Some Wounds Don't Scar

Part 1

"Reyna! Please wake up!"

Reyna woke curled tightly in the fetal position. Her mouth tasted of rust. She rolled onto her back, letting her muscles relax, and winced at the tension in her muscles. Her head still pounded with familiar screams. As soon as the ringing in her head eased, she opened her eyes.

Cecelia, a healer, knelt at her side. Relief swept over her face as she saw Reyna was awake.

"What's wrong?" Reyna croaked. She felt for her side knife, tucked in the seam of her tent. "Are—are we being attacked?"

"No." Cecelia sat back on her heels, pulling a silver lightweight canteen from her knapsack and offering it to Reyna. "Drink this."

Reyna grudgingly accepted it and unscrewed the lid. The moonwater inside gleamed comfortingly. It tasted of the air after a spring shower, and cleared her head. "Where is everyone?" she asked.

"Out. We were going to let you sleep in like the other new Hunters. I came in to wake you, but you stayed asleep. I was getting really worried. Has this happened before?"

Reyna scrubbed her eyes. "On and off for a while." She did not mention she had been having such nightmares since her sister and she first parted ways. The nightmares were blurry, and the only things she remembered were the pure terror and anger that came with each.

"Do you remember if you were dreaming?"

"Yes. I would rather not talk about it. Where is everyone?"

Cecelia looked at her with a mixture of pity and concern. She'd seen that look more often th an she cared to admit. "Different missions. You're in Lieutenant Grace's. She refused to leave without you."

Reyna sat straighter. "She's waiting for me?"

"Yes."

Reyna took her jacket from the ground and shrugged into it. She easily slid on her boots and stood, grabbing her knapsack, bow and quiver. She often slept in her clothes in case she had to slip away at any time. Old habits died hard.

"Are you sure you don't want to rest a little longer?" Cecelia asked.

Reyna opened the tent flap. "Duty waits for no one."