"I have no one," I said. And this time, I did not have to fake the tremor in my voice. "Please. Let me follow you."
"I do not weep, my lord. I yield."
His eyes narrowed. Suspicion. But also hunger. He had conquered a hundred clans, and every chieftain had begged, fought, or fled. None had simply… knelt. reincarnated in submission
The first thing I remembered was the cold. "I have no one," I said
Now I was her. Or rather, I was the latest vessel in a broken lineage. Reincarnated not by choice, but by the relentless machinery of a curse disguised as faith. Let me follow you
But one woman did. A captain with a scarred face and sharp, tired eyes. She caught my arm as I passed.
He did not connect these things to the small, obedient child who refilled his cup and never once looked him in the eye.