THANK YOU FOR YOUR PATIENCE! I'm so sorry you had to wait so long for this! I hope you enjoy this mass release of FIVE chapters--one every 20 minutes, starting now!
*****
AYLETH
The silence while the Etan and his parents signed the Treaty was a weight on Ayleth's shoulders. Like fingers of dread crawled up her spine, she shivered, expecting at every second that something would occur to stop them—that someone had snuck an archer into the amphitheater, inside the magic dome. Or that her own father might step forward and call for a delay. Or that a stand in the amphitheater would collapse and they would all be buried under a pile of commoners.
By they time she caught herself imagining a spy releasing one of the royal tigers into the arena, she realized how ridiculous her thoughts had become. With a tiny snort, she shook her head and focused on Etan's shoulders, broad and tall as he stood behind his parents, awaiting his turn to sign.
