Page 61 of A Simple Truth (the Freckled Fate #2)

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FINNLEAH

I fought against the chains, against the suffocating darkness encompassing me.

I had to get out. I had to leave now. The iron links choked me, pulling me away from the small ray of light far ahead. I thrashed as the metal clunked against the cold stone, echoing down the tunnel. A sense of doom filled every cell in my body.

I blinked and opened my eyes to nothing but a bright white, light blinding me. So invigorating. It felt as if I could touch the light itself.

I stretched out my hands as the big, weightless clumps of gray and white landed on me.

Ash.

It poured ash from the sky like white, fluffy snowflakes. I titled my head, curiously observing the small specks landing on my skin.

“Finn. Finn. Finn. Finn. Finn. Finn.” I sharply turned back; my brows furrowed deep as I heard my name.

There, amidst the fallen ash, a person kneeled.

One I immediately recognized.

Viyak.

“Vi!” I shouted at him repeatedly, hoping that he’d hear me, but he just kept on rocking back and forth on his knees, chanting my name. I yelled again as I tried running towards him. But a strong force pulled me away, further from him, until the darkness swallowed me whole.

I sat up in bed, rubbing my face with my clammy hands. It was still dark, the quiet night outside lulling each creature to sleep, but not me.

I grabbed a drink off my nightstand, taking a sip of the cold water, gagging on it, as water tasted dry like ash.

“Are you okay?” Gia whispered near me. The rest of the Ten were still peacefully slumbering.

“Yeah,” I replied, lying back down on my sweat-soaked pillow. “Just nerves before our game tomorrow, I guess.”

“Yeah, I remember my first game; I was terrified, but turns out, it’s actually a lot of fun,” Gia encouragingly said. “You’ll do great, Finn, I’m sure of it.”

“Thanks, Gia.” I nodded, closing my eyes, attempting to fall back asleep. But no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t.

I couldn’t even keep my eyes closed, as Viyak’s starved figure appeared behind each blink. His broken voice still echoed in my ears, haunting me.

I pulled the blankets tight over my shoulders, staring at the canvas walls of our tent. The long breaths I forced myself to take did absolutely nothing to calm my anxious mind.

I’d been out of the Rock Quarries for over a year.

A year of my freedom.

And another year of his slavery.

Was he still alive?

Was he holding on to the broken promise I had made?

I glanced over the large, sand clock on Cass’s nightstand. The little grains of sand were just like water, always running, always going, until there was none left.

The little tear quietly slid down my cheek as my heart cleaved in pieces as the realization of what I had to do fully settled within me.

I was never meant to stay here.

My eyes traitorously slid to my drawer, to the small stack of letters neatly tucked inside. And I fought back the painful, tear-filled shrugs. Despite the lies I kept telling myself, I really cared for the man whose name was inked on those papers; who had written to me every day, morning and night.

I cared for him.

And yet, how could I ever stay, knowing that there, amidst the dusty walls of rock quarries, Viyak was dying bit by bit each day? How could I stay and be happy knowing that I had the power to save him, but didn’t even try?

Priya once said, Life is cruel and unfair. We don’t get to pick and choose what it throws at us.

And she was right.

I wiped away the tears from my cheek as I turned my face up to the ceiling.

How could I stay? I kept asking myself, my mind trying to find any plausible excuse. But I had long run out of those.

How could I stay?

I couldn’t.

Not anymore.