Category: All These Broken Things
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Aurelis didn’t announce himself. The tent flap shifted, and suddenly he was there. Alessia was propped against the bedroll, her fingers stained green from Patrian’s botany lessons, the silver signet clutched in her palm like a prayer bead. She didn’t flinch when she saw him. He took three steps into the tent, no more. Close…
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Odrian found Patrian outside the healer’s tent, his shoulders set and his face a mask of weary calculation. There was no theatrical flourish when he stepped forward, just the grim purpose of a king finally armed with a weapon he understood. “Moonless tide in three days,” he said, the words clipped and final. “Timber movements.…
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Alessia was still sorting herbs when Patrian spoke again. “Since you’re determined to be useful while Askarion keeps you horizontal, translate something. Three scouts brought in yesterday, Tharon irregulars. They were muttering in dock-pidgin before fever took them. Something about weight measures and a ‘moonless tide’.” Patrian’s eyes narrowed, sharp and assessing. “I need to…
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The morning sun cut through the canvas in stripes that crawled across her cot like accusing fingers. She had counted the water stains on the ceiling seventeen times. She’d named them. She had attempted to teach Queen Dottie, Stella’s doll, how to speak Mother Tongue, but she was a terrible student. Kept throwing herself off…
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Dionys didn’t put Alessia down. He didn’t look at Nomaros. He nodded at Odrian, a single jerk of his chin that said I’ve got her and I’ll kill anyone who follows in the same motion. She was lighter than she should have been. Lighter than his shield, lighter than his armor, trembling harder than a…
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The morning light didn’t warm; it simply exposed. Alessia had been braiding Stella’s hair when the tent flap opened with a sound like bone breaking. Not the familiar scuff of Odrian’s boots, not Dionys’s heavy tread. A silhouette filled the entrance, backlit by the harsh white sun, features erased by shadow. “The Council requires your…
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Alessia stirred at the sound of footsteps nearing the tent. Lighter than Dionys’s, heavier than Odrian’s, with an unfamiliar cadence. She forced her eyes open as the flap lifted, revealing a man with dark hair tied back out of his face and sharp brown eyes. She began to panic when she realized Stella wasn’t in…
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Content Warning: This chapter contains themes of past abuse, threats made toward a child, intense fear-based coercion, discussion of a parent preparing a fatal “backup plan” for herself and her child, references to severe mistreatment by a former captor, and strong emotional distress. Please be safe while reading. A summary of events is included in…
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Dionys sat on the shoreline, watching the waves of the Myrian ebb and flow. He didn’t turn when Odrian’s sandals scuffed the sand behind him. Dionys kept his gaze on the sea, even as his shoulders lost the slightest edge of tension. Enough to betray that he knew exactly who was approaching. Odrian flopped down…
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Content Warning: This chapter includes themes of abusive household dynamics, coercion involving a minor, pregnancy involving a minor (discussed only), threats and intimidation toward a child, psychological conditioning, physical mistreatment (non-graphic), confinement, and detailed recollections of escaping an abusive situation. It also contains strong emotional distress responses and intense anger toward the abuser. Please be…
Tiny Raven 