He sighs. “I figured you’d be asking for an introduction and already made inquiries. Don’t take this the wrong way, okay, but those I’ve spoken to so far refuse to meet with you. Free will, you know.”

    There’s a right way to take that? Talk about kicking a girl while she’s down. “How many still live?”

    “Not as many as you’d think. Once they experience the Rest, they are ready to go back. They aren’t exactly motivated to stick around.”

    Great! My odds of success are dwindling fast. “What happens when the resurrected die again?”

    “They reenter the Rest, and they are excluded from the next vote.”

    We pass through the arched doorway leading to the coliseum, where Levi and the others are waiting.

    “I still can’t believe I’m working with a General,” Victor says quietly. “While I trained with Messengers, I worked with a Leader. And really, you should be trained by the princess, and what an honor that would be, but—don’t tell anyone I said this—Levi is better. He’s stronger, smarter and in charge of our first line of defense. The fact that you’re working with him...that you’ll one day outrank him... I’m in awe.”

    There’s no time to respond. Not that I know what to say. I didn’t have a clue we’d been so highly honored.

    Clay and Meredith notice my poor condition and rush over to worry and demand answers. Elizabeth doesn’t reveal a hint of emotion, and I wonder...is she the owner of the board? Did she perform the hit-and-run?

    “Back in line,” Levi calls.

    With a wince and muttered apology, my friends return to their positions.

    He turns his scowl to me. “You’re late.” When he sees the Lifeblood soaking my top, he barks, “What happened?”

    I watch Elizabeth as I say, “I was attacked.”

    Her expression never wavers. If she’s the culprit, she expresses zero guilt or glee.

    Levi taps his palm, his keyboard glowing. “Why haven’t you had any manna? Why haven’t I received a medical report?”

    “I don’t have any manna on hand, and I didn’t visit a Healer.” I change the subject before he can insist I take time out to visit one. I’ll never risk being benched. “So where are Reed and Kayla?” My wingmen.

    “Elsewhere,” he says, and offers nothing more. “Why didn’t you visit a Healer?” He removes a necklace from his neck and tosses it my way. “They’re here to help you.”

    “I’m fine.” I catch the chain and find a vial of manna dangling from the end. “I’ll be fine.”

    “Whoever did this... I will find out, and I will ensure justice is done.” The fierceness of his tone... I shudder, kind of feeling sorry for the culprit now. “In the meantime, drink the manna, get the vial refilled after practice, and wear the necklace without fail in case something like this ever happens again.”

    I drain the contents and hang the now-empty vial from my neck. My wounds...fail to heal. Disappointment knocks at my door.

    Before Levi notices and decides to go ahead and send me to the Healer, I say, “Where’s Deacon?”

    “Out on assignment.” Levi’s gaze slides over me, his frown deepening. As if he sees something I don’t. “Have you decoded your Key?”

    Ugh! He has a one-track mind. “You know the answer. Why do you continue to ask?”

    Alejandro walks up behind him and pats him on the shoulder, but smiles at me. “He continues to ask so your determination to succeed will grow—or at least your determination to shout yes in his face so he’ll finally stop asking.”

    The two Generals shake hands and share a look of concern. For me?

    “Time to build your stamina,” Levi tells me. “Run around the columns until you collapse.”

    I hate building my stamina, but today I do it without complaint. I gotta get stronger. Gotta get tougher. I run and run, pushing myself to my limits.

    All the while Levi and Alejandro chat, and neither seems happy about what they are discussing. I wonder...has the Penumbra situation gotten worse?

    When I trip over my own foot, I force my attention to remain on the track. I run like the wind. A sickly, dying wind. To my consternation, my wounds continue leaking Lifeblood.

    Just like bodies, spirits sweat with exertion, and all too soon I’m drenched. My limbs burn and tremble, exhaustion settling in, but something amazing happens, too. The sticky film I noticed earlier finally fades. I don’t have the strength to hold on to my resentment about the attack—and that’s exactly what had adhered to me. Resentment. Levi must have seen it.

    My wounds heal at last, every hint of pain fading.

    Lesson learned. Resentment blocks the effects of manna. Emotions matter.

    I run another lap...and another. I’m certain I’m about to fall over when Meredith appears on the sidelines to cheer me on. Victor joins her, the two giving me a mental and physical boost. I make it another three laps. Clay throws water on my face, cooling me down, and I make it another two.

    Elizabeth stands in the distance, watching with thinly veiled dislike until Levi commands the entire group to follow me. Alejandro has left him in a bad mood.

    With my teammates around me, I run another lap...four...six...

    A thousand times, I want to give up, but there’s no way I’ll be the first to go down. A good soldier endures hardship, and that’s that. I will endure.

    “All right,” Levi finally calls. “Enough.”

    Still I run another lap. When I go for a second, my body screams, “That’s it, no more.” I collapse. Grass and dirt fill my mouth, but I’m too busy wheezing to care.