Chapter One:I was rushed out of the City of Arko, bundled...

Chapter One:

I was rushed out of the City of Arko, bundled into one end of my betrothed’s litter, surrounded by an entourage of thirty, every one a member of clan Mahid. That many ‘Black Dogs of the Imperator’ in one place made people scatter in stark terror, even if they had clear consciences. My escort made themselves a screen of black and gold, their onyxine uniforms a dark enough black to remind people of the smothering pits of Hayel, and their golden hair flowing down their backs like rays o