Daughters of the Night

Chapter 1

My brother was completely blind now – he must have been. Warm blood trickled down my check, mixing with the wet soil that lingered after my last tumble. I brought a shaky finger to brush along the tip of my right ear. Yeah, it was gone. He didn't mean to, I told myself.

"Juriah, I think – I think you might have accidentally sliced my ear." I tried to steady my voice. "There's a lot of blood and the tip is – is gone."

I could tell it bothered him but not because I was in pain. Juriah had been losing his sight for years and blamed it on our father who sent a curse through the lands of Kerberos. My brother didn't know when to stop his blade anymore, which meant sparring with him was a lot more intense. For both of us.

"Why didn't you block?" His cold indifference used to make me cry at night. But then a steel wall had separated my feelings from my actions, which made it easier to face him. Especially like today when all I wanted to do was cry, make him apologize, and look for the rest of my ear.

I thought about the moment the cold blade touched my skin before a searing pain traveled down the length of my neck. "You aimed for my right side. I didn't have time to take a step back and adjust." It was an excuse, and I could tell from the thunderous look in his pale blue eyes that it was the wrong excuse.

"I cannot see, Rhea. And yet your blade did not contact my skin. Why?"

We stood in silence for a while, and I felt uncomfortable in it. My blood hummed. "You use sound to fight."

"Not just sound. I picture your every move when you make it, and then I anticipate your next one."

"That's a lot like gambling, Juriah." They were condescending words and tasted bitter in my mouth. I knew his moves were far from a gamble.

He closed his eyes to take a breath. Juriah never yelled, but he also never laughed. It was as if he was stuck in between, struggling to control all emotion to the point where he didn't feel any. "Wait here."

I couldn't prevent my heart from picking up speed. High One, if you are listening, I really want to keep my other ear intact please.

Juriah returned with a strip of dark green cloth no doubt ripped from one of the only nice dresses I owned. You've got to be kidding me.

He tied the strip of cloth around my head, and the world turned dark. And for a second, I felt sadness for my lonely brother trapped in the woods with a sister he despised, hiding from a father that blinded him from anything beautiful. "What are you doing?"

"I think you need a new challenge. You're too comfortable fighting me, and your footing is sloppy. Let's both be blind."

"Are you trying to kill me today, Juriah? I thought we agreed that when that day came, you'd at least let me run." I heard a soft whoosh of breath leave his mouth. Was that a laugh or something close to it?

"You have 6 months before you will challenge every male in the village for place beside the Elders as a Warrior. If you do not push yourself to the very edge of your abilities here where it is safe, you will be pushed on that day. If you lose, you will be killed. And all of this - " He gestured to the both of us. " - will be for nothing."

I knew all about my mother's last wishes and my brother's promises to her. I knew about the women in the village who were sold off to men for breeding each year. And I knew about the Battle of Warriors where I'd be expected to hide my face and fight for my position beside the Elders. And even though I knew all this, none of it seemed real. My brother's little cabin in the woods was all I ever knew. I couldn't even imagine what other people outside my little world looked like.

"I can't block you like this! You went blind slowly and had plenty of practice learning how to use your other senses. What if one of us goes too far?" I didn't specify which one of us.

"Everything will be fine." I heard Juriah shift, most likely into ready position. So this was happening. "Ready, go!"

A moment later, I hear a swoosh and then felt contact with my shoulder. Oh High One, he cut off my arm!

But when I moved the limb, it only felt sore and a tad bruised. "What did – what did you hit me with?"

"The old wooden sword. Did you really think I was going to come at you with metal like this?" His words were laced was hurt but that couldn't have been true.

Memories of my brother's training methods flooded my mind.

When I was 5 years old, Juriah stripped my feet bare and carried me to the edge of the forest. He set me down in the knee-high snow and walked away without a word. I remember the confusion as if I couldn't believe he could just leave me here. I ran after him, screaming his name. But the snow was too deep, and I couldn't run fast because of the pain from the cold.

I cried for a long time, throwing a tantrum in the middle of the forest. The piercing pain begun at the souls of my feet and spread to my upper thighs– fire and ice all at once. I ripped the bottom of my dress in two, wrapped each piece around my feet and legs, and secured them with a ribbon from my hair.

The numbness that accompanied stillness felt scarier than the pain from movement so I kept walking in the general direction of the cabin. When I finally reached the door, I hesitated. Maybe he didn't want me back, I thought.

But Juriah opened the door and squinted at me. Good, he said. In winter, the most important parts to keep warm are your core, your feet, and your head. Remember that.

I brought my focus back to the present. "Of course I thought it was an actual sword, Juriah. You have given me no reason in the past to believe otherwise."

"You're angry. Good." I heard the familiar shift of movement. "Again."

We sparred in silence. The only sound was the constant thud of Juriah's wooden weapon whacking against my arm or back when my efforts to block failed. I was exhausted and sore when Juriah decided it was time to take a break.

The side of my head was throbbing. "Half my ear is still missing, brother."

Juriah froze at the door. "Clean it up then."

And that was that.