The Savior's Throne

Chapter Eleven

The war is less than three days away and I'm barely holding it together. There's so much I don't know or understand, so much I still need to learn. I'm laying down, on my bed, trying to find some way to get some sleep, but can't seem to shut my brain off.

All I can think about is that, even with all my training, I still feel unprepared to go to war. A battle is bloody and deadly and horrifying and I'm not ready to face that. It's hard, I don't want to think about what we're up against, but I have to think about what we're up against. We have only a few gifted people on our side and we'll be going up against probably hundreds of Gifteds from the North.

How will a bunch of Ungifted, armed with simple weapons, defeat a group of people with powers given to them by the Gods themselves? The impossibility of winning this war is weighing me down and putting an awful pressure on my chest. I force myself to breathe against it and rise from my position on the bed. I dangle my feet over the edge and stare off into the darkness.

The room is silent, except for my breathing, and I move to switch on the light. I check the time on my clock and realize how early it is. I skipped dinner today, as I didn't have an appetite, so my schedule is off.

The second I switch on my light, I hear a soft knock on my door. I open it, expecting to see Arlo, but instead see Winn. "Hey," I say.

He glances down at my outfit and asks, "Were you about to go to bed?" I shake my head no. "I tried to, but couldn't." He nods and asks, "Does that mean you're willing to join me?"

"Sure, just let me change." He backs out of the doorway as I shut the door. I don't know what I'm joining him in, but I'm sure it'll be better than letting my mind fuel more fear into me.

I change out of my nightgown and slip into a short sleeve, grey top and some black jeans. "So where are we going," I ask Winn when I step out of my room.

"To your birthday bash," he says with a smile.

"A birthday bash?" I ask cautiously. I've never heard of such a thing.

"You're going off to war soon, I figured it would be good for you to celebrate before everything starts. Especially since you're leaving on your birthday. You're going to be eighteen, it would be wrong to not celebrate it."

As long as this celebration doesn't include me dying, I should be alright. Winn looks so excited that I can't help but to agree to go with him. "Thank the Gods," he says after I agree to go to this birthday bash. "I'm glad I was able to convince you to come, it would've been awkward showing up to your bash without you."

"So, is it just going to be you and Arlo?" I mean, they are the only two people I actually hang out with.

Winn stops at a door marked 21 and says, "Who has a birthday bash with only three people?"

I don't answer his question because I still don't really understand what a birthday bash is. When we celebrated Anahi's birthday in the North, it was a large get-together in the dining area and we ate extravagant food and Anahi was showered with gifts. I doubt that Winn's idea of a celebration is the same as Sahil's.

Without waiting for me to answer, Winn opens to the door and I'm bombarded with a sight like none other. People crowd inside Winn's room and chat with each other. Their voices mingle together and I openly gape at them. Some sway to music that's not playing and others laugh as though the world begged them to. It's so carefree and amazing that my steps falter as I walk into the room.

When I walk in, everyone shouts and whoops with glee. "The golden-eyed girl!" Some say, as others shout out, "Happy birthday!" I look to Winn, who is joyfully smiling down at me.