Page 67 of A Simple Truth

Here, amidst the lifeless desert, the midnight sky and the silver moon, amidst the infinite red dunes now laid a clear fact.

One that I could no longer deny, that I no longerwantedto deny.

A simple truth.

I was in love with Finnleah.

Deeply, wholeheartedly, entirely.

40

FINNLEAH

Isat on the mat, watching the white flames flicker near us. Filled with our last bits of food, my stomach no longer ached from hunger. The large raven was also long gone, far beyond the dim horizon. It was still so amazing, albeit a bit unsettling to see her disappear in a single blink.

I looked at the General laying on his side near me, his head propped up by his hand as he stared into the night, buried deep within his thoughts.

“So, what now?” I asked him, folding my knees under. His deep gaze slowly settled on me, sending a lightning-like shiver through my body.

“Well, now we could go to sleep. It is very late, after all. In fact, dawn is mere hours away plus we have a full day of flight tomorrow, so we should rest. Or...” He drawled out, wiggling his eyebrows at me with devious intent.

“Or...?” I probed, biting my lip. Though my eyes hurt with exhaustion, I knew my mind was far from drifting off to sleep any time soon. My thoughts still processing what had happened over the last the 24 hours.

“There is one way we both could be entertained and feel immediate satisfaction,” he started, with a wicked glimmer in his eyes.

“Oh, yeah?” I played along, adjusting in my seat. My lips rose up in a timid smile.

“We’re two adults, stranded in a desert for the night…Allalone...” He ran his thumb across the bottom of his lip. “You and I both know that we’ve thought about it...” his eyes narrowed on me with almost a predatorial look.

“Oh, most definitely.” I nodded in agreement.

“It’s only natural...”

I couldn’t resist a girlish giggle as he continued, “Nobody needs to know besides us.”

“Not a single soul.”

“It’ll be our secret,” he whispered as my cheeks stretched in a wide smile.

The red sandbelow my bare feet felt surprisingly warm, even amidst the deep night, as I stood on the very top edge of the giant, long sand dune.

“Getting cold feet, Daughter of the Dead?” The General grinned near me, holding a large, glass board he made from pure fire and sand only moments ago.

“You wish. Are you?” I retorted, holding tighter to my own board, one he also created out of sand. I gulped as my eyes scanned the shadow-covered bottom of the sand mountain we were atop of.

“Oh, I could do this in my sleep,” he arrogantly replied, already shirtless, with pants rolled up to his muscled calves. The General laid down his board with the narrow end pointingdown the hill. “Watch and learn, scaredy cat.” He smirked as he jumped straight on the board, confidently gliding down the hill. Within a few seconds, the tip of his board got caught in the sand and he went tumbling down.

“I hope you are embarrassed, because that was very embarrassing to watch!” I shouted down to him from the top, and my cheeks ached from smiling too much.

“Smartass. Let’s see you do it then,” he yelled back, laughing. “Or are you just going to stand there forever?”

“Fine,” I replied, anxiously putting down the board myself, the smooth yet sturdy glass slippery against the tiny grains of sand. I put my bare feet on it, balancing with my arms out as the board easily slid down the dune, picking up speed, faster and faster. I bent my knees to steady myself as I glided down. Soon, I passed the General, flaunting my arrogance-filled smirk at him. “Easy-pea—” I didn’t even have a chance to fully gloat as I tripped and skidded across the ground, landing straight on my face.

I gagged, attempting to spit out a mouth full of sand.

“I’d say eat sand, but you are already doing it.” The General’s loud laugh rolled through the serene night, his ancient eyes reflecting stars in as he looked at me full of amusement.

“So high and mighty of you, standing two feet from the top,” I shouted at him, still spitting red sand out of my mouth.

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