Free EXALTED (An Exalted Novel) by Tara Elizabeth Page A

roommate. Val sits on her bed with her arms crossed. She’s ready to scold me like a mother does a naughty toddler—even I remember those days. “Where were you? You could have gotten in trouble, you know? I should report you.”
    Confessing everything to Val briefly passes through my mind, but almost instantly, I dismiss that idea. I don’t have any of the answers I know she will surely ask, and I won’t get them because the one who can give them to me is probably dead. Instead, I tell her something equally outlandish since I can’t seem to come up with anything else. All the while she’s boring her glacial stare into my brain. I say to her, “When that siren sounded earlier, it made me jump. I wasn’t expecting it. I actually tripped over a tree root and knocked myself out. Look.” I point to my scraped ankle. “When I came to, no one was around. I knew it was past curfew, so I hurried back as quickly as possible.”
    She must believe my insane tale because she walks over to bathroom and pulls out a first aid kit from the bottom vanity drawer. “Here. You should probably get that cleaned up and wear longer socks tomorrow so no one notices.” She hands me the medical box and goes back to her bed without another word about my tardiness.
    “Thanks,” I whisper.
    I feel terrible about all the lies I’ve been telling her, but I don’t know what else to do.  I don’t want her to report me. I also don’t want her to get into trouble for knowing things she shouldn’t know. After turning away from my dozing friend, I slip in the bathroom, take a quick shower, disinfect my scrape, and get ready for bed.
    Val is asleep by the time I crawl into my stiff bed. I lie on my back and stare at the ceiling of my tiny cell. It seems to creep down on me, dropping an inch for every day that I don’t take one of the Republic’s purple pills.
    My feelings for the Republic are so conflicted. While the Republic has always been my sole reason for existence, it’s now become suffocating.
    Eventually sleep takes me, temporarily granting me a reprieve from my haunting dream. I have no thoughts of the Trials, the Republic, Ethan, Val, Kinah, Az, or the possible death of the Exalted marauder. There’s nothing.
    Until . . .

FOURTEEN
     
    Panic fills me as I try to force my father to take me off his broad shoulders. He marches alongside the never-ending wall in my dream. I scream at him and kick him in the sides, but he is stronger than me. He keeps walking without pause. The rage in my tiny body engulfs me. I want out! I want over the wall!
    I scream, “Let me out!”
    “Mena! Mena!” I wake to Val shaking me. The nightmare seems more real now that I don’t live in a drug-induced haze.
    “Sorry!” I tell my friend. I don’t have any more excuses for Val. I avoid her and duck into the bathroom before she can question me about my outburst.
    After brushing my teeth, splashing a little water on my face, and dressing in my dreary clothes, I head out for the morning run. Val has already left without me.
    Outside in the fresh air, I push my legs as fast as they will go. As I pass the other trainees—including Val—I relish in the fact that my body feels so light since the withdrawals have stopped. The sky is bluer, the trees are greener, and I am in awe of their beauty. The beauty of the day quickly dissolves my bad mood. Because I am so far ahead of everyone else, I let my mouth rejoice and turn up to the new day’s sun.
    I continue to push thoughts of last night’s frightening events and this morning’s dream to the back of my mind and enjoy the present. My body is a well-oiled machine and is invigorated by the easy five mile run.
    After the run, I shower and then head straight to breakfast before Val has even returned. She wasn’t far behind me though. Storm clouds quickly darken my mood again when she sits down across from me. She silently waits for me to explain what happened this morning. I try not to look at her. She