Page 40 of A Broken Promise

My heart eased and I smiled. A hassle indeed.

“Sometimes I wish things were different, the life, the world,” I said, laying back down on my pillow, staring at the white ceiling. “Do you?” I asked, my voice becoming somber.

“Nah. I can’t spend my life wishing for a different life only to realize I wasted this one.”

“Do you ever dream?”

“Of what?”

“Of happiness?”

“Happiness and innocence go hand and hand. And I lost both a very long time ago.” Her voice for once was more serious and tender. “But excitement, thrill and pure pleasure. That, I can have any day. No need to dream, Freckles.”

“So, what are you? Some assassin of sorts?” I doubted she was going to tell me, but tonight seemed to be painfully honest.

“An assassin…? That sounds so official.” Priya chuckled. The room was now filled with gentle warmth. “I guess you could call me that.”

“Who do you work for?”

“I don’t work for anyone.”

“Do you kill for money?” I had a feeling it was more than that.

“I never work for hire, if that’s what you are asking but I do get…payments.” She ruffled sheets, cozying up in her bed.

“How did you become an assassin?

“Do you ever stop with the questions, Freckles?”

That was her limit then, but I pushed anyway.

“How many have you killed?” I mentally added up the days she was gone in her suit in the last few weeks. Often, I realized. She was gone quite often.

“Ugh. Go to bed. I am tired now.” She grumpily dismissed me.

I smiled. That sugar rush of hers must have finally came crashing down.

“I could train you; you know.” Priya rolled over again, loudly yawning.

“Train me?”

“Yes, to be a badassassassinlike me.”She mimicked her accent to match mine.

I wasn’t sure what becoming an assassin entailed, but I was done feeling weak and useless.

“I’d like that…I’d like that very much.”

20

The deck was almost empty, with just a few occasional workers walking by. Large pillars of steam rose high into the dark sky. It was surprisingly warm for the night. The Kinderby River, almost stagnant, stretched far and wide.

My entire body ached from the brutal exercise and feeding regime Priya instilled. She was ruthless; from dawn until late night, we spent training. I was her first ever apprentice and she’d proclaimed that she “doesn’t deal in failure,” so I had no choice but “to step it up,” because truly, I was weak. Even if my mind was eager, my stomach wasn’t; I wretched my guts after almost each workout. Priya, though filled with utmost disgust, sent encouragement from a healthy distance away from my spilled intestines.

“Lighten up, Freckles,” she said. “It might not be better tomorrow. But I promise you, it will be in time.”

And I believed that. Relying on that simple truth, I pushed myself past the embarrassment because for the first time in years, I had a clear goal.

Exhausted, I spent the last few nights completely unconscious, but today I couldn’t sleep. Overtaken by the nightmares, one after another, loud clangs of armor and metal, blood and fire consumed my mind.Screams of unfamiliar people still rung deep in my ears. I knew it was a dream, probably brought up by exhaustion thanks to Priya’s daily gruesome training, and yet my whole body still quivered each time I closed my eyes.

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