Page 27 of A Broken Promise

I laid on the couch. Orest stood by the door only a few steps away from it. Heavy silence filled the room as I lost myself to the deep pit of never-ending thoughts.

“Why do you work forhim?” I finally mumbled.

I couldn’t stop myself from wondering about that. Orest was unlike any other Destroyer I had met, yet still somehow one of them.

His shoulders stiffened and he awkwardly scratched the back of his head, rustling the burgundy curls. His dark armor shimmered against the afternoon rays peeking through the slightly curtained windows.

“Because it is my privilege and honor as a Destroyer to be a soldier and to follow the greatest general and leader there is,” he replied.

I wasn’t sure what I was expecting, but his reply stung a bit. ThegreatestGeneral and leader. Thegreatestmurderer. Thegreatestmonster. Thegreatesttorturer. A part of me wanted to debate him, to argue and fight, but I was so utterly exhausted—completely drained—that I just let out a long sigh. Orest’s lips curved up. “Not the answer you were hoping for?”

“No,” I said, taking another look at him. He rested his hands on the tilt of the sheathed sword at his side. “Do you ever get tired of just standing there?”

He raised his eyebrows in question, amused.

“What? I am guessing that armor isn’t light,” I said, tugging on the ends of my bandages.

Orest chuckled.

“No. But you do get used to it. Though at times, my back does get stiff, guarding duties are usually not a thing that I do.”

This time I chuckled at this little truth between us.

“Will I die?” I asked calmly. My voice didn’t tremble, and my brain didn’t run panicking as the realization of the question settled in.

“I wouldn’t put it past you, considering you bit the General yesterday,” he softly teased. I turned to face him, letting him see the little embers of coal still flickering in my eyes with craving for life.

He added, “We all die, Finn. Some are just meant to pave the way.”

I didn’t ask any questions after.

13

Yellow tassels at the top of the large curtains lazily swayed from the touch of the night breeze creeping in from a slightly opened window. Occasional owls’ hoots and crickets’ melody came from the miles of dark forests below. The night seemed so peaceful.

I laid still in my bed, pretending to be asleep. Orest was long gone, replaced by Broderick and another soldier. Brita didn’t visit either and neither did the General. Unfinished, now cold, left-over dinner in a silver tray was still on the large coffee table by the couch. The day went by too quickly and now under the cover of the darkness, my thoughts raced faster than ever. This time I didn’t fight them. I didn’t try to calm them down. I let the fury rise.

The words of the Destroyer General were branded in my mind.

Tomorrow.

We will leave tomorrow.

For better or for worse, my circumstances were going to change tomorrow.

As if my own torture, Dimitrii’s agonizing death played nonstop in my mind. His face twisted in pain, his convulsing body and ashes as if just small specks of dust scattered in the wind.

He deserved his death. I should feel relieved that there was one lessprick in the world, but where I hoped relief and satisfaction would come, now gushed more uncertainty and anguish.

That could’ve been me. Should have been me. And yet I was fine. Alive, and now wrapped underneath my heavy covers. My wounds quickly healing, scars and burns itching as new layers of skin formed.

Maybe it was Fate or maybe it was just pure luck, it didn’t matter to me. I hated the anticipation, the lack of control over my existence.

Kill me now or let me be free.

And maybe it was the exquisite food or the day full of rest and sleep, but I was tired of waiting. I was done bargaining with Fate.

Whether gods wanted it or not,tomorrow, things were going to change,and I would make sure of it.

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