Chapter 13
“There will always be deceivers among you.
Heed not the loudest cry, but the truest whisper.”
- The Old Book
When we reached Rowan’s tent, a group of Veilers were standing outside, murmuring and glaring. Rowan didn’t seem to care or pay any mind to the scornful stares, but I was consumed by them.
I rolled my shoulders back and stood as tall as my height would allow. I wasn’t short, but I felt like a mouse standing next to Rowan.
Rowan lifted the tent flap and gestured me inside. Gasps rippled through the crowd. He gave the Veilers a withering glance, and they scurried away.
Once they were gone, he turned to me and asked, “How do your visions work?”
“I’m not entirely sure. They come to me in dreams. Often, they are flashes of images I can’t fully decipher. But other times, they’re so vivid I don’t know if I’m awake or not.”
What I didn’t say was that I usually ignored my dreams altogether. I didn’t want this power. If I could see into the future, that meant I could have possibly prevented some of the darkest times of my life—and I couldn’t live with that guilt.
But now was not the time for denial. I did have a gift, and I needed to use it.
“How long have you been having them?”
“About nine years, just shortly after puberty started.”
“Can you summon your visions?”
“I’ve never tried before,” I admitted honestly.
He watched me warily.
“Will you try now?”
I nodded.
This wasn’t about protecting Veilers. This was about protecting myself and the other culled. If I could save us, I had a duty to do so.
I closed my eyes and attempted to return to my dream. If I could get back to that altered memory and look deeper into the Sky, maybe there was more to see.
The seconds stretched slowly by, and nothing happened.
A dark, empty nothingness was all I could see. A yawn forced its way up my throat just as a shiver coursed down my scalp.
When I opened my eyes to tell Rowan I had failed, I found myself back in that dreamworld field alone.
The sun was fully covered by dark gray clouds that swirled in the Sky. There was a feeling luring me to look deeper into the darkness. And as I dared to look further, I felt all of my focus hone in on the heavens.
I followed the spiral in the atmosphere to its center, where the smallest light flickered. A part of me screamed to look away—to hide—but I knew that if I did, then the information I sought would be lost.
I had to know.
The light grew brighter, and inside it I saw faces.
Even though I couldn’t make them out entirely, I knew enough to recognize that they weren’t ones I’d seen before. The smell of sandalwood hit me suddenly, and that’s when I saw him.
I saw Rowan.
He struck down another with perfect ease. I felt his anger and determination. It was a mix of emotions I knew well.
The voice inside me whispered: Do not linger long. Stay, and you change what comes.
I watched the way Rowan fought—how he used his entire body to sway in and out of combat. Despite how violent the scene was, I couldn’t help but admire the wonder of it all. Rowan commanded the battlefield.
Let go. Now.
I didn’t want to let go, but my chest ached, and the smell of blood filled my nostrils. I loosened my grip on the vision, and darkness shrouded the light.
Open your eyes.
I felt my eyes roll back into place. When I opened them, Rowan was standing beside me, intensely studying my face.
“What did you see?” His voice was still, careful.
“Enemies.”
“How many?”
“Around thirty,” I slurred. My dreams were never taxing, but that had been. Perhaps it was because I had gone searching.
All I knew for sure was that my head felt too heavy for my shoulders, like I was teetering just standing still.
A horn blared in the distance, snapping me back into the present. Raised shouts from the camp filtered into the tent.
Rowan’s face grew serious, and he gestured for me to follow. Once outside, I rubbed my chilled arms. The breeze had picked up, and it was biting. I could see my breath in the air, misting up into the night Sky.
“What is it?” I asked.
“Rebels.”
My breath caught, and my brow rose. Rowan noted my reaction, and his eyes narrowed.
“They are not your heroes.”
“Of course you would say that. Their entire purpose is to rid the world of Veilers.”
“If only that were the case,” he muttered under his breath.
“What do you mean?”
“They aren’t well known for their treatment of women. They expect a certain type of repayment for their valiant rescue,” he mocked. “Willing or not.”
I swallowed hard, a wave of nausea hitting me.
“You are to return to your tent. This battle is not for you.”
“Let me guess, I’m a liability?”
“Yes, but even more, you are an asset. To hand you over to our enemy—for them to have access to your gift—would be idiotic beyond all reason.”
“I’m not just something you can wield! I am not a weapon!”
“No, you’re more than that. You have been blessed with a godlike power. Used properly, it could turn the tide in war.”
Rowan turned away from me and called out to a passing Veiler.
“Lorena, take her back to her tent and keep her there. You make sure she does not leave that tent under any circumstances. I do not care what actions you take to keep her there as long as she stays alive. If I find out she leaves that tent tonight, you better pray to every god in the universe, because none of ours will save you.”
“Can you afford to have fewer Veilers fighting?” I quipped, but Rowan ignored me.
“Am I clear?” he asked the Veiler.
“Yes, sir,” Lorena said firmly. She grabbed my arm and jerked me away from Rowan.
I started kicking and screaming for her to let me go. I was tired of being dragged around from one corner to the other. Every time it happened, it made me feel weak.
When we got to the culled’s tent, the Veiler guarding it unfastened it, and Lorena tossed me inside.
“The commanding officer permitted me to use all methods to keep you in here for the night, so long as you are kept breathing. Do you understand?”
I scowled. The sound of another horn drew my attention.
Followed by distant screams and the clatter of swords.