Child of prophecy

19 | Conquer or Die

ANALIA

My eyelids blink open as the rays of sunlight harshly wake me from my slumber. A yawn escapes my lips, my eyes roaming the room as my body molds deeper into the bed, too reluctant to get up. It's been so long since I've had this much rest.

After eating to my heart's content with Auriana yesterday, we both proceeded to wash up. I made sure to scrub off all the blood, dirt, and stench from my body. We spoke at length about various unimportant things, and I intentionally excluded mentioning Raymond's name, as it was obvious Auriana wasn't ready to talk about him just yet.

The sound of footsteps approaching my door causes me to fly out of bed. If it's Iyan, I don't want him to meet me looking unprepared, especially since he told me we would be training today.

A soft knock resounds on the door before it swings open. I sigh in relief when I see Auriana's bright smile directed at me. Due to her cleaning up, her freckles that had been covered up with dirt are now visible. There are still faint bruises on her cheeks, but she looks better now.

"You look well," she comments, walking into the room. My brows perk up when I notice how she's dressed. The uniform she has on looks similar to the one General Cara had on when I first met her. It's green, but unlike General Cara's, which had emblems and insignias adorned on it, Auriana's uniform looks rather plain.

"Why are you dressed this way?" I ask with a short laugh. She did say she once trained under General Cara, but just training doesn't mean she was a soldier, right? And besides, there's no need for her to be wearing a uniform right now.

"Iyan said to dress appropriately for your training today. Just for today though, I don't particularly like wearing this." She tugs at the neckline of the uniform as her lips pucker in distaste.

"Where did you get the uniform?" I further ask in curiosity.

"It was given to me," she says in a tone that conveys that I should have probably known this.

"By whom?"

She peers at me in disbelief before she rolls her eyes. "As I told you yesterday, I was in General Cara's army. Of course, I had to have a uniform. I know I don't have any insignias, but I still have skills, alright?"

Now it's my turn to peer at her in disbelief. "You told me that you just trained under General Cara."

She shrugs. "It's the same thing."

I open my mouth to speak, but my mouth is left agape when I sight Iyan at the doorway with my bow slung onto his shoulder. He's dressed rather casually in a sleeveless black vest that's cinched with a loosened lace at the top, exposing a bit of his chest. My eyes wander dazedly at his bare-muscled arms. I knew he was fit, but this is my first time seeing him in an attire that doesn't cover him up entirely.

"You're drooling," Auriana whispers into my ear, snapping me back to reality. I blink my eyes furiously as I clear my throat.

"I presume you both are ready?" he asks as his eyes take in my appearance. I'm clothed in a dress that Auriana lent me yesterday. I don't particularly think it's something I should wear to train.

"I don't think this is appropriate," I say, gesturing to the slightly short dress made of cotton flowing above my knees.

"You won't be doing much. Just observing Auriana and me," he explains, and I feel my heart drop.

"Oh," I feign a laugh, my gaze on him shifting as my heart twists in pain.

"After training, we'll eat breakfast. It's not advisable to train while filled," Auriana informs me as she slings an arm over my shoulder.