EPIC: Fourteen Books of Fantasy Read Free Page B

pies?” whispered her mother.
    Sara froze. “I—oh no, I forgot, Mother. I got caught up in some things.”
    “Games with your friends?” her mother said happily. She desperately wanted Sara to have a normal life. A normal sense of identity. But that had long since gone.  
    “Yes, with my friends, Ma,” Sara said as she leaned back against the wall. She didn’t want to lie. But she didn’t want to tell her the truth, either.
    My friends deserted me the moment my family lost prominence , Sara thought bitterly, Every last one of them at the fighters’ school wouldn’t give me a nod or speak to me anymore.
    Sara knew that wasn’t entirely fair. After all, it was she that avoided the gladiatorial halls after her father’s execution, but neither had they made an attempt to see her outside of the school walls. She hadn’t seen hide nor hair of any of her former friends in months. It stung.
    Her mother nodded, then moved over to sit on the bench. She patted the space beside her for Sara to seat herself and they ate a dinner of peas and fresh-caught fish in silence.
    As she finished her meal, Sara asked politely, “The bread is for the morning sales?”
    Her mother nodded. “The baker was kind enough to let me fill some orders for him on the wharf in the morning. It should be a good day. I can get five to ten shillings for that. If I give him two shillings for acquiring the permit, we can keep the rest.”
    Sara didn’t say anything to that. Five or ten shillings would make a difference in whether or not they kept a roof over their head. But it would only stretch so far.
    Sara nodded. “May I be excused?”
    “Yes,” said her mother, “but one moment, Sara.”
    Sara looked at her mother patiently.
    “I don’t want you out on the streets. Getting into fights. It’s not good for you.”
    “I wasn’t in a fight.”
    “Don’t you lie to me, Sara Fairchild,” her mother said. “Your father tried the same thing. I could see through him just as I can see through you now.”
    “Well, Father lied about a lot of things,” Sara snapped as she stood up abruptly and rushed away.
    Only the quiet gasp of her mother behind her halted her retreat. The greatest fighter in Sandrin was barely able to control the emotions that rushed through her. Only her family could get her this worked up with just a conversation.  
    Sara laughed bitterly. Only my mother could ever make me retreat in a battle .
    Slowly she exhaled and unclenched her fists.
    Turning, Sara said, “That was wrong of me, Mother. I’m sorry.”
    Her mother shook her head. “I just want you to be safe, Sara.”
    “I am safe. I’m the best fighter in this city. I tested out of all the grade levels at the fighter’s academy and I’ve never been bested in a duel.”
    Her mother bit her lip as she looked at Sara wistfully. “Your father said the very same thing to me when we started courting.”
    Sara stared back at her. “What did you say to him then?”
    Her mother whispered the words to her: “That I’d never forgive myself if he died before I did.”
    Sara felt a tumult of emotions rise up in her chest.
    Her mother shook her head sadly. “He made me a promise then and there to end the fights. He knew how much our life together meant to me. That’s why he became a commander in the empress’s army. He was supposed to be safe . With hundreds of soldiers between him and his fiercest opponent. Instead, he became his own worst enemy.”
    There was nothing Sara could say to that. It was true.
    But she knew what her mother wanted to hear.
    “I’ll be careful. I’ll be safe. No more fights,” she whispered to her mother.
    Her mother nodded her head in thanks.
    Sara cleared her throat and said a sentence it pained her to say. “Tomorrow I’m going to the fisherman’s district. To see if I can find a job as a fishwife.”
    Hope and sorrow warred in her mother’s eyes. Sara was the best fighter in the city. She could best anyone she came up against.