<- Chapter 80 Chapter 82 -> Lissie felt a heavy weight crash into her.  It rattled her injury, and she cried out.  She lost the group.  Distance.  When they stopped touching her, she felt alone.  She dropped to a crouch and began feeling around with her good right arm.  Her hand landed on a bare…

<- Chapter 79 Chapter 81 -> Maribelle thought, Beautiful silk.  I should wear this more often. It was heavy.  The entire ensemble weighed her down.  The wrap around her shoulders and flowing skirt were lined with copper chainmail.  None of it made a sound as she moved except for the copper spiked heels.  With the…

<- Chapter 78 Chapter 80 -> Lady Maribelle ascended the Guest Bedroom stairs, previously the Dungeons.  She and Dottie had already stripped the Bulwark Coveralls off and been doused in vinegar.  It seemed the whole castle smelled of pickles. “It seems to work…”  Dottie sounded reluctant to admit it. “They were a lot rougher with…

<- Chapter 77 Chapter 79 -> Lady Maribelle stood at the front of the Grand Ballroom.  She was wearing a rough spun smock and trousers.  The Mercenaries stared down at her from raised steps.  Surrounding her were engineers with poles and contraptions.  Dottie stood by with her clipboard, a blush on her cheeks and a…

<- Chapter 76 Chapter 78 -> Alexander had tied his light to a rope, and was lowering it over the side.  There was no light.  Lissie stared at the void.  He measured it in his hands as it went, and when it stopped he said, “One thing in our favor, it is eleven feet down.” …

<- Chapter 75 Chapter 77 -> “You said it wasn’t far, Lissie, not that I’m complaining.”  Alexander’s face was hidden inside his hood.  The back of his coat was covered in ice.  The sun had left them, and they marched under the glow of one of his blue lights and a wide swath of stars.…

<- Chapter 74 Chapter 76 -> Lissie looked at the sky, and felt stinging tears freezing at the corners of her eyes.  The Wind was unreal here.  The stars were too real.  The ice sheet pulled at the warmth of her body, and drew her down with it.  She took out her bones and bowl…

<- Chapter 73 Chapter 75 -> “I could have walked to the waterfall.”  Lissie peered over the side of the basket down at her friends trudging through Nikolai’s path in the snow.  Ruskin was jumping, begging to see.  Lissie couldn’t pick him up with just one arm.  She needed her good arm to hold onto…

<- Chapter 72 Chapter 74 -> Lissie felt nauseous.  The basket that Nikolai and Alexander had made looked like it would fall apart with a breath.  She walked closer and looked over the side to see the Ruskin wagging his tail. Strong enough to hold a dog at least.  She thought. “You two got a…

<- Chapter 71 Chapter 73 -> Lissie felt drunk.  Alexander had offered her a bottle before Cora set her broken arm.  She watched the regret in his eyes as she drank it.  She drank more than she ever had before.  If this was the pain while drunk, she wondered what it would be otherwise.  Lissie…