The Gift of Battle Read Online Free PDF

heat rising. It was
stifling this high up, and the day had barely broken. All about her were the
ever-present sounds of ropes and pulleys, wheels squeaking, as the soldiers
yanked and yanked, none realizing who she was.
    Soon, it
stopped, and all was still as she was standing at the peak of the Ridge—the
only sound that of the howl of the wind. The view was staggering, making her
feel as if she were standing at the very top of the world.
    It brought back
memories. Stara recalled the time she’d first arrived at the Ridge, fresh from
the Great Waste, with Gwendolyn and Kendrick and all the other stragglers, most
of them more dead than alive. She knew she was lucky to have survived, and at
first, the sight of the Ridge had been a great gift, had been a sight of
salvation.
    And yet now here
she was, prepared to leave, to descend the Ridge once again on its far side, to
head back out into the Great Waste, back out into what could be a sure death.
Beside her, her horse pranced, its shoes clicking the hollow platform. She
reached out and stroked its mane reassuringly. This horse would be her
salvation, her ticket out of this place; it would make her passage back across
the Great Waste a very different scenario than it had been.
    “I don’t recall
orders from our commander about this visit,” came the commanding voice of a
soldier.
    Stara stood very
still, knowing they were talking about her.
    “Then I shall
take that up with your commander himself—and with my cousin, the King,” Fithe
replied confidently, standing next to her, sounding as convincing as ever.
    Stara knew he
was lying, and she knew what he was risking for her—and she was forever
grateful to him for it. Fithe had surprised her by being good to his word, by
doing everything in his power, as he had promised, to help her leave the Ridge,
to help her have a chance to go out there and find Reece, the man she loved.
    Reece. Stara’s
heart ached at the thought of him. She would leave this place, however safe it
was, would cross the Great Waste, cross oceans, cross the world, just for one
chance to tell him how much she loved him.
    As much as Stara
hated to put Fithe in jeopardy, she needed this. She needed to risk it all to
find the one she loved. She could not sit safely in the Ridge, no matter how
glorious and rich and safe, until she was reunited with Reece.
    The iron gates
to the platform creaked open, and Fithe took her arm, accompanying her, as she
wore her hood low, her disguise working. They stepped off the wooden platform
and onto the hard stone plateau atop the Ridge. A howling wind passed through,
strong enough to nearly knock her off balance, and she clutched the horse’s
mane, her heart pounding as she looked up and saw the vast expanse, the
craziness of what she was about to do.
    “Keep your head
down and your hood lowered,” Fithe whispered urgently. “If they see you, that
you are a girl, they will know you’re not meant to be up here. They will send
you back. Wait until we reach the far end of the ridge. There’s another
platform waiting to bring you down the other side. It will take you—and you
alone.”
    Stara’s breath
quickened as the two of them crossed the wide stone plateau, passing knights,
walking quickly, Stara keeping her head down, away from the prying eyes of
soldiers.
    Finally, they
stopped, and he whispered:
    “Okay. Look up.”
    Stara pulled
back her hood, her hair covered in sweat, and as she did, she was dazed by the
sight: two huge, beautiful suns, still red, rose up in the glorious desert
morning, the sky covered in a million shades of pinks and purples. It seemed as
if it were the dawn of the world.
    As she looked
out, she saw the entire Great Waste spread out before her, seeming to stretch
to the end of the world. In the distance there was the raging Sand Wall, and
despite herself, she looked straight down. She reeled from her fear of heights,
and she immediately wished she hadn’t.
    Down below, she
saw the steep