Book One – Chapter 15

Well. As he said. Except for Tria. She had tolerated him. Barely. And only because blood – or whatever twisted obligation she felt toward him – forced her to. Her resentment had never been subtle. She was ambition incarnate, all sharp edges and unyielding drive, and he had never fit into the grand design of a career in power she had carved out for herself. He had been a smear, a flaw in the blueprint, a problem she had never quite solved.

And yet, Yu had never understood why she was so fixated on getting rid of him. Yes, she wanted him gone from her life. Fine. But why the obsession with controlling his life? Why force him into a career? Why insist he needed a purpose?

Could she not simply have left him in peace? If not under her roof, why not nearby? Even if she did not want him to live with her, why could he not still live like her? His own apartment. His own quiet corner of the estate. A single room. A place where he could exist without forcing himself into the world’s expectations. What the fuck was wrong with that? Where was the problem?

He would do his thing. She would do hers. Simple. Sorted.

But no. That would have been too easy. Too kind.

Tria could never just let him be. She always needed more from him. More attention. More effort. More gratitude for being the bastard soul oh-so-blessed to draw breath in this cursed world.

Tria had built her wealth and reputation on the backs of humans. She had acquired and repurposed the Barnstream habitat, breeding generations of them for efficiency. She had trained them, optimising their labour to expand the river system and cultivate the garanger, a hardy, nutrient-rich fish bred to thrive in her controlled waterways. When the Shaira had drained the rivers during the crisis years of 616 to 619, Tria’s artificial channels, sealed within the protected habitat, had endured. She had single-handedly kept the north-eastern region from starving. And for that, she had been rewarded with immeasurable riches and an unassailable reputation. Her name stood for wealth and power.