Page 5 of A Simple Truth

I ran my hand through my hair, the only moment of weakness I’d allow myself.

“Fuck,” Zora cursed. Xentar let out a heavy breath.

“How?” I asked, forcing my jumbled thoughts in order.

“He was bitten by a Kahor, captured by the Royal Guard, and ultimately died in the Royal Dungeons. I was there with him when he took his last breath. That’s how I got the ring,” Finn replied, her eyes guardedly observing each one of us.

No, this was not how I’d imagined this day going at all.

I’d lost men before, and yet, it never hurt any less. Their names always left a deep scar on my soul. Another drop in the bucket of endless burdens; one I’d carry with me forever.

“We need to tell Ophelia,” Orest murmured, breaking the painful silence. I ignored him as I focused on the freckled assassin before me.

“Why wereyouin the Royal dungeons?” I interrogated, slipping back into the comfortable role of the ruthless leader; a role I so masterfully played that, at times, it was hard to know when the performance ended, and the truth began.

I tilted my head a bit, watching her warily take another sip of her drink, her shivering finally subsiding. Her deep emerald eyes paused on a small chip in her cup for a moment, calculating. She lifted them back up to me the initial shock and confusion from before was replaced with something deep and ominous as she spoke,

“After theRebels”she narrowed her eyes on me at the word “caused the explosion, I went looking for my friend and instead, I found Kaius and the Kahors. We managed to kill one, but we were captured by Royal guards and locked in the dungeons. Kaius died and I was freed.”

“How did you manage to kill a Kahor?” Xentar asked, astounded.

“The same way I considered killing yourGeneral—by beheading it,” she answered, rendering Xentar speechless.

“Why wereyouat the Royal ball?” My voice was harsh and purposefully accusing as I pushed her further.

“I was there with my friends,” Finn replied assertively, detesting the obscure accusation.

“An escaped slave with Royals for friends, whojust happenedto be invited to the most prestigious event in Esnox? Forgive me if I find that story hard to believe,” I challenged her further,her eyes lighting up with that vile fury again as she glared back, unyielding.

“Not all of us,General, lead a double life, if that’s what you are implying,” she countered sternly, putting down her cup.

“Perhaps you’ll have better luck explaining how you came to possess the Basalt Glass then?” I asked, folding my arms and letting cold uneasiness settle in the air.

“It was gifted to me,” Finn responded.

I scoffed, my eyebrow rising with skepticism as I continued.

“Gifted? The rarest material...You were simplygivensomething that people kill and die for? Was it from these same ‘friends’ of yours?”

“No. It was gifted by a different person,” Finn stated as she met my threatening gaze with one of her own. For a moment, we glared at each other as if this was some kind of staring contest; yet, it was more like two wounded animals at an impasse, ready to lash out.

“She is telling the truth, Gideon,” Orest added calmly, aware of the heated stares being exchanged.

“If the generosity of my friends bothers you, General,then I’d suggest having a conversation withyourfriends about giving you better gifts,” Finn spat out at last, severing the silence between us.

Xentar awkwardly cleared his throat at that comment, while Zora and Orest shared a few fleeting looks.

“But why abandon your friends and go look for the Rebels?” Zora asked.

“A death promise,” Finn responded, turning to face Zora. “To deliver that ring to his family. Kaius is the one who told me to go north, past the Cursed Forest, and find theRebels.”

At those words, Finn glanced over at me again, scrutinizing me from head to toe. I let her stare as my own eyes darkened like the sky in a summer storm.

“Then you must fulfill your promise,” I declared, earning a displeasing sigh from Zora.

If Finn saw me as a monster, then she needed to understand that some things were worth being a monster for.

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