Page 23 of A Simple Truth (the Freckled Fate #2)

22

FINNLEAH

Z ora was waiting for me by the tree, standing with a sword in her hand.

“What pack of wolves did you piss off?” she asked as her eyes widened.

“He is a pretentious pig!” I seethed, steaming.

“Yeah, yeah, I’ve heard that before. What happened?” She examined me from head to toe, taking in the damage. I angrily ripped off the remains of my shirt, not wanting to look at what condition my pants were in.

“Well…” I started, attempting to find the words to match my fury. “He said that he was going to make losing more useful to me, then he proceeded to give my clothes a so-called makeover with his swords as he landed a few nipping blows. I landed a few of my own, and then I went for his shoulder, just like we planned, but he seemed to have anticipated it. He then tripped me, pointed his sword at my throat, and said, ‘the first alterations are on me, the next ones I'll charge you for.’”

Zora stifled a giggle, and I glared in return.

“Oh, come on, you have to admit, that’s actually funny.”

“It was not funny in the moment, Zora. We’ve been at this for a month now, and I feel like even though I’ve made progress, I’m nowhere near kicking his self-centered ass.”

“Well, have you considered you don’t need to? You are getting stronger. The Ten can no longer penetrate your heat shields easily, and the shaping, though it needs some work, is getting better. Your sword skills have also improved. You are becoming a great warrior, Finn, isn’t that enough?”

My cheeks turned a shade of pink at the recognition, and the wrath within me chilled—though not completely—the General’s victorious smirk was etched in my mind, still making my blood sizzle with venom.

“At this point, I am far too invested in this to just give up,” I scoffed, and Zora let out a wholehearted chuckle.

“Spoken like a true Destroyer.” Zora motioned me to the center as she pointed her small sword at me. “Let’s work on the sword and dagger combo. This time, focus on the left flank,” she instructed, and I nodded.

Zora and I practiced well into the night, silver stars now flickering between the sheer, stretched out clouds. My whole body trembled from exhaustion as we walked back to the camp under the silver glow of the flickering stars peeking between the stretched out clouds. I was still replaying the new moves in my head, my mind content with the new plan we had worked on, eager to try it tomorrow.

The Ten were still awake, soft light emanating from the tent. My eyes widened in surprise as we walked in on the Ten scattered throughout the room, decorating it.

“What is happening?” I asked, still standing by the entrance.

“Our birthday season is officially starting!” Gia beamed, hanging up a few dangly strings. “All of the Ten were born within six months of each other. Different years, though the same months. Starting from the first day of spring tomorrow, until the first day of fall. Lulu starts off the season, then Yanush, Cass, Zora, Ioanna, Cori and Tori, Ashe, and Motra, and then me, to finish it off,” she blabbered, busy decorating.

“Don’t just stand there, help us finish.” Ashe handed me a string of red garland.

“Isn’t she going to see this?” I said, as I held the string up for Ashe to pin it in place.

“Nope, her husband has taken her on a quick getaway, so she is gone for the night. An early birthday present from him, I guess.” Cori giggled as she wiggled her eyebrows up.

“Lulu is married?” I blurted out, surprised, grabbing another garland to hang, handing off one end to Ashe on a small stool.

“Don’t be so surprised.” Motra chuckled.

“But the girl doesn’t even speak,” I muffled.

“Many men would probably prefer that.” A few of the girls laughed at Yanush’s comment.

“Almost all of us are married, Finn.” Gia gently smiled near me.

“ Married ?” I asked again, for a second wondering if the word meant the same thing to me as it did to them.

“Well, everyone except Zora and Gia,” Tori clarified.

“Even Ioanna?” I whispered to Gia.

“Hey, I heard that.” Ioanna scowled, but then gave me a crooked smile.

“Gia is soon to be married if that boy ever wisens up,” Cass said.

“Yeah, Broderick knows if he doesn’t marry her soon, he will be the biggest idiot alive,” Cori passionately chipped in, flinching as she accidently spilled glitter all over the floor.

“Wait, you are engaged to Broderick?” I asked, even more amazed. I had seen them walking around, but they must have been so discreet. Or perhaps, I spent way too much time alone in the woods with the General, that I missed everything happening in the camp.

“Not yet, but I hope to be soon.” Gia’s lips stretched into a beaming smile as her cheeks turned a bit rosy.

“Are you soon to be engaged too?” I turned to Zora, who was now sprinkling glitter in a box for Lulu’s present.

“Oh no. Been there, done that. I’m good. Don’t even have a man to court me, so no marriage for me anytime soon,” she mumbled.

“Wait, so are you and Orest not” I winced as Gia’s elbow jammed abruptly into my side before I could finish my sentence, her eyes shouting louder than words.

“Yeah, I am so very excited to be engaged! Who knows, if Fate allows it, perhaps a summer wedding?” Gia loudly continued while still glaring at me with alarmingly large eyes.

She was engaged? I silently mouthed to her.

Not now. Gia blinked expressively.

Fine. I nodded.

“But none of you are wearing rings? Or is it a Destroyer thing, to not wear rings?” I asked, still baffled that I missed the fact that most of them were married, after living with them for a couple of months.

“Rings aren’t very suitable for armor or gripping things, so Destroyers usually wear them as bracelets. They’re discreet and they don't get in the way.” Yanush raised her arm, pulling her sleeve down, exposing a neat bracelet made from a leather strap, wrapped tightly around her wrist with a ring on it. One by one, each one of the Ten, with the exception of Zora and Gia, lifted their arms to expose a similar leather strap with different rings attached.

“You all are married,” I repeated, taking another look around the room in disbelief as the Ten returned to their decorating duties. “Are you not allowed to live with your spouses?” I questioned Ashe as she climbed down from the stool.

“We are, but we choose to stay here,” she replied. “At least until each one of us has a husband to go off to. No woman left behind; we are a unit together.”

“Yes, plus by then, we will have a giant compound we will all live on,” Tori chirped as she carried a box of decorations. “You know, to raise our kids together,” she explained, and Cori nodded in agreement.

“Kids?” I was even more bemused than before. “You all plan to have children?” I paused from picking up small confetti pieces that had spilled onto the floor and glanced around the room.

“Yes, of course,” Cass voiced, “We have a privilege that not everyone has, to bring souls into this world. To nurture future generations, potentially altering the course of history not only for our time, but for generations to come. That's a pretty cool thing, isn’t it?”

“We might be Destroyers and not fancy Creators, but as women, for once, instead of taking a life, we could create one. Why would we ever deny that from ourselves?” Ioanna grumbled.

“I guess I never looked at it that way,” I pondered.

“We also all have a pregnancy pact,” Ashe started, “First, get husbands: nine out of ten done.” She purposefully looked at Zora, who frowned at the comment. “Then, when we are all married and ready, we will be popping out babies non-stop. Just think, if the ten of us each have ten kids, that’s a hundred-person army, trained and raised by the best,” she said and I could already imagine it, the thought bringing a grin to my face.

“Honestly, Gideon should be concerned that we are planning on birthing our own militia.” Yanush chuckled near me.

“All I know is I have dibs on names I like, so if you plan on participating, you better make a list,” Tori told me as she plunged on her bed.

“You can’t just claim names you like…” Cori protested, taking a seat near her.

“They were names from the book I bought, you didn’t even know they existed until you read it after me. It's only fair,” her sister argued, and the other girls chipped into the heated debate about the potential names.

My chest squeezed as I stared at these warriors, wives, and future mothers.

They hoped and they dreamed, despite the grim world around them.

And it was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen.