Prologue Rap rap rap. The sharp tapping echoed across the small inlet, drawing the attention of the modest crowd that was gathered. A self-possessed, curly-haired woman in a white robe sat at a makeshift table made out of one of several large boulders that dotted the shoreline. The stone was long and flat and served its purpose marvelously. The woman’s hands and wrists were adorned with gold rings which shone brightly against her dark skin. In her left hand she held a small w

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She believed herself to be dreaming, then, when she heard her door open and slam shut in the middle of the night. That is, until her father shook her awake. In the light of the fire from the fireplace, Alessia could see that her father had a huge cut across the left side of his cheek that extended from his cheekbone to half an inch away from his nose. Any drowsiness she’d felt before she opened her eyes was completely gone, and she sat up herself. “Papa?!” she exclaimed, “Wh