Tybidius has survived every contract he has accepted. That does not mean he belongs anywhere.

As a blacklister, Tybidius works beyond the protection of corporations and royal houses, taking the assignments respectable institutions need completed but would rather not claim. A dangerous contract for the Kingdom of Odom brings him something rarer than payment: an invitation.

Inside the royal palace, masked nobility mingle with corporate heirs, decorated soldiers, foreign dignitaries, and figures stranger than rumor. For one evening, Tybidius has access to a world normally closed to men like him—and perhaps a chance to become more than a disposable weapon.

But belonging has its own price, and in Odom, spectacle and danger are never far apart.

Happy Birthday from a Blacklister is a science-fantasy short story of mercenary survival, cybernetic intrigue, dark wit, and the perilous distance between being valued and being useful.