Chapter 30: Adelaide.

The buckets are filled to the brim with sand and not water when they are set in front of me. I knew it was foolish of me to think it would be water.

I raise my eyes to meet Cain's and the message in his is clear.

"You can always choose to give up."

I won't.

I grab the stick that has been attached to the handles of both buckets. They act like dumbbells now and I guess that is what they are after all. Weights to help me strengthen my body.

Lifting it and placing the stick across my shoulders proves difficult but I still do it. By the time it's settled firmly, my legs are shaking. Cain gestures with a jut of his chin.

"To the gardens and back. If you don't collapse then we can go further."

I'm shaking like a wet chicken with each step I take and soon I feel like dropping. There's a mind-bending ache lashing down the path of my spine and by the time I get to the garden, it's doubled. I do not drop the huge buckets.

I turn around and make my way back to the gates.

Cain is still s