Luke sat on the floor of his room in front of his short bookcase, trying to choose a book out of his sparse collection to house the money he'd earned from the bar. He'd been keeping it in a shoebox under his bed, but it didn't feel safe enough of a hiding spot. Ever since Whitney had found Abel's napkin in his nightstand, his room hadn't felt private enough for him.
Luke's eyes landed on the Doyens' Guide, a book that every man of The Faith was given as a gift on their eighteenth birthday. Inside, it was like a convoluted mix of a day planner and a diary, with patronizing writing prompts such as, "How I gave thanks to my Herald today" or "How I felt enlightened through The Faith's teachings today" or "How I provided for my Pair today."
Well before the height of his defiance, Luke's firs
