Page 47 of Riftborne
“We don’t know why he killed him.” I shook my head.
“Perhaps he is a mad man. I don’t know him. All I know is what he risked by doing that. It has to have a deeper meaning…” Osta trailed off. Silence overcame the room.
Osta leaned in, shifting her weight on the couch. Even in the dim light, I could see the unusual seriousness in her eyes. She cleared her throat before speaking.
“I know this is going to sound crazy. It’s just this gut feeling I have… but… I think you can trust him, Fia.”
The General hadan air of excitement about him at our next training session. I’d received a note at work, telling me to meet him at our regular spot. It was irritating to hear from him at all, but at least he hadn’t shown up in person again.
He was clearly satisfied with himself despite my near trauma. It prickled my annoyance, but I let it slide off. There was no use in pointing out the obvious. He knew what he had done.
If he didn’t want to talk about the murder he committed mere steps from me, I’d bite my tongue. I just wanted to get through this session. So, for the first time since we began this journey together, I followed his lead to the best of my ability.
We sat as we normally did, facing each other, but there was anoticeable heaviness in the room that neither of us would acknowledge.
He stared deeply at me, a slight smile playing on his lips. I assumed it was an act of encouragement, but I was already calming myself, trying to clear my mind. Plus, ignoring him felt oddly satisfying.
I closed my eyes and directed my attention to the base of my spine, where the web had originated the other night, but visualization didn’t come as easily this time.
My brow furrowed as I forced concentration, angling myself to try to physically coerce the tendrils. I leaned forwards, backwards, to the side. But they stayed locked in the depths of my spine. It seemed that without heightened circumstances, my focus would continue its game of evasion.
Three hours in, I felt a tingling in the right place. I sent all of my attention to that exact area, attempting to pull the power out by sheer will. A translucent haze fluttered into my mind, a small glimpse of the web. But as soon as it emerged, it descended back down, disappearing from sight.
It was stubborn. Like it had a mind of its own.
“I can see it, but I can’t get it to cooperate just yet.” I bit the inside of my lip.
“That’s a lot further than we were last week,” he stated.
His gaze lingered on me for only a moment before he stood, stretching. “I’d say that’s enough progress for today.”
I wrung out my strained muscles, feeling heavy and tense after such a long time seated. My eyes were killing me, and I felt the pulses of a headache creeping in.
“I guess. I was hoping for more.” A breathless sigh escaped me as I realized the long road ahead. Perhaps our individual sessions would last longer than I previously imagined.
A silence fell over the room as I collected my things. Thoughts of the last session nudged at the corners of my mind. I couldn’t hold back anymore. The words were going to tumble out unwillingly,clumsily if I didn’t take control in this moment and just get it out in the open.
“What you did to me wasn’t right,” I whispered.
I felt his weight shift from across the room. The tension was palpable, but my nerves wouldn’t let me look in his direction. A silence spilled across the entire gym; I thought I might just drown in it if he didn’t answer soon. This was the first time I had shown weakness. The first time I had ever shown any vulnerability.
“I know,” he said silently. I snapped my head in his direction.
What?
“It seemed like the only way forward.” He sat down slowly, running a hand through his shimmering copper hair.
“So you intended for me to kill him?” I asked, taking a step towards him and arching my brow.
“It would have mattered little, whether it was you or me. He wasn’t leaving that room alive. I certainly wondered if you would take the opportunity,” he murmured. “But I understand it was a difficult situation for you.”
Was thatempathy? Was it even possible?
The stone-cold exterior he usually wore faded away, leaving something new in its place. But just as quickly as it surfaced, realization washed over him, and the walls came right back up. I could nearly see them being constructed around him.
“The Guard can bring out the most difficult parts of your soul. It’s best you learn that early on.” He straightened his posture and brushed the wrinkles from his black shirt.
“What happens now?” I asked, leaning against the wall. Was I sworn to secrecy? Would it be common knowledge that the man was murdered? Would he lie about the circumstances? Every last bit of this situation felt draining, but Ashford looked calm and collected.
