Free The Warrior (The Rebellion) by Jordan Magera

Barst put the equipment into one of the lockers against the wall. As he went to stand in line for the mage to heal him, all the fighters moved to the side to let him go first. He nodded his thanks and began showing the Legion his wounds.
     
    Thanks to his career, he had been healed many times in the past and the feeling wasn't a new one. Ice seemed to shift through his veins, congregating around the area of his wounds. The chill became more intense, until it vanished along with Bart's wounds
     
    After being healed and receiving a new uniform, Barst walked to the mess hall where the rest of the team was sitting around tables talking. They all looked up when he entered, wondering where he would choose to sit. Ignoring their gazes, Barst scanned the room until he found Frank sitting alone in the corner. He felt the eyes of all the men follow him as he walked through the table and sat across from Frank.
     
    "I didn’t know hope was such a strong feeling." Frank murmured, focused on picking at the edge of the table with his fingernail.
     
    Barst smiled "Neither did I, but it does feel good."
     
    "Don't you feel terrible for killing all those men? Every time I kill I usually have to throw up. I hate myself every time."
     
    Barst focused himself on Frank "I do feel bad, but this time it's different. I saved dozens of lives and that helps me manage what I did."
     
    "Not even the faintest tinge of guilt?" Frank was now looking in Barst’s eyes, searching for truth.
     
    Barst focused inward and weighed his answer, "I didn't like killing, but for once I felt that I did it for a purpose."
     
    Frank looked back down, "I don’t have one of those.”
     
    "What?"
     
    "A purpose."
     
    Barst nodded "The n maybe its time to find one."
     
    While Frank thought about that, Barst scanned the room. A few workers were putting up some sort of plank against the wall, and delicious smells were beginning to spread from the kitchen. Some of the team was beginning to congregate to the window that looked over the arena. It was almost time to see how good the Eronde's team really was.
     
    Barst pushed his chair away from the table and went to an empty window. A few glances were thrown his way, but for the most part the men were focused on the arena. The two teams weren't out yet so Barst used the time to take his first look at the crowd.
     
    Unlike normal arena seats, there were no bleachers for the casual spectator. Instead, there were rows of plush chairs that provided the viewers with optimum comfort. The whole crowd barely exceeded four hundred people, but that was probably because all the spectators were here by Lord Barkley's personal invitation.
     
    The lord himself wasn't hard to find. A small balcony extended over the arena. In the middle of this balcony sat a robed man reclining in an immensely cushioned chair. Barst couldn't discern the man's details from where he stood, but he looked fairly muscled and well built. To the man's left sat what Barst believed to be his wife who had a shade over her chair. The man, who could be no other than Lord Barkley, kept leaning to his right, where another man sat, and talking into that man's ear. The man would either nod or laugh at Lord Barkley's comments, which gave Barst the impression he was either the Lord's advisor or friend.
     
    Two lines of servants stood behind the Lord attending to his and his wife's whims. Barst studied this scene for a while, observing the stark contrast between the lord's and his own lifestyle, until the crowd began to applaud at the entrance of the two teams.
    Barst's eyes sifted through Moren's team first, trying to get an overall impression. They all seemed rather competent, but, like his team, they all seemed to have either to little experience or too much. Barst then moved on to Eronde's team, who all seemed to be in their prime. He recognized the insolent big man, Throun if he recalled correctly, who he had seen fight in the arena not one week ago. Just