Page 37 of Forcing Fate

“Did you use a horse?” I prodded.

He rolled his head to peer at me, something between a sneer and smirk on his face, but didn’t answer.

“You moved it? By yourself?” Surely not.

“You say that like it surprises you, girl.” He threaded his fingers behind his head, and his tunic fell apart, displaying his muscular chest.

I turned away, unwilling to make the same mistake as before. After a pause, he got up to turn the skewer.

“How?” I finally asked.

“You tell me.” He crouched beside the fire, muscles bunching and coiling under his skin. He looked over his shoulder at me, waiting for my reply.

“Not even you could lift it,” I said, smiling at his affronted expression. “You must have rolled it.”

After another smirk, he nodded, returning his attention to his meal. I pinched my lips together and rubbed the carrot with a semi-clean spot of my dress. Even rolling it would be a terrible feat. I would think only a dragon could move such a thing, not a man.

General Rafe pulled the rabbit off the fire and used a knife to cut off a piece of flesh. The creature wasn’t large, and with its cavity being empty, it cooked quickly. He lifted the knife and meat to his mouth, taking a bite, and hissed around the heat.

I turned my attention back to my plants and ate a bite of clover. He had been far more prepared than I to forage for food. Though from what Elib said, he only ate what he caught or gathered himself, and was therefore more experienced. He took a seat across from me, bringing the skewered rabbit with him. We ate in companionable silence and I wondered how long it would last before he did something that would make me hate him again.

Not long at all. As I chewed on a mint leaf, he reached over and snatched a handful of clover. I frowned as he tossed it in his mouth, chewing with a grimace.

I should have kept the Nightshade.

Determined to ignore his rude behavior, I focused back on my meal. He reached over and placed a piece of meat on my side of the table, and I looked up at him skeptically. He motioned to it with his knife and shrugged. A peace offering? Doubtful.

He returned to devouring his rabbit, and I glanced between him and the meat before popping it into my mouth. He grunted in approval without taking his eyes off his meal, and I finished my harvest. My belly was full, but I wondered how long my meal of leafy greens and a smidgen of meat would last me. I had gone without meals before, but General Rafe was certainly putting me to work today.

Finished, he tossed the bones in the fire and tidied up. As I stood brushing some of the dried mud off my skirt, I groaned, noting the new tear near the hem. I hoped that Master Elenor would find some job for me to do so that I could afford to buy myself a new walking dress and sandals.

General Rafe took off, and I followed as he led us back to the training field. We arrived as the bell tower rang with the second high-pitched chime. Either General Rafe had an internal clock or he was incredibly lucky.

Looking around at the soldiers, I felt as though none of them had been very lucky foraging for their meals. They grumbled and muttered, standing from various seated positions as General Rafe arrived. He walked through them to greet the Captain and explain the next round of exercises, to resume the day’s training.

I tried to hide the small smile on my face as General Rafe went back to ignoring me and casting insults about like rain. I might have to work hard, but I didn’t mind it at all.

Chapter Eleven

By the time the fifth chime rang, I was exhausted—physically and mentally. I did my best to avoid looking at the soldiers in various states of undress, but the concentration that took wore down my mind. Mud covered every bit of me, and my limbs trembled with fatigue. Yet, I was the happiest I had been in a week. General Rafe might not have directly taught me anything, but I listened. He didn’t put me through rounds as a soldier, or Dragon Rider, but he ordered me to lift fallen logs and climb to fix netting often enough to give me a good workout.

I was just pleased he wasn’t treating me as though my only worth was as a woman—helpless and doomed to mend my life away. If he thought I was determined now, I couldn’t wait to show him what I was capable of when I had a dragon at my side. I wanted to show the General what I was really made of.

I heaved a sigh, and sat on the dirt, too tired to stand while waiting for Willhelm to fetch me. After the Captain dismissed his cadets, they shot off, either to bathe or for the dining hall. I didn’t know. But they were eager to distance themselves from the grueling General.

My fingers ran down my braid and I pulled it in front of me, playing with the ends. Willhelm would disapprove of me staying where men were dressed immodestly, but I thought perhaps he might approve of my determination. As I sat, pondering what Willhelm might say, a set of dust-covered boots came into view.

General Rafe had donned the tunic that fit him and actually buttoned it for some measure of decency. He threw the too-small tunic at me with a scowl.

“Fix it.” He cut my attempt at a defensive reply short, holding up his hand. “Fix it, girl,” he snarled and stalked off.

I smiled to myself. It was an easy fix, though I didn’t know if he knew that. I turned it over, studying the side seam where Master Elta had taught me to tuck the extra fabric in and sew over it. She argued he might want to let it out again, and did not want to trim off the excess.

The detail that went into the garment was astounding. Master Elta told me she made him five tunics when he was promoted to General two years ago. They held up well, despite the wear he put on them. He probably bullied her into the job, yet she seemed to have a soft spot for the General. Which was completely baffling.

“Avyanna?”

Willhelm walked toward me, frowning. I was probably quite the sight, crumpled on the ground, slathered in sweat and mud. Yet I couldn’t bring myself to care.

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