Chapter one

Of all the things to hate in the house of the unclaimed, the grinding wheel was the one Sophia dreaded most. She groaned as she pushed against an arm connected to the giant post that disappeared into the floor, while around her, the other orphansbshoved against theirs. She ached and sweated as she pushed at it, her red hair matting with the work, her rough gray dress staining further with the sweat. Her dress was shorter than she wanted now, riding up with every stride to show the tattoo on her calf in the shape of a mask, marking her as what she was: an orphan, an owned thing.

The other girls there had things even worse. At seventeen, Sophia was at least one of the oldest and largest of them. The only person older in the room was sister O'Venn. The nun of the masked Goddess wore the jet black habit of her order, along with lace mask that every orphan quickly learned she could see through, down to the smallest detail of failure. The sister held the leather strap that she used to dole out punishment, flexing it between her hands while she droned her hands while she droned on in the background, uttering the words of the book of maks, homilies about the need to perfect abandoned souls shch as them.

"In this place, you learn to be useful," she intoned "in this place, youlearn to be valuable as you were not to whatever fallen women give birth to you. The masked Goddess tells us that we must shape our place in the world throught our efforts, and today your efforts turn the querns that grind the corn and pay attention, Sophia!"

Sophia flinched as she felt the impact of her belt as it cracked out she gritted her teeth. How many times had the sisters beaten her in her life? For doing the wrong things, or for not doing the right thing quickly enough? For being pretty enough that it constituted a sin in and of itself?For having the flame red hair of a troublemaker?

If only they knew about her talent. She shuddered to think of it. For them, they would have beaten her to death.

"Are you ignoring me, you stupid girl?" the nun demand she struck out again, and again, "kneel facing the wall, all of you!" That was the worst part: it didn't matter if you did everything right. The sisters would beat everyone for the failing of one girl.

"You need to be reminded," sister O'Venn snapped, as Sophia heard a girl cry out, "of what you are. Of where you are." Another girl whimpered as the leather strap struck fles. "You are the children that no one wanted. You are the property of the Masked Goddess given a home through her Grace."

She made her way around the room, and Sophia knew she would be lost. The idea was to make her feel guilty for the pain of the others, and give them time to hate her for bringing this on them, before she gother beating

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