The Curse's Breath

Chapter Two

"Are you sure you're okay?" Jahier asked as he helped her up.

"Yeah." Celni shook her head to clear her mind. "I just need some water, I think."

"This is what I mean when I say that you train too much. It's not healthy for your body." He kept close to her as they walked back to the building. "I'm going to tell your trainer to cut your hours."

"No!" she said quickly. "I'm fine. I probably just didn't sleep enough last night, that's all."

They got inside and she sat down. Jahier went and got her a cup of water. His eyes were clouded with concern. "Are you sure?"

She looked up at him and forced a smile. "I'm fine, Jahi."

"Okay." He frowned slightly. "Only if you're sure." After a moment, a smile tugged at the corners of his lips. "So that means I win by default, right?"

"Like hell it does!" Celni said incredulously. "I had the upper hand! I would have won!"

Jahier's jaw dropped. "You did not have the upper hand. I would have had your sword away from you in another two seconds."

Celni cocked her head, raising an eyebrow. "I brought daggers for a reason."

"Yeah, and I have a brain for a reason. You still wouldn't have won."

"Keep telling yourself that."

"I will, once you--" Jahier's phone buzzed. He picked it up. "Officer Naldon speaking. Yes, sir. I will be enroute immediately." He put the phone back in his pocket. "Our scouts received word of a dragon spotting outside of Halua. I have to go. I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize," Celni said. "Go do your duty." She smiled at him.

He gave her a teasing salute. "See you later. And hey, take care of yourself."

She saluted back and then watched him leave. She couldn't help but be jealous. She wanted to join the fight so badly. But laws said that no one could be made a soldier until they were eighteen, and she had only just turned that age. That meant that official soldier training started in just a few weeks.

She couldn't wait.

Celni left the training building to head back home. As she walked, her mind thought back to what she had seen.

It wasn't the first time she had daydreamed about being in battle. It happened fairly often for her, given how excited she was to actually fight someday. But this one... this one was different. It felt more tangible and real than the others. She could almost feel the pain in her ribs as she remembered her body being thrown against the rock.

More than that, the destruction caused by the battle was so much more catastrophic than she had ever dreamed. Everything in flames, cities crumbling, the land almost swallowed up by blood.

It didn't make sense. None of it did. Why would the sides turn on their own soldiers and warriors?

The red in the soldier's eyes when he attacked her was burned into Celni's mind. The thought of it was terrifying.

Celni shook her head. It was just something weird her brain had come up with. A daymare, perhaps.

Maybe she did need more sleep.

She reached the door to her house. It had been built on top of a hill overlooking the city. Other than its placement, it was no different than any of the other houses in the city. Same concrete walls (builder code since anything else would get burned down too quickly), same metal rooftops, same tempered glass with metal shutters.