by V. A. Lewis
Theron stared at her, aghast.
"They’re sending you to Bys?"
"They’re sending me to clean up your mess. Which, the Grand Inquisitor, the Archbishop, and the Emperor seems to have forgotten just because you killed an innocent woman in her home."
He clenched his fists, but he ignored that comment. "But why would they send you? You’re supposed to—"
"It’s because of that, I’m the best for this job. Do you really think the Church cares about the Free Cities? Of course not. If it were up to them, both the Free Lands and the Abominations could be wiped from this world, and it would only be a better place."
Lilith waited for his reaction, and when he scowled, she laughed.
"They could’ve sent—"
She cut him off.
"Plus, I’ve been doing nothing but fighting Abominations for the last three years. Ever since it got too much for just Inquisitors or the Holy Knights to deal with. So, they’re sending me along with some Inquisitors on extermination duty. Then I’m supposed to return after that’s done."
Theron felt relieved at that. "Good," he said. "The sooner you return, the better. I don’t trust you, Saintess Lilith."
"Aw you’re hurting my feelings," she said merrily as she danced around him. "What? Are you worried that I’m going to disappear again? Don’t worry, they’ll probably send someone to keep an eye on me."
"Good," the Saint stated simply. He folded his arms, as she just stood in front of him, twirling her hair. "Was that all you wanted to say?" he harrumphed.
"Nope. I just remembered one thing." The woman clapped her hands together as if she just realized something. "I wanted to tell you something. That’s why I came looking for you!"
"Out with it already."
"Rude. I might not— but, actually… well, whatever. Since I’m nice, I’m going to tell you anyway."
She spoke nonchalantly as she leaned over his ear. The Saint tried to instinctively pull back, but stopped himself when he heard what she said.
"A black haired girl was spotted in the Free Lands. They say she was with the Dark Crusaders."
"I— what?!"
Theron nearly shouted. But the Saintess was already leaving.
"I’d love to stay and chat, but I’ve got to go now. Ta-ta. I’ll see you when I get back. Or not. Who knows, I might just decide to stay and investigate these rumors."
The Saint watched as she left, laughing. He stood, nearly speechless at what he just heard.
And for the first time since he was a child. Saint Theron. Worker of miracles. A man of virtues. The gifted young boy who was granted powers by the Goddess to uphold what was right—
Found himself not knowing what right was.
Author’s Note
I hope you all enjoyed my very first piece of written work. Yes, if you’ve read my other book, Salvos, this was written before that even though that had been published first. The themes for Melas are quite different from the themes I decided to focus on for Salvos, however I don’t particularly feel that one is better than the other.
My own interpretation of Bound and Broken has a significant focus on escapism. One thing I’ve found quite ingrained in the isekai/portal fantasy genre is how much ‘better’ these fantasy worlds are usually supposed to be. So, the main driving force behind this book, for me, was ‘what if the fantasy world was just as bad as Earth?’.
I’m sure this is not the most novel idea, but it was pretty much what I was thinking of the entire time I wrote it. From being a withdrawn recluse in Villamcreek, to avoiding her problems as a slave, Melas is constantly running away from everything she faces in Bound and Broken. But the end finally has her standing her ground, not running anymore.
Anyway, I hope you all take the time to leave a review or rating on Amazon. This is my first ever KDP Select book, and I look forward to seeing how it does!
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Copyright © 2020 MelasD / V.A. Lewis