Ararza Vol 26 Young Female Fighter -

She was thinking of the gate to the eastern road. Of her mother’s small farm. Of the ribbon fluttering in the dawn wind, not the torchlight.

Kaelen dropped the rope ladder. She climbed, each rung a knife in her ribs. At the top, he wrapped a cloak around her shoulders. “Twenty-six,” he said quietly. “You’re the youngest to reach it.” Ararza Vol 26 Young Female Fighter

For three heartbeats, she was a fly on a mountain. She was thinking of the gate to the eastern road

She looked back at the pit. The beast’s body was already being dragged away. Another name would be added to the archway. Another bag of coin pressed into her bloodied palm. Ararza Vol 26 Young Female Fighter