The Women of Apasas by Elizabeth Reign

Author:Elizabeth Reign [Reign, Elizabeth]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2021-06-20T22:00:00+00:00

?

Chapter 16

Myrine

The season of winter rains swept across the Aegean Sea, drenching the city with steamy mornings and cool, misty nights. The scent of lemon, lavender, poppy, and anemones mixed with the salty breeze and sweat of warriors and horses.

Shifting my stance to watch my trainees work with their lances, I glanced over at the competitions beginning among warriors. Gryne had matched Kynna against another trainee, a warrior who showed Kynna more patience than the others. Kynna’s shoulders were slumped, weariness weighing down her stance. As diligent as she was, she still struggled to master most of the tactics she needed to defend herself. I kept a worrisome eye on her, trying not to wince when she missed a target or was slammed to the ground by another warrior. She should have given up by now and be satisfied serving in the temple. But she didn’t, and she wouldn’t until someone or something stopped her. I must talk to her soon, tell her the truth, before General Ikippe questioned my training abilities. Kynna was getting better in skills, but not in confidence. Her aggressiveness wavered and at times she was more concerned with the wounded than beating her opponent. It would be easier if she just gave up and went to the temple where she belonged.

Rain swept in from the sea and ended training for the day. The dark sky grew darker as night moved over our home, sending us off to bed early. I welcomed the extra sleep and dreamless night.

The clear light of morning flooded the forest with a glow of mist from the previous day’s rains. I wandered among the elm trees seeking a dry space, but the heavy gray skies gave way to a soft rain shower, then moved on over the mountains. I hunched down to part the thick, wet brush of the forest floor. A breeze moved the tree leaves gently above me, sprinkling raindrops on my skin. Wiping my forehead, I continued my walk.

I searched for bones; tiny bones left behind by fallen fowl. Amma’s words passed through my thoughts as I pushed through bushes and tree branches, hunting for the dry, abandoned bones of bird wings to make my flutes:

“All living things have the breath of the Goddess in them,” she would say in a low, humble voice. “To take that breath for anything except to survive would harm not only the creature, but your own life as well. It’s the way of Our Mother, Rhea. Life is not to be lived carelessly and ungratefully.”

Some of my flutes were made with small shells from the sea and some from the remains of birds left rotting on the ground. A small wing or leg bone worked well. The Amazzi trained less in winter, so I made flutes to keep my sadness at bay when the skies darkened early.

I continued to search, pushing aside dead twigs and leaves until I found the remains of a young eagle. I looked up in the trees above, wondering if it fell from its nest or if a predator snatched it, lost its grip, and let it fall.

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.