Page 127 of A Simple Truth

“Finn!”

“Finn! Finn! Finn!” They piled up, immediately taking over the tiny loft that served as my bedroom.

“Are you sick?” Gia wondered; her face flashed with worry.

“Just a headache.” I dismissed, rubbing my eyes for a moment.

“She spends a couple of weeks with the mages and look at her sickly face.” Motra laughed as she pulled out a chair from the small desk and took a seat.

“So,a great Seer, any cool prophecies to tell?” Yanush grinned.

“Nah, prophecies are boring. I want to know, can you do curses yet? Because I have made a list of people you could practice on,” Ioanna offered, and at first, I thought she wasjoking, but she pulled out a lengthy piece of paper with names on it. Ashe just shook her head, chuckling.

“I’ve missed you guys,” I replied, my cheeks already aching from non-stop smiling since they’d arrived.

“We’ve missed you too!” Tori plummeted on the bed right next to me, giving me a good side squeeze. Her sister joined me on the other side.

“Seer or not, you are a Justice Wielder first, and you belong with us. So, I, personally, think it’s bullshit to shove you here when all the fun is happening there,” Cori added.

“How has it been for you? What’s war like?” I asked, looking around the room.

“A lot more political right now, not much action yet. Quite frankly, the few human armies that dare to fight get completely slaughtered by us. Kind of boring, not going to lie,” Ashe said as she twisted the few figurines on Xentar’s wooden desk. “Though soon, politics and treaties won’t be enough, and then the real stuff will begin.”

“No casualties on our side so far,” Gia added. “A few wounded, but just miniscule scrapes. They’ll soon be as good as new. But that’s not the only good news.” Gia beamed, her eyes exhilarated with excitement as she pulled down her sleeve, exposing a leathery strap wrapped around her wrist with a beautiful, simple ring on it.

“YOU GOT MARRIED?!” I squealed.

“Engaged, silly. I am getting married in a week!” She laughed; her face was shining brighter than the mid-day sun.

“GIA! That is incredible! Congratulations!” I cried happily, using all my strength to almost tackle her large figure with a tight hug.

“Thanks!” She blushed a bit. “I am very excited, myself. My parents wanted a big wedding, but they are in Svitar, and Broderick’s parents are all the way by the South Keep right now.And with the war…anyway, I just can’t live another day knowing our souls are not bonded, you know?” She looked at me, her eyes full of compassion, that unconditional empathy reaching the darkest corners of my heart. “I am the only daughter, so my parents will probably disown me for doing the ceremony without them, but sometimes life is too short to wait around, so we are getting married here. Now, Finn, I was hoping that you’d accept my request to be one of my witnesses?”

My eyes instinctively dashed to Zora. She gave me a welcoming nod as she explained, “It’s like a human bridesmaid, but a Destroyer version of it, not much different.”

“Seer or not, it doesn’t matter,” Cori assured.

“It would mean a lot to me if you—”

“Of course, Gia! Of course! It would be my biggest honor! Though I must warn you, I’ve never been a bridesmaid, nor awitness,so take me at your own risk.” Gia and I exchanged a girly chuckle. “But I would love to!”

“Great!” Gia exclaimed, her happy voice warming up the room. “I am engaged to the love of my life, to be with him for eternity, I have all my best friends here with me,” she patted Lulu on the shoulder“and we are all living to experience the world changing for the better. Isn’t it marvelous how amazing life can be!” And though I nodded, a part of me ached, wishing I could feel the same.

We spentthe rest of the day strolling through the village as we made arrangements for the wedding; hair, make-up, flowers, dress alterations and, as Gia pointed out, most importantly, food. Now, exhausted from the full day of preparations, werested on the beach watching the sky turn all colors of purple and pink as the sun dawdled on the horizon.

It felt oddly normal, like this was always my life, like there was no war, no wounded hearts or drowning sorrows. Just us. All different and yet, all the same. Eleven women carelessly hanging out, eating our weight in fresh cherries and biscuits, discussing all that we had missed in the short couple of weeks that we were apart.

I told them of all the cool things I learned about the mages, about my gifts, and then showed them my one and only trick I had managed to acquire as a Creator; Lulu now stacking the rocks I turned gray in a wobbly tower.

We obnoxiously laughed and we gossiped, and we dreamed. It felt as if Lady Fate herself was here, walking amongst us, intertwining our threads together. And for once, I was grateful to her, that in her twisted way of doing things, she had gifted me this sisterhood where I felt safe, and I felt at home.

The hot afternoon lazily turned into a shimmering night. The Ten one by one gave me a tight squeeze saying their farewells, reluctantly leaving from the cozy village back to harsh reality of war without me. I stood on the porch, waving them goodbye, watching their warrior figures disappear down the path.

“How is he?” I finally dared to ask Zora when it was just the two of us.

“He is a little vexed, but he will manage.” Zora itched her cheek, her face tattoo looking even more menacing in the shadows of the night. “Though, he won’t be happy about this.” Her eyes pointed to my arms, as if aware of the bruises and the small needle pricks hiding underneath the shirt.

“How did you know?” I asked, unable to deny the truth under her piercing gaze.

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