Page 21 of A Simple Truth (the Freckled Fate #2)

20

FINNLEAH

I tchy. I was so damn itchy.

“If you keep scratching, it will only make it worse,” Gia cautioned, brushing out her tangled-up braids. “Your skin is finally healing well. Leave it be,” she snapped, pulling my hand off my skin when I didn’t stop picking my scabs.

The previous blood blisters turned into dried, hard shells. My skin resembled ever-oozing, cracking tree bark, the dark crusts slowly peeling off one by one akin to that of a dragon losing its scales. The worst was the hair; I was sure I would never brush it out completely. And then, there was the relentless itching…

“It’s driving me insane!” I growled in frustration. “So damn itchy.” I still attempted to secretly scratch the inner part of my calf with my foot.

“Good. Maybe you’ll remember that next time you try to sneak off and attempt a descent,” Ashe barked from across the room, sharpening her knives. Lulu nodded her head in agreement, and I rolled my eyes.

It had been three days since I found myself naked in the General’s bed. I’d been put under careful watch since then, with strict rules of not using my powers until I’d been fully replenished and rested. But three days were over now, and so was the bedrest.

“You’ll be late,” Gia encouraged me as I tried to pick another scab. “Itching will be the least of your concerns if you are late to training.” She pointed to the tent door. “Go!”

Obediently, I raced out of the tent, heading for the furthest training ring where Zora was waiting for me. Although I wouldn’t deny that a part of me was nauseatingly anxious, another part of me was extremely eager to summon Cleansing Fire for the first time since I had made the descent, eager to learn how to wield it with killer precision.

I crossed the path heading for the small fighting ring, contemplating what I would want to learn more. Perhaps fiery arrows, or heat shields? Or maybe ropes? The mossy forest floor was soaked with moisture from the melting snow, water beads covered my boots as I treaded ahead. Perhaps I could learn how to use heat to dry things. Then, I would never have to worry about starting a fire to keep myself warm and dry.

The humid air was still cold, though the midday sun softly caressed the few scab-free spots on my face and neck. I glanced over to the charcoaled spot of forest peeking in between the thick trees I passed. Though Xentar and a few other Creators had rebuilt the riverbank, and I had miraculously managed to find Heart Piercer, the forest was still adamant on reminding me of my foolish actions just a few days prior.

I finally approached the training court, stopping abruptly in my tracks as the General’s devilish smirk welcomed me.

“Don’t act too excited to see me now,” he said, taking a good look at my frozen grimace.

“Where is Zora?” I asked, shaking off the initial displeasing feeling.

“I am going to oversee your training now. Zora is unavailable,” the General said, walking across the ring towards the wooden bench on the side. He put down both of his ruby-topped swords, the metal clunking loudly through the noisy forest.

“Okay,” I replied through my teeth, taking a stance in the middle of the ring, still watching the General’s figure with a discerning look.

“ Okay ? That’s it? No grand speech about training with the...what did you call me? A child torturer and defiler?” He glanced over his shoulder, taunting me, as he pulled out a few more daggers from his boots.

Daggers in boots? Such an amateur...

I took a long breath, exhaling slowly through my nose as my jaw tightened.

“You are ‘ the greatest’ Destroyer General, who is now training a slave , so perhaps you should be the one delivering the speech,” I replied sharply. He turned tersely at my words, and even from afar, pierced me with his gaze.

“You are no slave, Finn, you know that.” The taunting smirk and the teasing note immediately turned into a somber, cold cut voice.

“And you are no child defiler, General …So perhaps, we should skip the speeches and actually train,” I said dryly. My mind hastily scrambled for any silver linings in these next few unfortunate hours that I’d be spending with him.

Yet, my thoughts abruptly stopped when the General, with one swift motion, took off his shirt, exposing his strong, muscled back.

You have terrible tan lines, I wanted to say, but didn’t, because then I’d have to admit that my eyes still lingered on his perfect outlines, trailing from his neck to his wide, defined shoulders, then slipping down his muscled arms and to the narrow of his waist.

“Do you always train shirtless, General ?” I narrowed my eyes on him. Self-absorbed jerk.

But I wouldn’t let myself be frazzled, even as he came closer, facing me. His muscled chest was right at my eye level. I bit the inside of my cheek, holding in a scowl as he lowered his head until our eyes met. I returned his intimidating stare, not backing down.

“Only when I know certain people will be watching,” he purred.

“It is rather pathetic that your fighting skills are so terribly poor that you resort to such cheap, distracting tricks,” I asserted, raising my chin up, my lips turning into a thin line, ignoring the pleasant, smoky smell lingering in the air from his closeness.

“Do you find me distracting, Finn?” His lips tugged upwards as he cooed. “Because if you do, I could, of course, put my shirt back on for you. Just say the word.”

I scoffed. “You think too much of yourself, General,” I threw back, failing to find sharper words in my head; as if all my thoughts vanished, rushing to stare at his pristinely sculpted physique instead of coming to my aid.

“And who should I be thinking of instead?” he whispered only a breath away from my ear, sending shivers down my spine. I released a jagged gulp, ignoring the loaded remark altogether.

“I shall only hope your training will be better than your average, mediocre at best build. But considering you prefer chit-chatting instead of actually practicing, I should probably lower my expectations,” I spat out, forcing my eyes back up as they treacherously slid down the exposed, well defined ‘V’ leading down the low of his stomach.

Perhaps, I can get him a belt next time.

“So, all bark, no bite?” He provoked, motioning me to come forward.

I was suddenly aware that I was about to summon fire. I opened my hand, failing to hide a bit of tremor in it. He seemed to notice it too, which made it so much worse.

I closed my eyes, dipping into the ocean-like inferno within. My mind sounded blaring alarms as the red fire danced at my fingertips, feeling a bit ticklish, like a simple touch of soft feathers. Panic rose up my stomach, making me regret eating breakfast, but I fought off the terror-filled cries, forcing myself to watch my fingers move, shaping a small fiery ball. With a single move, I threw it straight at the half-dressed General, hoping it would burn him. But he stifled it in midair with just a single look, well before it could possibly reach him; as if it was nothing.

“Again,” he let out a sigh, looking already bored.

I quickly summoned another sphere, repeating the motion. Then again and again, I threw more fire at him.

But the General stood still, his hands clasped tightly behind his back as he just stared with a smug look, watching me throw fireballs, as if it wasn’t fire being chucked at his face but merely cotton balls; a miniscule, unexciting event. I clenched my jaw tighter, this time daring to summon two, one from each hand. The gesture earned a small quirk of his brow. Yet still he didn’t move. Not even a tiny step back. Not a shield. Just stupid, bored blinks as I channeled fire, and he extinguished it again.

We must have been at this for hours, but my mind still panicked each time, craving the comfort of the dark oblivion of unconsciousness, constantly running away to hide, wincing, as my powers came to fruition.

“You’ve been avoiding me,” said the General, finally breaking the long lingering silence.

“Clearly not very successfully,” I mumbled with irony in my voice. Little beads of sweat rolled down my temple as I dipped deeper within, still attempting to burn that uninterested look off his face.

“May I ask why?” he continued, disregarding the constant flames thrown at him.

“I’ve hit my quota for hidden marriage obligations. So, I’ve chosen to stay away, just in case,” I gave him a snarky reply, pausing only for a moment to catch my breath, blinking as my hand moved and fire, that now ran through my veins, appeared at my fingertips.

“Are you always this bitter? Or is it just a character flaw?” Gideon drawled, narrowing his eyes on me.

“I just have a low tolerance for liars and manipulators.” No matter how attractive they are, my mind quietly added, and I threw that thought away as fast as it appeared. I rotated my sore wrists, adjusting my stance a bit to relieve the ache in my lower back. The gnawing stiffness in my body matched the dense air around us.

“You do know that you’ll have to get more creative with those names of yours, because truthfully, ‘liar and manipulator’ seem so underwhelming compared to ‘a monster and child murderer’, especially coming from someone who claimed to be a Creator... ” His tongue lingered on that last word.

The anger within me rose to new levels at the accusation.

“I did what I had to do to survive,” I scorned, opening my mouth but closing it a second later. I didn’t need to justify my actions to this man, much less engage in this type of conversation.

“I am not arguing with that…” he started.

Each second we shared a breath, the more infuriating his presence became to me. My heart beat faster in my chest, my thoughts hiding as welcoming anger flooded my mind.

“But you are insinuating that your lie, done only to protect nothing but your fragile ego, is somehow comparable to mine? Your arrogance, General, is appalling. ” I threw another flame at him. Faster, one after another, two at a time, getting more and more irritated that it did nothing to rouse him, no matter how deeply I dipped into the well within me.

He exhaled halfheartedly.

“Perhaps, a poor choice of words on my part. Though, to be very clear, I didn’t lie to you. In fact, I’ve told you nothing but the truth from the start. Whatever the old traditions and rituals dictate, I have no intentions on keeping them.”

I ignored him, only focusing on the noise of rushing blood in my ears.

“What was your plan, anyway? Charm me with your sword skills? Break the news of our engagement a month into training and somehow think I’d be okay with it?” I sneered.

“My plan—” He gave me a sharp look, and I threw a large fireball at him in response. Though this time, he motioned with his hand, sending a heat shield towards me strong enough to almost knock me to the ground if not for his arms wrapped around my waist, holding me a few inches above the dirt. “My plan was and is not to marry you,” his voice direct, “Though now, I can only wonder if you are so upset about it, because deep down, you wished to marry me. Truly, it's the only logical explanation,” he smirked, letting go of me as my body thumped hard against the earth.

“Add ‘extremely delusional’ to the list of adjectives!” I shouted angrily after clearing my throat, but he was already across the ring. My eyes trailed his back as he carelessly strolled towards the bench, grabbing his belongings. His ashy scent still lingered in my nose, and my thoughts scattered in my brain.

“See you tomorrow,” he said and without giving me even a single glance, he walked away, leaving me alone amidst the tall, ancient trees.