Page 157 of Sword & Sacrifice

Everett held up a hand to halt her plea. “I have my pride, girl, but I’ll readily admit that I’m no match for Alistair. Even Valerian has bested me before, and if he’s under Alistair’s control, I don’t know how I can help.”

Despair welled up inside her, trying to smother her hope. She forced it back down until she almost choked while swallowing it. Her voice was rough when she spoke again. “Then take me to Litus.”

Some emotion flickered in his eyes too quick for her to identify. “We’ve finally met, and you want to leave already?”

All the dreams and fantasies Emmaline had of her father couldn’t hold up to her real memories and love for her mother. “Mama is the most important person to me. If you can’t save her, I’ll find someone who can.”

Everett went back to fiddling with the letter opener, twirling it faster and faster until he finally stabbed it into his desk. “Do you know where your mother is?”

She shook her head. “I know they were last at Causley Estate, but they escaped before the constable’s search party arrived. I don’t know what direction they went.”

He swore and scratched the letter opener over the wood, leaving faint marks behind. “Then I guess we’ll just have to find her.”

Hope swelled in Emmaline’s heart once more. She stepped forward and took both of her father’s calloused hands in hers, squeezing them tightly. “Do you mean it?”

“I have a few contacts who might know what Alistair is planning.” Gazing down at Emmaline, he raised one hand to brush a thumb along her cheek, tracing the lines of her face that were so similar to her mother’s.

Who is he seeing right now? Me or Mama?

“I’ll get Adelaide back,” he whispered.

Emmaline wasn’t sure which one of them he made that promise to.

Chapter Seven

Emmaline stood on the ship’s deck, hugging herself around the middle. The wind whipped her hair and skirts about her. Water surrounded her on all sides, as far as the eye could see. Her father’s promise to keep her safe didn’t reassure her. Would she still trust him if they were on land? If anyone else could help her? Unease mixed with her resolve, fouling the joy she should have felt at finally finding an ally to save her mother.

“Seasick?”

Her lips pursed as she glanced at Rafe from the corner of her eye. He crossed his arms on the rail, gaze locked on the horizon.

She didn’t want to talk to him. Even if he was only following her father’s orders, he still drugged her, kidnapped her, and hauled her onto this ship against her will. That wasn’t the type of man she wanted to associate with.

A few minutes passed in silence. Then he stuck one hand in his pocket and pulled out a small twist of paper. “Here, this helped me during my first sea voyage. I still need them sometimes.” He held it out to her, waiting for her to take it.

Ingrained manners had Emmaline reaching for the gift, an unconscious ‘thank you’ halfway to her lips before she caught herself. She jerked away and clasped both hands behind her back, glaring at him. “I’m not taking anything from you.”

“Suit yourself,” he said, no trace of disappointment or alarm in his expression. He untwisted the paper and popped a small amber candy into his mouth. The sweet scent of ginger filled the air as he rolled the candy with his tongue. “I’ll leave you to your nausea and musings, princess.” He sauntered away before she could protest the title.

Staring out at the water wasn’t helping at all. It only made the distance between her and her mother seem insurmountable. Emmaline decided to go below deck to check in with her father. As she walked, an odd weight pressed against her leg. The purse she carried with her was much heavier than it should be. Confused, she opened it to look inside and found several paper twists, completely obscuring everything else. She poured them into her hand, startled when dozens fell into her palm, overflowing onto the deck.

How did he manage that? One or two pieces she could understand—he could have simply slipped them into the opening—but here had to be at least fifty candies in her purse.

When they’d met, Rafe claimed to be a wandering mage. Was that more than a simple lie to lower my guard?

Despite her anger at the man who’d gifted her the candy—if meddling with her purse could be called a gift—Emmaline couldn’t bring herself to throw them all into the sea. Ginger didn’t grow very well in Arnsveld’s mountain climate. Her mother rarely used it in potions or spells because of the high importing fees. Not to mention the amount of sugar in the candies, another precious ingredient.

I’ll put them to better use than he did, Emmaline decided, slipping all of them back into her purse. How many are you supposed to eat to suppress seasickness? How long does he think I’ll be on this ship?

She closed her purse, double tying the string, and hurried to her father’s cabin, hoping to hear some news on her mother. She knocked on the door, shifting from foot to foot as she waited for him to answer.

“Come in.”

“Have you heard anything from your contacts yet?” she demanded before she even had the door fully open.

Everett set a quill down and stood to greet her. “Emmaline, how are you settling in?”

I don’t want to ‘settle in’, I want to find my mother! She swallowed the rude words and replied, “Fine, thank you.”