Page 41 of A Simple Truth (the Freckled Fate #2)

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FINNLEAH

I sat 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…All alone. ..” 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 sand below 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 pointing down 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.

I sat up on my knees, watching the General steadying the board once again. He took another leap, the glass board slicing through the sand effortlessly. I watched him pass me as he glided down the hill, picking up speed. This time, he was a lot steadier and perhaps a bit less cocky, though I doubted that was even a possibility for him. I grabbed my board, going after him.

The sand slid under the glass, taking me briskly down the hill. My thighs burned from tension, but the sheer bliss twirled within me as the desert winds caressed my skin. I quickly caught up with the General and then I passed him, my soul beaming, as he silently swore behind me. My body tensed as the board wobbled under my feet and I once again extended my arms for balance. I didn’t dare look back to see how far behind he was; my eyes glued to my path as I raced down the red, sandy mountain.

It felt good. So carefree and light, that I could swear I might fly. I heard a loud thump behind me, my eyes darting to his large figure tumbling down again. My soul filling up with pure joy as I saw him roll down the hill.

Joy.

I felt joy. The realization of that hit me so hard, I immediately lost my balance, plummeting straight into the unruly sand.

I felt pure joy. Something I hadn’t felt in years. Something that I hadn’t felt since the day I lost the only people I had ever loved.

It’s been years.

A part of me had accepted the fact that, perhaps, I was so broken that I could no longer experience that feeling. That I was damaged beyond repair, left only with the emptiness within me for the remainder of my days. Years of accepting a joyless life, surviving on the bleak moments of solemn quietness and solace on good days.

But here, right now, out of nowhere, I felt joy. It scorched me like a wildfire, like lightning, illuminating up the dust-covered passages within me. I couldn’t mistake it for anything else. It was as if life itself woke up within me and burned brighter than any fire ever could.

I was alive. Not just living. Alive .

My eyes pricked with tears.

I felt joy .

Perhaps it was a normal emotion for others. But not for me.

Because when you get lost in darkness for so long, you forget that you could ever see light before.

“She crosses the finish line, and she wins!” the General’s voice roared behind me as he sent large sparks to the sky, creating fireworks, but I ignored them.

Joy.

Tiny tears trickled down my face.

This is stupid, I thought to myself, but I couldn’t stop tearing up. I turned from my stomach to my back, wild-eyed, staring at the spark-illuminated sky.

“You okay?” the General’s quiet voice settled near as he laid in the sand beside me. I nodded, unsure of what else to say. How could I to explain to him what was happening within me. He noticed the wet streaks on my cheeks, and his face immediately laced with worry.

“Want to tell me why you’re crying?” he asked as his eyes scanned my body for injuries. Yet the tears were not from the invisible injuries; they were from the realization that for once, those wounds were healed.

“I’m not crying,” I sniffled, wiping my runny nose with my rolled-up sleeve.

“Am I supposed to believe that terrible lie?” he replied softly as he ran his thumb across my cheek, wiping away a tear, his touch too damn caring. “Is this because you suck at dune surfing? Because if so, I must say—”

“Do you ever just get overwhelmed by your feelings?” I interrupted him. “Something that you thought you could never ever feel, and yet, here you are, covered in sand and dust on a random night amidst an endless desert, feeling it all?” I finally dared to say, aware that my words didn’t make much sense.

He let out a lighthearted chuckle.

“Oh, more than you’ll ever realize.”

His answer was so surprising to me, that I turned to face him, but he turned away, his eyes buried deep within the innumerable constellations above us. I felt a soft touch; his hand finding mine. My stomach somersaulted at the sudden intimacy of the touch, but my body welcomed it, had perhaps even craved it, since that night in the rain.

“To the overwhelming feelings,” he said, as he motioned with his other hand, sending large sparks far into the skies, mimicking shooting stars.

“And to the ability to feel them,” I quietly added, sending my copper sparks to join his.