Chained Hearts: From Slavery to Sovereignty

The moment Cassian’s fingertips brushed the portrait, his breath caught in his throat. Something in the air suddenly shifted, but with stillness. His vision blurred. The world tilted. And then— Blackness.

The stone floor beneath his boots vanished.

But he didn’t fall. He drifted away.

Through air? Through time?

He didn’t know.

When his eyes opened again, he was somewhere else entirely.

The sky was a strange color—neither night nor day. Deep red, like old wine mixed with gold dust, stretched across the heavens. But it wasn’t ominous. It was gorgeous.

Cassian stood in the middle of a bustling marketplace. But the noises weren’t right. The voices were different. The scent in the air was sharp, but not unpleasant. Sweet spices, burning incense, and the smell of iron.

His heart pounded.

Because everyone around him... wasn’t human.