The Claimed: Rashika's Resistance

Chapter 27: Darkday

Izra left before breakfast.

I chose an empty table and picked at the food absently — a slab of salted fish, a bread roll, and a few boiled carrots. Though I knew I needed to focus on the training that would begin shortly, my mind continued to summon unsettling images of a child Izra paying for Denavin's protection — and of the adult Izra paying for Denavin's silence. When a plate thumped the table beside me, I jumped a few inches from my chair.

"Morning, Epsa," said Zander. "The bread roll offended you, is it?"

I glanced down at the decimated bread. "I... didn't realize..."

He waved the stump wrist in dismissal. "Daresay I have something of a vendetta against bread myself. Was straightening bread loaves in the market when the Royal Guard thought I was stealing. They cut off my hand and didn't give me a chance to finish straightening the loaves."

My lips parted audibly as I stared at him. "Really? Is that actually how you lost your hand?"

His mustache twitched with his frown. "You think I'm inventing stories, is it?"

I sighed. "No... I'm starting to realize stories are much nicer than reality."

He tilted his head. "But sometimes, we can write our own stories."

Thinking of my mother, Izkar, and Pim, I shook my head. "It doesn't feel that way. It feels like everything is already written."

Zander lifted a forkful of food to his mouth and chewed thoughtfully. After he swallowed, he tapped his fork against his plate beside the carrots, "Do you think a carrot seed knows it is being planted? Or does it only curse the cold, hard dirt blocking out the sun?"

I blinked at him. "I'm... not sure I'm following."

"Do you know the story behind Darkday?"

"It's the day the gods who once roamed Najila abandoned humanity."

"Ep, ep, ep. Not abandoned." He stabbed a carrot and lifted it before him as if to provide evidence. "Gave us time to grow."

Zander leaned toward me and lowered his voice. "I know Izra's with Denavin. I know you feel angry and helpless. I do too. I have for a long time."

I furrowed my brow. "You mean... how much do you know?"

He grimaced, glancing around us. "I don't know anything. Izra always acts like nothing is wrong, and everyone else believes her. But I've always suspected."

"Then help me help her. What can I do?"

Zander set down his fork and patted my hand. "First, you can eat. Then you can train this group. Izra will be free when everyone else is — when the King is dead."

His earnest words eased the tension over my chest. I released a breath and nodded. "You're right. Thank you, Zander."

He shrugged and picked up his fork once more. "Thank you for leading us. Daresay we need you, Epsa."

* * *

An hour later, sweat drenched tunics all around me, and sour body odor and hot humidity filled the room. Energized by Zander's words and my own need to keep my mind off of Izra, I worked the group even harder than the day before. The group responded by matching my energy, teeth gritting and nostrils flaring with the intensity of their focus.

Plu fought harder than on previous days, though she still retreated the moment her opponent gained the upper hand. Jek continued to ignore my direction. After he barely beat a huffing Navi, I grabbed a wooden sword from the rack and approached him.