A sick girl leaned against an alley wall while a wet cough tore through her chest, and blood darkened the rag at her mouth.
Lord Vance had ruled the town from that same street, yet his head now lay in the dust beside the carriage.
The sight did not erase the fever or bring her mother back, though unfamiliar heat pushed through the cold inside her lungs.
Across the square, the scarred lord lifted his sword and gave the command the knights had been waiting for.
"Kill him now, and do not let the new lord leave this square alive," he ordered, pointing at Hajin.
More than a hundred armored soldiers charged with broadswords raised, while the older lord turned toward a side street.
Hajin watched the fleeing nobleman for one instant, then looked at the soldiers rushing toward the carriage.
"Keep the fight inside the square, and do not chase anyone into the alleys," he commanded, raising one hand.
