Our Vengeful Souls by Kristi McManus

Author:Kristi McManus [McManus, Kristi]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: CamCat Publishing

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

My muscles tingle with the afterglow of a fight, stretched and strong. While I should feel tired, my body weakened, life courses through me, adrenaline bringing every nerve ending alive. Despite so much time passing since being in the ring, my body remembers it easily, every move and strike coming back to me like it awakened from a long slumber.

All it took was Callan’s patience.

We stayed up beyond the hour of the moon reaching its highest peak, retracing my memory, reenacting years of training from my other life. Learning how to merge those lessons with that which Callan shared, blending the two until each were as natural to me as breathing. He challenged my body and mind, bringing my skill to its peak by the time the moon had begun to fall across the top of the houses again, signaling morning was not far off.

When I finally fell into bed, I slept without dreams for the first time in weeks. No shadows lingering in the dark, no haunting voices or painful attacks. As the sun broke over the horizon, pulling me from slumber, I knew I was ready for what lay ahead.

The thin fabric of the pants I wear shifts as I walk, creating a gentle song with my movements. My top is fitted, sleek and smooth, clinging to my body like a second skin. In spite of the hour, Callan had somehow managed to barter them from a fellow merchant the night before, ensuring I was appropriately attired for my meeting.

Now, as I climb the marble steps of the training center—the doors as tall and imposing as the trees from which they are made—I know I am ready. Beasts carved from stone sit as silent sentinels on either side of the entrance, their faces twisted into snarls of warning. Heavy, black iron adorns the sleek warmth of the doors; a sign of strength and resilience. From the dents in the wood, the scrapes against the metal, it’s clear they have been attacked before but unlikely breached.

Crossing the threshold, I step into a long hallway extending out on either side of me, another door at my front. It is flanked by two guards, dressed in their black uniforms, swords at their hips. Their backs are ramrod straight, eyes unmoving, but I know they see my every breath.

Clearing my throat, I straighten my spine to match them.

“I am here to meet with the general, at the direction of Commander Aalto.”

The guard to my right remains still, but his eyes slide over my form with suspicion. Several weighted moments pass, yet neither move. I’m about to repeat myself, to demand to be taken to Aalto, when the door between the guards opens, the commander now before me.

“Ahh, I see you have arrived.” His posture is relaxed, a stark difference from the day before. “I worried that you may have second thoughts.”

Shaking my head, I lift my chin. “No. I am ready.”

Aalto nods once, a smirk ghosting at his lips, before he turns back through the door.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.