Chapter 7: Pirate Attack
Eva cradled Pias’s head against her bosom as he told her of the edict the kriss had decreed. She tried to imagine how it would be if her own family turned against her, disowned her, refused even to acknowledge her existence any more. She shuddered. Some things were just too horrible to contemplate. “Can they actually do that to you?”
“If they choose to ignore me, how can anyone stop them?”
“They’ll have a hard time ignoring you after you become graf. You’ll have troops at your disposal—”
But Pias shook his head. “You don’t understand. I’ve been totally disowned. They no longer recognize me as my father’s son. Tas will inherit the title now, not me.”
“That’s blatantly illegal,” Eva cried. “Imperial law says the eldest child inherits, whether he’s popular with t
