Chapter Twenty-Four
Starlyn could hear faint whispers in the dark, which would have once been unsettling. Now it made her smile with pleasure, because she knew the whispers were about her. Never before had an outcast of the Ikchani been brought up in the ranks so quickly. Starlyn had paid a high price for such recognition. She had the scars to prove it all across her body. They were healing, but much slower than it normally would take a kheshlar. The pain of whippings remained fresh in her mind. Despite her pain, a smile came upon her face. She would get back at those who had beaten her. It was the way of the Ikchani. They knew it was coming. Starlyn would no longer be a kheshlar … for there were no races within the Ikchani.
She sat at her desk, skimming over scrolls and treaties on land
