Page 20 of A Simple Truth (the Freckled Fate #2)

19

FINNLEAH

M y tongue was stuck to the roof of my mouth. I was so terribly parched, like every drop of liquid in my body had turned to sand. Carefully, I opened my eyes, a seemingly effortless action that now felt like sandpaper scraping against my swollen eyelids.

I gave my eyes a minute to adjust to the absolute darkness I was in. Surprised to realize that somehow, instead of the icy river, I found myself inside the General’s tent. Intuitively, I moved my hands to my hip, searching for Heart Piercer. Only to find it gone. But that fact was utterly ignored as I realized that underneath the furs and silks, I was completely bare .

How did I get from being fully clothed in the depths of the woods to being naked on the General’s bed?

My heart twisted with unease as my dry tongue ran against my grotesquely cracked, dehydrated lips.

I needed water and I needed it now. Everything else could wait.

My eyes darted over to the corner table across from his desk. There—a pitcher and a glass. My mind fixating on the clear liquid as if it was pure gold.

I sat up sluggishly, moving the heavy furs away, only to gasp silently as my feet touched the cold metal underneath. My hands instinctively grabbed the sheets to cover myself up as I looked down to the floor.

There, in all his glory and might, laid the Destroyer General himself. Still fully dressed in his dark armor, he was peacefully sleeping, swords and helm right next to him.

He was back.

That thought shouldn’t be as comforting as it was, but I gave him another glance.

A whole month, and now he was back. My lips painfully cracked even more as I involuntarily smirked, noticing the small bit of drool at the corner of his mouth.

“Gross,” I whispered to myself.

I grabbed the softest sheet from the bed, wrapping it around myself as I cautiously snuck to the edge and stepped over his metal-covered legs.

Thick carpets covering the floor absorbed the sound of my steps as I tipped-toed toward the water, avoiding making a single noise while I poured the liquid into a glass.

A little moan escaped my lips as the cold, icy water ran down my throat, feeling like a breath of fresh air. I flinched a second later as the General moved, though his eyes were still shut. Hesitating only for a second, I gave up my manners and gulped straight from the pitcher, until my stomach was unable to take anymore.

I needed food. Hunger pains gnawed through my empty stomach from the moment my thirst was quenched. But first and foremost, I needed clothes. My hand tightly squeezed the corners of the fabric covering me as I slipped past the General into the freezing night outside. But not without looking back towards his peacefully sleeping figure, spread out on the floor near his bed. Appearing so deceitfully harmless.

I ran, dodging a few patrol soldiers as I hid in the shadows. The familiar, rectangular tent soon appeared in sight, and I quickened my strides, silently thanking the gods that my bed was closest to the door. I impatiently pulled a few clothes on, wincing at the way they rubbed against my raw-feeling skin.

“Well, well, well. Look who is alive and thriving.” Zora’s loud voice cut through the silent space.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you,” I whispered, not wanting to turn around and face what was now surely an angry Commander, all thanks to my little stunt. I quickly climbed into the sheets, hoping the rest of the Ten would stay asleep.

But it seemed my luck had run out, as Tori’s voice roared through the room.

“We were worried sick!” Tori proclaimed, and Cori enthusiastically agreed.

“I’m glad you are okay, Finn.” Gia’s soft, though sleepy voice sounded from the cot next to me.

“Thanks, Gia,” I murmured, still avoiding looking at them.

“So, do you want to enlighten us all as to why you thought killing yourself was a good idea?” Zora’s voice rumbled again, and a small night light flickered through the tent, lighting up her stern face.

After a moment of hesitation, I turned to face her, rising up onto my elbows just a bit. The small shadows from the nightlight made Zora’s harsh features even more terrifying as she glared at me. Only now, I realized that all of the Ten were awake, with their eyes on me.

The worst part wasn’t even their betrayed stares, it was the fact that I didn’t know anything about what had happened.

Loudly, I exhaled.

“I wasn’t planning on killing myself, and considering I am still alive, I think you can find some truth in that statement. But before I face any more accusations, would anyone care to tell me what happened?” I replied, my eyes running over the few of them still sending me sharp looks.

“You mean, besides the fact that you evaporated the entire damn river?” Yanush mentioned, yawning.

I cringed. A whole river? Damn.

“What else?” I asked, only now noticing the stares lingering on my skin. I turned on the light near me, cringing at the tiny, blood-filled blisters covering me from head to toe.

Well, that explained why my whole body felt like it had been pricked by a thousand needles. I ran my finger through a row of them, popping a few.

“Do not pop those!” Gia revolted. “The blisters will heal, but if you are not careful, you’ll be covered in scars!” She was already pulling out a jar from her nightstand with salves and bandages.

An evaporated river, bloody blisters all over my body… Heart Piercer gone, too. But there were still a few gaps in my story.

“How long was I out?” I asked Gia as she wrapped my hands.

“You were burning for two days before Gideon arrived,” Ashe answered instead, shaking her head. “Another day or so you’ve been in recovery. So, if my math is correct, three days total.”

Damn it. Well, at least that explains why I am so hungry. But I kept that thought to myself.

“What were you thinking, attempting a descent unassisted ? You literally pass out trying to summon little heat balls!” Cass added with a touch of dismay.

“Descent?” I asked, as Gia motioned for me to take off my shirt while she continued to treat my skin.

“It’s when Destroyers descend to the bottom of their powers to assess how deep their fire goes before the burn out,” Motra clarified. But I didn’t know about any of that.

“It’s dangerous because if you go too far, you cross the threshold of burn out. Once you reach the burn out, there is no point of return. Our powers need energy, and when they are still being sourced, they will take it from you, even if it means obliterating yourself. And with raw fire…I mean, I, for one, thought you’d for sure be gone; if not physically dead, then for sure brain dead,” Cass explained as her stare softened.

“I didn’t know that,” I mumbled, feeling relieved as the cold sensation from the salve soothed my warm skin.

“Well, it seems that you don’t know a lot of things. I suppose brains were not among the qualities the General liked,” Ioanna snapped, rolling over to her other side.

Though I knew it was a poorly done jab—one that I should ignore, one that didn’t deserve my reaction—it still got under my skin.

I was too tired and exhausted and so damn hungry to just let it go.

“Ioanna, do you have a problem with me?” I said, turning my head to her, my eyes narrowing on her face.

At the mention of her name, Ioanna sat up, offering me an awful sneer.

“I am glad you asked. I do, actually. In fact, I always have a problem with people that are selfish, clueless, and irresponsible. Endangering not only themselves, but the people I care about. Why don’t you just go marry the General and produce an heir like you are supposed to and stop trying to be something you are not?”

“Ioanna....” Zora angrily hissed.

“Wait, what?” I asked as I looked around the room. But their eyes lowered to the ground. “What did you just say?” I repeated as my eyes pierced Ioanna, immediate regret filling her face.

“Finn…I didn’t mean...I” she retorted quickly. But it was too late.

“ Marry the General ? Why in the world would I marry him ?” I hissed. My brows furrowed deep as I glared at Gia. She conveniently had to search for something deep within her drawer, refusing to return my look.

I could live with ‘selfish’, but I would no longer remain clueless . My stomach gurgled with threatening sounds, reminding me just how desperately I needed food.

But I needed answers more.

“No? Nobody? Fine .” I turned around and marched back to the tent I had just snuck out from, to find the man I was supposed to marry .

“Wait!” Zora shouted just a few steps behind, but I ignored her as I stormed into the General’s tent.

“Time to wake up, my betrothed ,” I loudly said, kicking his metal boots.

“You are awake.” He rubbed his eyes as he sat up.

“I have a few questions, General, if you don’t mind,” I fumed.

Marry him?!

Marry . Him?!

Anger seeped through me like water through cracks, but I took another breath. His eyes darted to Zora, who now stood just a step behind me. Whatever silent exchange they had was brief as he calmly proceeded.

“Okay, go ahead.”

“Why...” I had to take another breath through clenched teeth to calm my fury enough to speak. “Why in the world does everyone think…we are to marry ?”

He paused as his eyes moved for a split second to Zora, that little hesitation pissing me off even more.

They were hiding something from me. And I was indeed clueless.

Not fucking again…

Yet again , I trusted people wholeheartedly, and yet again , I found myself deceived.

“Are you deaf now? Or shall I repeat my question?” I spat, heatedly.

“Finn, the marriage they are talking about is an old tradition—” He swallowed hard.

“And nobody… nobody in the whole damn camp cared enough to indulge me? To tell me of an old tradition that perhaps includes my future?”

“I made the call to not tell you about it,” he explained calmly. “You didn’t even know that you were a Destroyer and you had just found out that we were Rebels. So yes, I made the call to not ask you if you are open to honoring the Destroyers’ tradition of marrying and producing an heir with me on the same day—”

“Well, you made the wrong call, General,” I interrupted, not caring for whatever pitiful excuses he had. I now felt the drumming powers within me ready to launch at him, at them all. And I guessed he saw it too, as his eyes cautiously stared into mine, his face flashing with subtle thrilling interest.

“The tradition he is talking about…” Zora started, “I…I told you, raw fire is very rare, so rare, that for balance to occur, there is only ever one man and one woman at a time that exist with that magic. They are betrothed to each other to produce an heir. Their bond keeps the magic alive to lead and protect Destroyers with their true raw fire. This tradition has been upheld since the very first Destroyer.” The frazzled Commander finally found the words to speak.

But her words didn’t register in my mind as my thoughts still shouted nonstop. Marry him?! MARRY HIM?!

“It’s a simple tradition, Finn, but one I do not plan to uphold,” the General stated, his tone collected, unfazed, though I didn’t fail to notice the muscle in his jaw twitch.

“Umm…it’s a little more than that…” Zora quietly added behind me, though she stopped as Gideon glared at her. But I no longer cared; the anger within now turned on me.

My eyes darkened and, for a moment, I felt as if I was still lying down on the dusty floor of the broken-into bakery in Svitar as the truth about Priya rattled the stars.

I was fucking oblivious.

Yet again.

Useless.

Clueless.

Oblivious.

“An old tradition that you have no reason to worry about. I promise you, Finn, I am not going to force you into marriage with me,” he reassured me once more, and I knew it was the actual truth. But I took a step closer to the desk, to him, holding back a wicked growl.

“Let me be very clear, General, and anyone else for that matter…” I glanced over Zora’s small figure behind me, looking somehow even smaller now. “I shall never wish to marry you, not now, not ever. So, I suggest you find yourself a new tradition and a new wife .” With that, I grabbed the plate of cold food off his desk and stormed into the night, not caring for the clear remorse mixed with regret in his dark eyes.