Page 153 of Sword & Sacrifice

Before she could ask what he meant, something pricked her side. She tried to twist in his grip to see what had happened, but the strength quickly drained from her. Her eyes drifted shut and even without seeing the evidence, she understood what had happened—they’d given her a dose of Liquid Sleep.

The last thing she heard before she slipped into sleep’s bitter embrace was: “Let’s take you home.”

Chapter Five

Liquid Sleep was a tricky drug with lingering side-effects if used in the wrong amount. Emmaline had studied it as part of her medic training and knew that dry mouth, headaches, nausea, and exhaustion could last for a full day afterwards. So when she woke up with only mild grogginess, she concluded that her kidnappers understood the proper dosage, which meant she wasn’t their first victim.

She peeled her eyes open to try to orient herself to her surroundings. Unlike when she’d woken in the cellar, her wrists and ankles were unbound. A light, scratchy blanket twisted around her body, trapping one arm at her side, but after a little wiggling she managed to throw it off. The bed she lay on was hard, the mattress thinner than the bedroll she used when camping. The room was cramped, barely big enough to house the bed and a wooden trunk at the foot of it.

She glanced at the door, sizing up the lock. Can I break it like I broke the cell lock? If she was lucky, she could escape before anyone realized she was awake.

When she stood up, the whole room rocked beneath her. Unsteady, she fell back onto the bed with a small “Oof.”

The door opened immediately, and Rafe leaned against the frame. “Good, you’re awake.”

She scowled up at him. “Where am I?” And why is it ‘good’ that I’m awake?

“On the Merino.”

She frowned in confusion, then realized that the rocking beneath her meant she was on a ship. “Where are you taking me?”

“Home.”

She stood up again, this time braced for the ship’s movement. “I live in the mountains; you can’t get there by ship.”

Rafe shrugged. “Different home.”

Both of Emmaline’s homes were in the Desalore Mountains, one in the foothills, one at the top of Mount Bastepe. What other ‘home’ could he mean? “You have the wrong person,” she said. “I don’t know who you believe I am, but I demand you release me at once.”

Rafe idly scratched his stubbly cheek and said, “Sorry, princess, not gonna happen.”

She latched onto the title immediately. “I’m not a princess! I’m not royalty, or nobility, or anyone important. My name is Emmaline Orestes, and I’m a medic. That’s all.”

As she spoke, Rafe’s lips twitched in amusement, until he finally released a soft chuckle. “Sorry, my fault. I only meant princess as an endearment, since you look so cute with your brow furrowed and your cheeks puffed up as you try to order me around. No matter how cute you are, I only take orders from the captain.”

“Then let me speak with your captain.” She needed to clear up the misunderstanding, to prove she wasn’t a valuable captive. Her first thought was to have him return her to land, but then something else occurred to her. Would he agree to take me to Litus?

Some Arnsveldians still followed the old faiths, with gods who ruled over the land and sky, life and death, and everything in-between. Archer’s mother often prayed to the gods of fate and fortune, though if they ever existed, they’d never helped Arnsveld. Mama never worshipped any specific god, but she had told Emmaline that some mages believed magic came from traces of the gods’ presence in their world.

Had the god of fate seen Emmaline’s plight and sent her a boon?

“Don’t worry, we’re already taking you to him,” Rafe explained. Then he gestured for her to follow.

He’s not going to keep me locked in this room? She started to follow him, then paused to open the trunk. Inside were both her bag and her mother’s. A cursory examination showed that everything remained inside, even her meager gold. Why did they leave it with me?

Rafe waited for her to catch up. He stood tall and steady even as the ship swayed beneath him. When Emmaline stepped wrong and almost fell, he grabbed her elbow to hold her upright.

A ‘thank you’ hovered on Emmaline’s tongue, but she swallowed it down. Saving her from tripping did not warrant her thanks after he had dragged her onto this ship against her will.

“So, Em—can I call you Em?”

She ignored him as she examined the ship. It was smaller than she expected. She’d imagined something crewed by a hundred men. From where she stood, she only counted three others, though perhaps there were more out of sight.

“How old are you?”

In the distance, she saw the outline of the shore. Although she could daydream about the captain delivering her to her destination faster than she’d reach it on her own, she needed to think practically as well. Escaping now, when she could still see land, would be the better option.

“What’s your family like? Mother and father? Any siblings?”