Page 30 of A Simple Truth

“How did the generals take that?” Xentar stretched out his legs, crossing his ankles.

“They didn’t. Orest took the battalion right after I left at midnight, so it looked like we all left at the same time.”

“Yeah, that’s probably a good move,” Xentar continued as he finished his dinner.

“Probably.” I folded my arms, adjusting just a bit as my heavy armor clunked against itself.

Zora walked in, also carrying a second plate in her hands.

“Oh. Good. We seemed to share the same thought.” She chuckled while putting the plate she grabbed for me down next to the plate from Xentar.

“Refusing to eat?” She asked Xentar, folding her legs in a lotus position on the small, cushioned sofa across from my desk.

Xentar nodded, adding. “Or sleep.”

“Gideon…” Zora started, “There is nothing you can do at this point to help her.”

“Do you think I enjoy a reminder of that, Zorianna?” I hissed, sending her a glare from underneath my brows. She moved on, pointedly ignoring my heated tone.

“How did the meeting go?” Zora asked, changing the subject.

“Lachlan will join.” I rolled my head back, closing my eyes.

“Well, that’s good news, Gideon,” Zora supposed, but before she could ask more questions, I opened my eyes, giving Xentar a heavy look.

“How many?” I didn’t have to finish the rest of the sentence, as Xentar answered,

“Less than a hundred...”

I pinched the narrow of my nose, somehow suddenly aware of how dry my mouth had become.

“We tried to get more, Gid. But they didn’t believe their whole town was going to be burned to embers in just a few hours, and we couldn’t do anything to prove it either without them sounding the alarm and compromising you. We could only take those who agreed to come willingly.”

My chest felt heavy as if the air within it had turned to lead.

Less than a hundred…

I knew we were short on time when I sent the message. I knew we couldn’t save them all. And yet, that number still stung painfully.

That was the thing about destruction that I had to learn quickly. It took years to build something that you could ruin within seconds.

“Most of them were mothers that believed us and left with their kids, a few elderly too. They are all in recovery right now with the De Villiars,” Xentar reported.

Perhaps it was dehydration, perhaps it was the lack of food, or sheer devastation for the lives forever lost, but I had found myself with a sudden throbbing headache.

“Is Orest on his way?” Zora asked nonchalantly, stealing a roll off my plate.

“Yes, he is taking a shortcut through Kinderby River, straight through Svitar, so he will be back in a few days,” I replied, and Zora nodded in appreciation.

We sat in complete silence as late dusk settled into the comforting darkness. None of us cared enough to light the lamps, the minutes weaving into hours. My body went numb under the weight of my heavy armor as I sat unmoving, still counting the seconds between her breaths.

After a while, Xentar nudged Zora, who was dozing off on the side of the couch.

“We are going to head out.” He patted me on the shoulder. “Get some sleep, brother.”

“She will make it, Gideon,” Zora softly reassured. “Gods, she might be more stubborn than you are. And that's saying something.” My cousin smiled gently before linking arms with Xentar and walking into the night.

“Zora, Xentar. Thank you,” I offered as they said their goodbyes.

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