Page 40 of A Simple Truth

She was engaged?I silently mouthed to her.

Not now.Gia blinked expressively.

Fine.I nodded.

“But none of you are wearing rings? Or is it a Destroyer thing, to not wear rings?” I asked, still baffled that I missed the fact that most of them were married, after living with them for a couple of months.

“Rings aren’t very suitable for armor or gripping things, so Destroyers usually wear them as bracelets. They’re discreet and they don't get in the way.” Yanush raised her arm, pulling her sleeve down, exposing a neat bracelet made from a leather strap, wrapped tightly around her wrist with a ring on it. One by one, each one of the Ten, with the exception of Zora and Gia, lifted their arms to expose a similar leather strap with different rings attached.

“You all are married,” I repeated, taking another look around the room in disbelief as the Ten returned to their decoratingduties. “Are you not allowed to live with your spouses?” I questioned Ashe as she climbed down from the stool.

“We are, but we choose to stay here,” she replied. “At least until each one of us has a husband to go off to. No woman left behind; we are a unit together.”

“Yes, plus by then, we will have a giant compound we will all live on,” Tori chirped as she carried a box of decorations. “You know, to raise our kids together,” she explained, and Cori nodded in agreement.

“Kids?” I was even more bemused than before. “You all plan to have children?” I paused from picking up small confetti pieces that had spilled onto the floor and glanced around the room.

“Yes, of course,” Cass voiced, “We have a privilege that not everyone has, to bring souls into this world. To nurture future generations, potentially altering the course of history not only for our time, but for generations to come. That's a pretty cool thing, isn’t it?”

“We might be Destroyers and not fancy Creators, but as women, for once, instead of taking a life, we could create one. Why would we ever deny that from ourselves?” Ioanna grumbled.

“I guess I never looked at it that way,” I pondered.

“We also all have a pregnancy pact,” Ashe started, “First, get husbands: nine out of ten done.” She purposefully looked at Zora, who frowned at the comment. “Then, when we are all married and ready, we will be popping out babies non-stop. Just think, if the ten of us each have ten kids, that’s a hundred-person army, trained and raised by the best,” she said and I could already imagine it, the thought bringing a grin to my face.

“Honestly, Gideon should be concerned that we are planning on birthing our own militia.” Yanush chuckled near me.

“All I know is I have dibs on names I like, so if you plan on participating, you better make a list,” Tori told me as she plunged on her bed.

“You can’t just claim names you like…” Cori protested, taking a seat near her.

“They were names from the bookIbought, you didn’t even know they existed until you read it after me. It's only fair,” her sister argued, and the other girls chipped into the heated debate about the potential names.

My chest squeezed as I stared at these warriors, wives, and future mothers.

They hoped and they dreamed, despite the grim world around them.

And it was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen.

23

FINNLEAH

Whatever dream I was lost in seconds ago disappeared with a slight pull on my shoulder.

“I'm late, aren’t I?”Shit. I panicked as Gia woke me up; my hands hastily pulling clothes over my sloppy braid. Hair would have to be messy for today. I jumped up putting my boots on as I grabbed my daggers.

“Just remember, left kick, right hook, then ghost trip, and then if you have to, crotch kick, but get that dagger into his heart!” Zora reminded me as she pulled her hair up.

“Got it!” I nodded, running out of the tent, only to collide with the wall-like body of the General. His smoky, pine scent coated my nose as I frantically pushed myself away from his chiseled chest. It must have been my lucky day, since he still wore a shirt. His sleeves were rolled up over his thick forearms. The leather straps from the sheaths, carrying his large swords across his back, pulled on the fabric, stretching it around his pecs.

“What are you doing here?” I asked, straightening.

“You are late. Plus, I figured why not start our training with a nice walk together.” He cleared his throat.

“What is that?” I pointed to the banderole in his hand.

“Oh, that.” He looked down at the neatly wrapped package as if not remembering it was there. “That, is a package, Finnleah,” he cockily replied.

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