ARIANA
I felt my body ache as I stretched my arms up and looked at myself in the mirror. My hair was messy, sticking out in different directions, and my eyes looked like they hadn’t slept all night. Well, I didn’t exactly sleep peacefully either. I was thinking too much, dreaming too much. Everything just felt like too much lately.
But even with that, I smiled. I was getting stronger. Like, really stronger.
I remembered when I couldn’t even hold a wooden sword properly, and now I could flip people twice my size. I didn’t even know where all that strength came from, but Gabriel always said it’s because I had something to fight for. That made me think… maybe he’s right.
I put my boots on and walked out of the room, yawning. The morning sun was already up, shining way too bright. It made
