by Marlow York
I looked down at my hands and considered his words. I’d spent my entire life suppressing my power and keeping it hidden for the safety of myself, my family, and the entire Fiero village. Where had that gotten me? They were all dead or captured. Even after all those years, the City suspected the Ancient Fire was alive and they acted accordingly. What was the point of suppressing it any further? How could that possibly help my situation?
“Think about the big picture,” Saven continued. “Marrying Tarek earns you a better place within the Grakkir clan. Becoming a Warrior will give you the strength to defend yourself. If you learn to use the Ancient Fire, then you won’t need to suppress your emotions. Own your power and no one will own you ever again.”
He moved his face close to mine. I could feel his emotions change to match my own. He understood why I was sad and anxious. He could feel my fear for Tarek and the uncertainty of becoming a Warrior. “I was sent to be your protector,” he told me. “No matter what happens, slave or wife, Fiero or Grakkir, I will be at your side. Fight with me, and I will fight with you.”
I saw my reflection in Saven’s amber eyes, and I felt the truth of his promise flowing from his heart into mine. I bowed my head and placed my face against his massive forehead. “I will fight with you,” I promised.
The tent flap opened and Sarrenke appeared. “Are you alright? I smelled smoke from the house.”
“Yes,” I said. “I tipped over a candle.”
Though my tears had disappeared, she was too intuitive for my own good. She took a deep breath and put a comforting hand on my shoulder. “I know you do not like Tarek, but it will be better this way.”
I wanted to snap at her, to make sure she understood that even though I would play the part as a Grakkir, deep down I felt like I was betraying the Fiero. However, I knew I would need to play by their rules for a while longer to get where I wanted to be. I nodded to let her know I understood.
“I know living here has not been easy for you,” she added quietly. “You miss your family and your home, but they were destroyed by the City, not us. Living in a tent with Tarek as a master is not a life I would wish on anyone, but if he had not taken you from there, the City would have returned and killed or captured you. That fate would have been much worse than any fate you will find here with us.”
I swallowed hard, knowing she was right. My only option now was to assimilate further into the Grakkir clan and become a Warrior stronger than any before me. No other Grakkir had fire in their veins, and no other Grakkir had a vendetta against the City as powerful as mine.
It was only a matter of time before something tried to challenge me, and I needed to be ready. I prayed the challenge would come in the form of a long journey to find Jenassa, and not from the City.
Chapter 14
Fiero weddings were large, joyous events with the entire village celebrating the union of two people who were deeply in love with each other. If all Grakkir weddings were like mine and Tarek’s, I couldn’t imagine many Grakkir in a hurry to get married.
The Elder Council sent two representatives to conduct the ceremony and act as witnesses. The man and woman both had round piercings in the center of their foreheads, just like the scar Sarrenke had on her own.
“Normally a member of the Elder Council leads the wedding ceremony, if not Ysolda herself,” Sarrenke told me as she combed my overgrown hair and trimmed the ragged ends with a pair of scissors. “Our situation is unique, so they sent Scholars to conduct the ceremony instead. They are nearly as well-respected as the Elders are.”
Rather than a lavish gown, I wore a new pair of brown pants and a fawn-colored shirt with lacing up the arms and back. This made the fit a little tighter around my frame, slightly accentuating the curves I barely had. The fact that they were clean made them somewhat special.
Sarrenke tamed my hair into a simple updo and smudged some coal around my eyes. We had no mirror, and so I had no idea what I looked like, but I was certain the coal brought out the reddish flecks in my hazel eyes. Frankly, I was just glad to be wearing clothes that were soft and clean. I wasn’t in the mood to celebrate the occasion anyway.
The ceremony was held along the edge of the trees beside Zani’s enclosure. Tarek and Khero stood at a distance from the Scholars, and neither party looked at each other or attempted conversation. Tarek glanced my way, and though I’m sure he was still upset over Ria’s loss, I couldn’t help but notice how he looked me up and down. His stony eyes gave way to a hint of approval.
Saven nudged my shoulder affectionately. “I feel as though things will improve for you after today.”
I gave him a tight-lipped smile. Considering how low my place was at that moment, Saven was right. I didn’t want to be Tarek’s wife, but if it meant I had a place in the Grakkir clan and could train to become a Warrior, then yes, things would become better than they were at that moment.
I stood at Tarek’s side, and he reached up and removed the collar from my neck. I shivered when the breeze touched my skin. At first, the absence of the collar felt almost as strange as it had felt when he first put it on. He dropped the collar on the ground, and I pressed my lips together as I looked down at it. My heart leapt with excitement, but I couldn’t bring myself to smile. I was no longer a slave, but I was not yet free.
We turned and faced the Scholars, neither of them making direct eye contact. They didn’t look at Tarek at all, and when they said his name during the ceremony, they brushed over it casually as though it carried no real significance. When we were directed, we clasped each other’s hand and the woman wrapped them in a thin white cloth, signifying our bond. After a few more words, they both looked at me and nodded. I was now a member of the Grakkir, wife of Tarek the Shunned, and therefore they would acknowledge my existence.
They glanced briefly at Tarek, and I noticed how he straightened his back to look down at them. Yes, he felt the very slight change in his status within the clan, and for that he swelled with pride. The Scholars looked at each other, and the man shook his head in disgust as they turned and left us.
Sarrenke stood not far away, and the Scholars paused to speak with her. Tarek unwrapped the cloth from our hands, and just like that, it was like the ceremony had never happened. He considered my eyes for a moment, tilting his head as though seeing me for the first time.
“What is it?” I asked, furrowing my brows. I surprised myself with the boldness of the question.
“You are small and weak,” he told me bluntly. “Like no Warrior there has ever been before. Perhaps you will make a better wife than you do a fighter.”
I glared at him. “I was not raised a fighter like you, but that does not mean I will fail.”
He let out a short laugh. “We shall see.”
I wanted to hit him right then and there, but I took a deep breath and calmed myself before my hands could get any hotter. “Yes,” I agreed. “Like you said, you will see a Warrior like there has never been before.”
For the first time, I spun on my heel and strode away from Tarek without giving him a chance to respond. If being proud and brave in the face of danger was part of being a Warrior, then no moment was too soon to begin acting that way.
✽ ✽ ✽
“The Scholars told me you are to begin your training immediately,” Sarrenke said later that night as we prepared dinner. “You are already far behind the current trainees, but perhaps if you work hard every day, you can be half as strong as they are now.”
I sighed heavily while I peeled potatoes. I’d been so focused on the idea of becoming a Warrior that I failed to truly think about what I’d need to do. I would need to learn to fight, and not just the type of fighting Jenassa and I did when we were children—wrestling around, giggling as we shoved each other. I would need to train with weapons, and I would probably have to kill someone someday.
I swallowed hard. Did I even have the inner strength to do something like that, let alone the physical strength? My muscles were strong from all the manua
l labor I’d done over the years, but I had lost a lot of weight while I lived with the Grakkir. I could only imagine what the other Warrior trainees looked like; they’d been preparing their whole lives for this.
“Killing is not so difficult when you have no other choice,” Saven chimed in. I could barely see the outline of his head as he peeked through the window.
“That’s easy for you to say. You kill things all the time to survive. It’s part of your nature.”
He hissed slowly. “Yes, it is for survival. If I do not kill, I do not live. The same goes for Khero. Have you never hunted for food?”
The Fiero were not hunters at all. We raised livestock, and it was the butcher’s job to kill it. It was part of survival, but we had other things we could eat. Even if we did, it was not a Harvester’s job to hunt for food; we just pulled it off a tree branch or yanked it out of the ground. The Grakkir were different. Hunting wild animals was normal to them. Warriors, however, were the ones who needed to be okay with killing other humans.
Saven hissed thoughtfully, reading my mind. “I see what you mean. However, I’m certain if you had to kill someone to protect yourself or your friends, you would do so.”
“What are you two talking about?” Sarrenke grinned. “Saven always hisses more when you are discussing something important.”
Saven shrunk away from the window, embarrassed.
I chuckled softly. “I’m just worried.”
“You should be,” Sarrenke said matter-of-factly. “Warriors are not chosen every day. It takes a certain type of mental and physical strength not many people possess, even within the Grakkir clan. That is why they are so highly respected.”
“Aren’t you supposed to give me reassuring words of advice?” I muttered dryly.
“I am a realist, just like every Grakkir. However, I know for a fact that Ysolda would not have agreed to let you train to become a Warrior if she had not sensed something powerful within you. Perhaps you have an inner strength even you do not realize yet.”
“No, you are the one who does not realize,” Saven said.
“I hope you’re right,” I couldn’t hide the worry in my voice.
“Never mind that doubtful talk,” Sarrenke scolded. “Tonight, you will eat like a Warrior, inside the house like a wife, and tomorrow you will begin your journey down a new path.”
I smiled despite my worries. I was grateful for Sarrenke’s assuredness when I was still uncertain about the path my life should be taking. The way I saw it, any path that lead forward was better than the ash-covered path that laid behind me.
Chapter 15
Long before the sun had risen, I was awake and walking side-by-side with Sarrenke up the path to the village. Our breath came out in swirling puffs in the cool morning air, dancing against the light from our lanterns. We were only halfway to the village when Sarrenke stopped and turned to me.
“I’m afraid I must leave you here.” She pointed into the dark forest. “Down that way is the path to the training area. I can take you this far; only Warriors and initiates are permitted to go there.”
“There’s hardly any path at all.” I squinted, but my eyes wouldn’t adjust to the darkness.
“That is intentional,” Sarrenke chuckled. “They do not want just any person learning Grakkir fighting techniques, lest they be used against us someday.”
I took a deep breath, and for the millionth time since Saven came to me, I was grateful to have him at my side.
Sarrenke squeezed my shoulder. “Do not be afraid, and if you must be afraid, do not show your fear in front of them. For a Warrior, cowardice is one of the greatest sins to commit, and they already have enough reasons to look down on you.”
“I’ll keep that in mind,” I muttered.
Sarrenke smiled. “You should get going. You do not want to be late.”
I gave a quick nod before stepping off the beaten road and into the forest. The trees were thick and damp, and the grass and ferns almost reached my shoulders. I could see only a few feet in front of me, and when I turned to look back at Sarrenke, there was only darkness. It was like the forest had swallowed us alive.
We continued onward, and eventually the ferns thinned into a narrow trail, as though every foot had intentionally stepped in the exact same spot to avoid pressing down too many plants.
“They will be unhappy with me for creating such a noticeable path,” Saven said.
I chuckled softly. “Perhaps you need to train too. With practice, I’m sure you could slip through a forest the way your mother does, leaving hardly a disrupted branch or blade of grass behind you.”
Saven hissed thoughtfully, intrigued by the idea.
The ground tilted downward, subtly at first, then more gradually until I could tell by the way my calves tightened that we were walking down into a valley. My thin shoes were already damp with dew, and they made a soft squishing sound as we walked. Besides that, there were no other sounds around us. Not even the birds had awoken yet.
“Are we going the right way?” I asked, as though Saven would know the answer. “I don’t hear anyone talking or the clang of weapons.”
“Neither do I. I can’t even taste anyone on the wind.”
I worried we had somehow gone the wrong way. Maybe the correct path had been so well hidden that we missed it altogether. My heart thumped as panic set in. Would they even accept me if I showed up late? I could only imagine how bad I would look if I was too stupid to figure out where the training area was.
“Wait!” Saven cried. “Freeze!”
I halted, and not a second later, an object whooshed past my face and collided with the tree beside me, missing my head by mere inches. I jumped backward, nearly falling onto the ground, and saw an axe embedded deep in the tree.
“Who’s there?” I exclaimed, looking around.
A cackle of voices rose from within the darkness. “Look at her. She does not even know to call out in the Grakkir language.”
A tall form emerged from within the trees and stepped into the light of my lantern, followed by two others. The one who had spoken—and no doubt threw the axe at me—was a tall boy with dark hair, his face older than I suspected he really was.
Behind him was another boy; this one had sandy blonde hair and a much smaller build. To my surprise, the third figure was a girl. Her long, pale blonde hair was in thick dreadlocks, pulled away from her catlike face in a knot. The boys also had dreaded hair, shaved at the sides like Tarek’s.
“What do you want?” I growled in the Grakkir language.
“Ah-ha! She does speak correctly,” the taller boy said. “We’re glad you made it here in one piece.”
Behind him, the other two giggled.
“So, this is the newest member of the Grakkir clan.” The boy looked me up and down, and suddenly I realized how much smaller I was compared to him. Even the girl seemed to tower over me.
Saven hissed sharply behind me, rising to make himself bigger. The three young trainees looked up at him, and their faces fell. Regardless of my position within the clan, it was highly disrespectful to be rude to an Animal God’s companion.
“I never realized earning a god’s blessing was so easy,” the smaller boy said. “Are they just handing them out like sweets nowadays?”
The other two scoffed. It was clear they were all livid that a slave would have a god at her side and not any of them. Did the rest of the village feel this way?
“If they were,” I addressed the smaller boy, “then you would already have one by now, right? I believe that says more about your character than mine, since I was blessed, and you were not.”
“You son of a—!” The girl stormed towards me, but before she could hit me, the older boy grabbed her arm.
“Anza! Do not strike a god’s companion in front of their god!” he hissed at her. “Do you wish to bring bad luck and curses on your family?”
The girl glared at me, and I could see the striking emerald color of her almond-shaped eyes. The way
she looked up at Saven, I suspected it was the first time she’d stood so close to a god, and nervous admiration mixed with her anger.
“It doesn’t matter,” she spat. “She will have to enter the ring just like the rest of us, and her god cannot protect her there.”
Anza spun around and strode down the path, the smaller boy following quickly behind her.
“She’s right,” the tall boy said. “It is against the rules to allow a god to spar with you. He will just have to stand at the sidelines and watch his companion get thrown to the ground.”
No one had told me that rule, but I suspected as much. Saven could never be forcefully separated from my side, but to use him during training would not only put me at an unfair advantage, it would suggest I relied on him for protection. An Animal God was meant to be an extension of oneself, not just a weapon. It showed a lot about a Warrior’s weakness if they couldn’t fight their battles without a god to help them.
“Better hurry, Fiero. Wouldn’t want to fall any further behind than you already are.” The tall boy chuckled and ripped the lantern out of my hand. He blew the flame out and tossed the lantern into the forest, then turned and continued down the path, leaving us in the dark.
“If you wish it, I could send a venomous snake into his bed at night,” Saven offered.
I sighed. “That’s very tempting, but no. They will all be against me, and it’s up to me to prove I’m worthy of becoming a Warrior. That means doing things their way.”
I continued down the hill, carefully picking my way through the overgrown path. I was tempted to light something on fire to see my way, but it would only look suspicious. The Ancient Fire was a weapon best kept to myself until I needed to use it.
✽ ✽ ✽
The towering man was covered in more scars than any Warrior I’d seen in the village. Most notably, however, he was also the oldest Warrior I had ever seen. His dreadlocks were adorned with strips of colored fabric and small metal charms and tied into several thick knots to keep them out of the way. His hair was grey at the roots, like his beard, but black towards the ends. His hair was like a timeline, and I suspected each charm and strip of fabric was meant to signify something that had happened during his life.
