Chapter 40

I smiled in what I hope was encouragement. "Yeah, it's a nick name. Tree, short for Trina. Trees are strong and mighty, like you." She shook her head, "I'm not very strong or mighty. I watched the people fighting outside every day, I can't do that. We lived peacefully, we didn't need fighters." "How about I teach you," I offered. "I can train you, teach you how to fight, how to take care of yourself." She looked at me, her eyes full of something I hadn't seen in them before. Hope, determination. "I want to make them pay, the wolves that killed them, my family." I wanted to tell her we'd do just that but I wouldn't lie to her. I'm trying to get her to trust me. "I can't promise you revenge on those to hurt you, but I can offer you something else. If you train and work hard you can become good enough to train other people. You can teach them how to take care of themselves so that what happened to your family and your community won't hap