Page 63 of Forcing Fate

General Rafe looked me up and down with a patronizing smirk. “Your gender is a handicap.”

Anger boiled my blood. Being born a woman was no handicap. I might not be as big as them, and I might not be as strong as some of them, but I had seen smaller men fight. At least being a woman gave me brains.

I had to be thankful for the little things.

“Nowhere in article seventeen, or any other article, does it forbid women to join,” I growled, not caring that the others saw how much General Rafe got to me. He could get under the skin of any man here.

“What if I do?”

I forced myself to take deep breaths and not slap this infuriating man. “Do what?”

“Forbid you.”

I inhaled sharply and glared. It was well within his right as a General to refuse me admittance to the army. It was also within his right to dismiss me if I joined.

Surely he wasn’t that much of an oaf.

“Well, do you?” I snapped.

He got off on holding his power over others. I saw it over and over during my time in the barracks. He was the type of man that made everyone feel like they were below him. He had a way of belittling everyone, even if they were not directly under his authority.

He studied me and leaned his hip against the desk again. The older man looked between him and me, and the tense crowd awaited his verdict. Willhelm shifted behind me, the only movement in the tent. I stood there, fighting the tremble that threatened to shake my limbs. I didn’t take my eyes off General Rafe’s dark stare, not for one moment, as the pause lengthened.

“No.”

A ripple of shock and disappointment went through the men, and Willhelm breathed a sigh.

The older man spluttered. “I have to object, General–”

With a single, threatening look, General Rafe’s glare silenced him. His glower returned to me, brows darting up as he shrugged his massive shoulders, before he pushed off the desk and pressed into the crowd.

“Start the wagers!” His deep voice carried over the men as they all started talking at once.

My cheeks burned at the insinuation. He didn’t think I would last long.

“Avyanna. Avyanna of Gareth,” I declared to the old man, who glared fiery darts at me.

“Well, Avyanna. My wager is you won’t make it through the night,” he grumbled, writing my name on the parchment.

Fate decided that I wouldn’t make it through the night.

“What are you thinking?!” Master Niehm demanded with a scowl shrewd enough to cut. Master Elenor was at her side, chasing every soldier off with the same sharp look.

We stood in front of the bunkhouse in the barracks as dusk settled into night. The recruits had been dismissed to their bunks, but most milled about with nervous energy.

“She wasn’t,” Master Elenor muttered under her breath.

They wouldn’t understand. “It doesn’t matter. I’m here now,” I stated.

“You’re not staying here. Come back to your room.”

“No, you need that room, and they sent the recruits to the bunkhouse. That’s where I’ll sleep.”

“No, you will not,” Master Elenor bit out.

“I’m a recruit now. I’m not welcome on the school grounds without orders from my Commander.”

“She—She–” Master Niehm couldn’t even finish. She threw her hands up in the air, exasperated.

---