Ingried sat smiling in her small offi the rgest w firm in the capital and ate her lunch, which her husband had brought her since she had fotten it o table. She sidered herself lucky. After leaving the castle, she studied. At uy, she met and fell in love with Adam. The two married in the circle of friends, and family, and a few weeks ter she started as a wyer at the w firm where she still worked.

  Her test case was not an easy one.

  A young girl who had been caught stealing several times, and who was now threatened with several years in prison. Ingried wao prevent this, but how?

  The girl had stolen because her parents did not have enough moo feed their children, and the girl, who was only seventeen, had wao help. The family was desperate. The problem was. that the girl was dating a werewolf. The servant of a rich family. This, too, was a serious offense. Especially sihe family suspected that the girl wao flee with her boyfriend. Something that would not be possible for the young wolf because he was tied to the family. The escape robably no more than a on dream. But the thought alone was enough for a verdict.

  How should Ingried prevent the heavy penalty for both?

  There was no loophole ihat she could take advantage of. The fact was, she could not help the girl. She would lose the case.

  Sighing, she put the rest of her bread aside.

  The increasingly strict ws were a thorn in her side.

  Her mother was a tyrant.

  Ingried was gd to have left. It was the best decision she had ever made.

  Should she leave the try altogether?

  But where should she go? And would her husband e with her? Did Adam want to leave the try?

  The snd was not a good pce for humans, as the ruling vampires demahat their human citizens give blood on which they fed.

  The steppe? The taurs were reserved for humans. They tolerated them in their try but stayed away from them. There were only a few humalements as far as Ingried knew. And life there was hard because the summers were very hot. The desert? No. She didn't want to live in a desert. And the dragons were dangerous. This was not a pce for them.

  Nothing is easy. If something does not happen soon, it will hardly be possible to live in pead freedom.