Flashback ( PDFDrive )

face. Her lips.
Her stomach heaved and she gagged, but somewhere deep in the
back of her consciousness, the rational part of her was shouting that
something didn’t fit.
She’d stabbed a dummy.
There couldn’t be blood.
That realization helped her focus past the bile coating her tongue,
picking up a sweet, familiar flavor.
“YOU RIGGED IT WITH LUSHBERRY JUICE?” she shouted as
her vision cleared enough to note the look on Sandor’s face.
His eyes shone with guilt—but his jaw was set with determination.
“Like I said,” he told her, “I made sure these lessons felt real.”
“WHY WOULD YOU—”
“Because this isn’t a game!” he snapped.
“You think I don’t know that?” She pointed to her sling. “You think I’m
doing this for fun?”
“No. But I think you’ve lost sight of what you’re truly attempting.
You’re stepping into uncharted territory, both for you and for your
species. And you seem to think you’ll be able to handle it because
you’re angry. But emotion won’t overrule your instincts—and the
battlefield isn’t the place to discover that violence is too much for
you.”
“The battle is coming for me whether I want to fight or not!”
Sophie argued.
“I know. I’m not saying you shouldn’t be training. But I need you to
truly understand the reality of what you’re attempting, both so you
treat it with the respect and responsibility it requires, and so you’re