EXALTED (An Exalted Novel) Read Online Free PDF

fabric on our pants makes the same swooshing noise, and we all wear black. The older Exalted differ slightly with their purple armbands, but that is the only difference. We even have the same goal in mind; running will make me stronger. Therefore, we all keep to the schedule.
    As soon as the door opens to the outside, each Exalted sprints away. They flood the grounds of the Republic like an army rushing out for battle. It’s an ominous sight, and I can only imagine that’s why we never see Ambassadors out at this time of the day.
    The first mile starts right here, at the stairwell door. I leave Val in my wake, pushing myself faster and faster. This is one area that my peers have nothing on me. My body was built for running. I crave the way my muscles feel as they expand and contract when I pump my legs harder. I pull air into my nose and push it out of my mouth. I feel powerful, not like the weak girl in my nightmare.
    The sun is starting to rise. It casts splashes of pink and orange across the sky. It brings a muggy heat with it. I can smell salt in the air. The coastline is closer to this city than it once was. I run so fast that I fear I may take off into the air with the squawking seagulls.
    In no time at all, the five-mile run is over. I keep sprinting right up the stairwell to our room and take a quick shower before heading to breakfast. I need it more to wash off the remnants of the strange dream than for the light sweat I produced from the run.
     
    * * *
     
    As always, I’m the first one to arrive in the student/trainee cafeteria. Today, I ran faster than I’ve ever run before, trying to escape my father and the terrifying wall in my dream. The memory of the fear I felt still perplexes me. I sit in silence with my oatmeal reflecting on the dream some more. A whole four minutes pass before the first person enters. It’s Ethan. He’s fast as well.
    Soon after, the others trickle in.
    Val sits across from me. “What were you running from this morning?” she questions me while acting nonchalant.
    “Nothing,” I don’t tell her about the dream, but offer, “just trying to be better. You know, like Az suggested.”
    “Hmm . . . “ I can tell that she doesn’t believe me by her tone. “Is that why you were tossing and turning last night?” she asks.
    She knows me too well, but I don’t want her to think I’m weak. While Val is my best friend, she is also my competition until the United Trials are over. So, I simply respond, “I guess I’m just ready to get started today.”
    She seems to accept that answer and doesn’t question me any further. She’s also aware of Kinah making her way over to our table and doesn’t want her to become aware of some advantage she may have over me. Thank you , I silently praise her.
    Kinah greets us with some horrible new insult she thought up. The day never truly starts without such a greeting from her. I know Kinah thinks she’s shaking up her competition, but it’s actually having the opposite effect . . . on me anyway.
    The medical citizens enter several minutes later to bring us each our daily dose of the Pump. I can see the tiny purple capsules from my table and patiently wait to get mine. Normally, this uneventful process goes uninterrupted. Today, however, Force, Garret, Millie, and two Ambassadors follow the citizens into the cafeteria.
    Ambassadors are smaller than Exalted, like the citizens, but have a bigger presence. They wear flowing garments of bright blues, greens and purples with a gold Republic sash over their shoulders. They model themselves after the great Roman scholars and nobles. You can always tell one of them apart from a citizen, not only by their clothing, but also, by the wisdom and knowledge within their eyes. They have this ability to draw your attention to them, whereas citizens are meant to be unnoticed with their boxy, monochromatic cotton clothing and downcast eyes.
    It’s extremely unusual for Ambassadors to enter the Exalted