10/02/2026 07:34

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To each she had knelt, saying that she lived to serve and meaning it, obeying as they commanded, whatever the command. She could not see the water outside, but the piercings let in the smell of salt and the slap of waves against the hull and the splash of the oars. Her own eyes stung with not weeping. Not to mention that he was clever enough to see through the subterfuge and would not tolerate it.

If only Sheriam could be brought to realize that. She refused to consider how odd she looked, sitting on the floor in a blue silk dress. The fate of the world in her hands, and petty stumbling blocks kept rising beneath her feet. It seemed to turn in some fashion, widening as it did into a square .