The gold coins lay scattered on the ground, each glinting in the dim light like shards of guilt. The man, a lifelong rogue with a reputation feared on every highway, froze at the sound of the woman’s weak voice.

She was alive.

His heart raced. He had left her for dead by the roadside hours ago, the victim of a desperate robbery gone wrong. The dagger he had used was still stained with her blood. Yet here she was, her pallid face illuminated by the flickering lantern.

"Who am I?" she repeated, her voice trembling with confusion. Her hands weakly grasped at the hem of her torn...