Sea of Dragonfire

“Amir scurried through the rubicund gates — the Royal Guard pursuing him like the first fox of the season. He’d made it past the first of four sets of archways, each waning in size as he drew closer to a small bit of freedom.”

“Beyond the door of her chamber, decorated only with the barest of necessities and an old, worn piano, feckless voices assaulted each other over whose luck would be poor enough to greet her.”