Page 12 of A Simple Truth

Embarrassment and frustration ran wild in my mind, twisting and poking my tender heart.

I didn’t expect this to be easy. I knew full well this was going to be difficult and painful, but I thought, after all, I was ready for it. But this? Fate was just ambushing me. I could always feel her standing there, enjoying my demise.

I opened my eyes slowly, my body plastered on the ground, vision fuzzy, as I watched distant blurry figures spar.

At this rate, I didn’t care to summon fire, or even a spark. I just didn’t want to black out anymore.

Maybe it would be more embarrassing to get up again.

Perhaps I should lie here and wait until the dark of the night covers me so I can retreat back to my tent and lick my wounds in solace.

“Do you always take breaks face down in the dirt?” The General’s cheerfully taunting voice greeted me.

Fucking great…

It took me a few moments to sit up, not trusting my body’s ability to fully stand yet. I attempted to wipe the dirt off my face, the effort turning out to be totally useless—my hands were just as dirty, if not even more so. I let out a long sigh as I turned to glare at the towering figure of the General behind me as I replied,

“Yes, that’s why my skin is so glowy. You should try it sometime.” I shot a snarky reply, while patting my cheeks with more dirt. A gesture I stopped only a second later, realizing just how ridiculous it was as his face lit up with amusement. I snarled back, returning my eyes to the training field.

I was aware enough that my anger might have been misplaced, and Ialmostconsidered correcting myself and apologizing, but either due to my piss-poor mood or my throbbing lip, I immediately justified my cold response.

Ask stupid questions, get stupid answers.

The General took a step closer as he extended his muscled arm to me, my eyes catching the scars on his hand as he waited for me to take it. Instead, I ignored his gesture, pridefully getting up by myself.

Gideon’s pet. Ioanna’s words rang in my mind, and I scoffed at that phrase.

“Rough first day on the job?” he asked, clasping his hands behind his back.

“I’ve had worse,” I answered, holding back the ‘take one quick guess, smartass.’

“I am sure it will get easier,” he said encouragingly as I tried to shake off the mud caked on my clothes. Tried and failed, as half-dried clumps of dirt were stuck like glue.

I couldn’t resist mumbling, “Easier to pass out or easier to fall?”

“At this rate? Probably both,” he cockily replied, taking another assessing look over my body. My eyes registered a flash of what I could only guess was displeasure on his face as his eyes lingered on my bloodied lip. Without another word, he drew both of his swords from the sheaths on his back and quickly joined the training.

7

FINNLEAH

Gia’s gentle, yet calloused hands rubbed the remainder of the healing salve into my freshly washed scrapes with slow circular motions. I sat on my cot, eyeing the laces on my boots.

“That lip is looking better. Give it another day or two and you’ll be brand new!” Gia encouraged, as she closed the metal jar. I shrugged my shoulders in response.

“Oh, come on, don’t sulk! I am sure tomorrow is going to be better! I’m super confident of that!” she urged while lightly patting my knee. I slumped back onto my bed and nestled in the blankets. The reality was — tomorrow wasn’t going to get better, just like the last three days hadn’t been. Each day was the same as the one before: my consciousness leaving my body as soon as the Cleansing Fire encircled me.

“Look on the bright side, girl, at least fainting is not what your enemy would expect. So, you’ll for sure, catch them off guard.” Ashe glanced up from the thick book she was reading.

“The true bright side is that there is no way she can pass out more than she did today, so it can’t get worse,” Ioanna sneered.

“At least we now know why she wasa lostDestroyer. Probably all that disorientation,” Yanush chipped in. “She takes ‘not for the faint of heart’ quite literally.”

“Perhaps she should consider training in a nursery first. They have good padding for that,” Ioanna mocked. At a scornful glance from Ashe, she added, “What? At least we won’t have to waste the extra salve on miniscule scrapes.”

I swallowed hard. I could feel frustration mixed with defeat clumping together in the back of my throat. I flinched, attempting to bite my lip to stop the treacherous tears from flowing.

“I’m going to get some air,” I blurted out, fighting the quiver in my chin.

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