Sometimes when we find out a secret that has been kept from us for so long, it's not the secrecy that kills us, but what is actually unveiled.
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Xaden Riorson x Oc, Liam Mairi x Oc, Oc x Oc, Ridoc Gamlyn x Oc,
Sawyer Henr...
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It is a grave offense against Malek to keep the belongings of a dead loved one. They belong in the beyond with the god of death and the departed. In the absence of a proper temple, any fire will do. He who does not burn for Malek will be burned by Malek.
—Major Rorilee's Guide to Appeasing the Gods, Second Edition
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Chapter Eleven
| Wrenley's POV |
The next practice sessions of the Gauntlet are the same as the last. Only this time, we don't lose a squadmate. Tynan has quit running his mouth since he can't seem to make it up fully. I stand corrected, he can shut his mouth. He just has to take a knock off of his pride first.
The buoy balls are his downfall.
So far, Sawyer and I are the only ones who have been able to make it all the way up.
By the ninth—and next-to-last—session, I'm ready to set the entire obstacle course on fire. At first, it was fun, but now it's taking up all of my art time, which I take very seriously. And I keep making it to the top faster and faster, so I just end up sitting at the top, drawing in the sand with Sawyer.
"Tell me something, Wrenley." Sawyer lifts his head. His eyes flick between my eyes and the dragon I've drawn in the sand.
"Something," I reply, adding small details to my drawing.
He snorts, "Okay, smart-ass." He lazily draws a sun in the little-kid-style landscape he's been working on for over an hour. "How does one manage to draw a detailed dragon in the sand, with only her finger and a stick, in only an hour?"
"It's called being good at art, Sawyer." I sass back, pointing out the sun he just drew.
He lets out a deep laugh, adding ripples into the river, I think, that he drew.
