"The City Tyrant is here!" a vendor screamed as a chair toppled. "Get back!" Juliana Dawson kicked a thief in the ribs and shoved him into a smashed tea stall. Her braid whipped against a painted sign as she yanked the man's hand away from a girl's sleeve. "Let her go!" the girl shouted, wrenching free with red eyes. "Was that yours?" Juliana barked, standing over the thief while vendors gaped. "It was my apprentice's coins," the stall owner stammered. "She—" "Then pick them up," Juliana said. "And don't call me noble when you meaningless fools keep letting rogues steal your wages." "She's a Dawson!" someone hissed. "Don't speak to her that way." "She's a Dawson," Juliana agreed, rolling up her sleeve to show scuffed knuckles. "I'm also someone who hates thievery." The thief spluttered, clutching at his ribs. People leaned in. A child kicked a fallen ceramic cup and laughed. "Someone fetch a constable!" a vendor shouted. "No need." Juliana slapped the man's face flat. The slap echoed over the market; even the riverboats paused. "That's assault," an older woman said. "That's a warning," Juliana answered. "Forget the second one." The thief's pride collapsed harder than his body. He spat, "You'll put me in the stocks!" "Try," Juliana said. "I'll break the lock with my bare hands." A burly customer laughed out loud. Two men carried the thief away by his collar, cheeks burning. The