Page 118 of A Simple Truth

PART III

SEER

70

FINNLEAH

The small boat glided across the lazy ocean waves, away from the familiar shore. My eyes lingered on the quiet Destroyer camp on the horizon where only a small group of soldiers now stayed behind the rest of them gone off to war.

We were at war.A shiver ran through my body as the cold drops of salty water landed on my skin. I adjusted in my seat, moving a large sack with all my belongings to the side.

War…I didn’t think my mind was fully capable of grasping the entirety of that meaning. What it meant for Esnox, for regular people, for mages. What it meant knowing that Insanaria still had the upper hand…

A continental war.

They were out there, fighting, and I was here.

Hewas at war. My heart ached and I forced those thoughts away.

Later; I’d deal with it later, I assured myself.

“We will come back and visit your Destroyer friends, princess, you are not a prisoner here, I promise.” Xentar softly nudged me with his elbow noticing my bleak look.

“Nor am I a princess…” I replied, pulling my eyes away from the emptied camp.

“Well, that’s actually up for debate. You are a raw fire wielding Destroyer and that makes you Destroyer Royalty.” I rolled my eyes at his exaggeration, and Xentar chuckled. “Hey, it’s your Destroyer politics, not mine.”

The leader of the Creators motioned with his hands, uniting the air around us in gusts of wind, turning our boat to the east, as we made way to the ‘human island’ as Destroyers called it. I winced as our boat sharply skipped on the waves; my wound still reminded me of its existence at every opportunity.

It would’ve been a lot more convenient to be a Healer, not a Seer.

“So, am I truly the only Seer you have?” I asked to fill the loud silence.

“Yes, you are the only Seer we have,” he confirmed.Then no wonder we were fucked,I wanted to say but kept my mouth shut. “It’s hard to survive when a simple cut can expose your identity,” Xentar continued. “Most Seers nowadays don’t make it past toddlerhood.” A quick flash of hurt ran through his striking face before being replaced by a solemn smile. “But you have.”

“Believe me, not from lack of trying,” I replied, adjusting the seam of my pants so they wouldn’t cut into my stomach. “To be quite honest, I am still very skeptical of this so-called gift. I am a Destroyer. A few nightmares don’t magically make me a Seer.”

“No, but your blue blood does.” Xentar straightened the lapels of his sleeveless jacket. “We tested it for three nights now, Finn. Each night you have a dream, your blood turns blue during it. We can’t deny that.”

“How sure are we that some of you are not just color blind?”I brushed aside the stray strands of my disheveled braid, clearing them from my face. “It's a much more common occurrence than people realize. And maybe, if we looked at it in a better lighting,like actual daylight, my blood might look more purple than blue.” I smirked at him.

“As much as you enjoyed being a Destroyer—”

“I wouldn’t go as far as using the word ‘enjoy’,” I retorted. “But it does have its perks, I suppose.”

“So does being a Seer. As the name portrays, they see things, through visions, mostly. Some see the past, some see different versions of the future, some see glimpses of new worlds and universes. Most Seers can also do trivial things like veil or locate things, whether that be a person on a map or a missing item. More powerful Seers can place prophecies or curses, locking your fate to fruition.”

“They control Fate?” My face reflected a healthy dose of skepticism, nevertheless my ears eagerly picked up the new knowledge, despite my distrustful heart.

“They don’t ‘control’, but Seers are considered to be favored by Lady Fate herself, so she grants to some of them power to impress curses and declare prophecies,” Xentar explained.

I thought about my experience with Lady Fate.Favored, my ass.

“So…what you’re saying is, people should not piss off a Seer?” I quirked my brow at him, sending a dubious smile as he snorted.

“No, what I am saying is it’s best not to piss off apowerfulone.” He grinned at me.

“Oh, is that how it’s going to be then?” I laughed as our boat hit a particularly harsh wave, jerking us upright for a moment. “For your information, I am already planning a terrible curse for your demise, Xentar of Vendovia.” I dramatically raised my chin as we propelled further towards the island.

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