. Robert Hawks had arranged for her death, just as he had done for Liam and Tamira. Hers was to be an accident at sea with a quiet knife in the dark, so she had expected it, at everybody until this day when the ship docked. Yet none came because greed had once again intervene
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