Hope in a Time of War by Athena Storm

Author:Athena Storm [Storm, Athena]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Athenaverse Press
Published: 2019-12-03T16:00:00+00:00

Fifteen

Faith

I sink to the floor and bury my face between my knees. My intentions hadn’t been to sound so harsh. Invoking his dead mother was probably going a step too far.

It’s just maddening to hear him be so callous. I know that he has a good heart beating in his onyx chest. I’ve felt his tenderness first hand.

But war has a way of hardening people. Back in New Rio I watched as good men and women succumbed to the madness and despair as the city sunk further into anarchy. People who had been neighbors for many years turned against each other. Family members took arms against each other for a bottle of fresh water. In a way, the harsh winter had been a blessing. Melted sooty snow probably did more to keep the peace among us than all the weapons in the world could have.

If war can do that to people from stable family backgrounds, how much harsher must it be on an orphan like Gar? That he’s managed to retain some humanity—in a figurative sense given he’s an alien—is nothing short of a miracle.

No, not a miracle. Let’s give credit where credit is due. He’s just a kind person underneath all that bluster and misdirected anger. It’s become an armor that chafes at him constantly, but if he keeps on wearing that will fade, and he’ll be as callous and cold as he thinks he should be.

The door to my prison swings open, and I perk up, thinking it could be Gar. But then Commander Riven enters amid a blast of chill wind, and I sneer.

“Unless you’re here to set me loose you can just get the hell out.”

His lips become a thin, tight line.

“I don’t expect you to agree with my command decisions, Miss Faith. I do what I must. However, I was hoping that I could impose upon you. The men are…anxious over your perceived ill treatment.”

“Perceived?”

He continues as if I had not spoken.

“It’s important to morale that you be seen and heard, and most especially that you return to attending our wounded.”

“I really don’t care about your morale, Riven.”

“I thought you might say that. But if you don’t help us, if you don’t make yourself visible to my men, then they might mutiny. That would create chaos and make them easy prey for the Alliance, who we know is planning an attack.”

Damn him. He had to go and appeal to my morality, didn’t he?

“Fine. I’ll help your wounded.”

“There is a caveat.”

My heart sinks, but I’ve already agreed. Riven takes out a coil of twine and I grimace.

“How can you expect me to attend to the wounded with my hands tied?”

“I don’t. I never intended to hamper your ability to care for my men. Raise your arms.”

I lift my arms as ordered, and he secures the rope around my waist. He adds one of those complicated sailor knots at the end, and cinches it tightly. I’m betting that even if given the opportunity I won’t be able to loosen that knot.

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