“She’s....” Wryan rasped. “She’s probably on the other side of the ocean by now. I took her...I took her to Magoth.”
“Magoth?” Asterious released Wyran at the word, because if he knew if he didn’t let go, he was going to kill him. “It’s taking every bit of strength I possess to keep from tearing you apart right now.”
Wryan huddled on the floor, grasping at his neck as he wheezed out the words. “Now remember, Asterious, that’s not you talking.”
“Oh, but it is. This time, it is very much me. Push me one inch further, Wryan, and I’ll end you here.” Asterious leaned down to grab Wryan by the shirt collar and pulled his face to his. “When did her ship leave? And to where?”
Wyran croaked out the words between coughs, his fearful gaze cutting into Asterious. “I…I don’t know. I didn’t ask. The ship was preparing to leave as I got there. They were just some smugglers. Said something about taking women for the Spires? I don’t know for sure, I just took the money and left.”
“The money? Yousoldher, you fucking bastard?” His breath was shaking. He yearned for the weight of a sword in his hand so that he could run it through Wryan right there. It’d be much cleaner that way. But his bare hands would still do the job just fine. “My curse is your mercy. Because without it, I would kill you right now.”
He could scarcely believe the words coming out of his own mouth. But he would have to deal with Wryan later. Because he couldn’t afford to lose control now. Because now, only one thingwas worth pursuing, no matter what it may cost him. He couldn’t let a moment more pass without knowing she was safe.
He flung Wyran down, ripped the door from its hinges, and departed into the shadows without looking back. “To hell with you, and to hell with this kingdom! I’ll stop at nothing until I find her.”
39
A High Price
Caramyn
As the ship docked, Caramyn’s bones shuddered as the ship groaned through the icy shallow water. With dread gripping her heart, she watched the prisoners as the crew forced them to their feet.
Her head whipped around, looking for Brenn, but she caught no sight of him. She clutched the withering Blood Briar petals ferociously, praying they still retained their potency.
Her heart pounded and twisted as a calloused crewman appeared at her side, undoing her shackles to offboard her with the rest of the captives. When she resisted, the back of his hand met her face. She managed to keep her footing against the blow,and pressed a hand against her bruised cheek as she looked up at the man through reddened, vengeful eyes. Her breath shortened, and she pulled her hand from her face, ashamed of herself for showing him even an instance of weakness. And then she spat on him.
The man reached for her and raised his hand to strike her a second time, but a voice approaching made him pause.
“Wait! Stop!”
It was Brenn. He was panting as though he’d just finished dealing with something urgent. Rushing to the man’s side, he uttered his words between heaving breaths.
“She’s barely recovered! If you damage her, you’ll cost the captain,” he hissed. “Since I am her medic, I was instructed to see her to the bidding grounds. You are relieved of your duty here.” Brenn held an unwavering gaze on the man, who reluctantly turned away after an intense stare down.
As Brenn tended to Caramyn and pretended to chain her wrists together, he leaned forward so that she could hear the words he whispered under his breath. “I got what you asked for.” And then he slipped a tiny vile of seawater into her hands. She quickly added the petals and then snapped the plug back on.
He made it appear as though she was still bound, but really, he’d left her shackles unlocked as he led her up to the deck of the longboat.
The searing sunlight on the white snow-capped mountains almost blinded her after two days in the dark belly of the ship. But the sun’s warmth on her dry, frigid skin was a welcome sensation.
At the docks, where the black water froze into jagged panes along the shore, a small settlement awaited. Towering above it, the mountains rose sheer and merciless, their snowy peaks vanishing into a sky perpetually choked with ash-colored cloud. No road led in, and none led out. The only access point was thenarrow throat of the fjord itself, hemmed by cliffs so steep and slick with ice that it would be impossible to escape from here even if she could run.
A scattering of tents huddled against the wind, their hides stiffened by frost and smoke. Between them, a crude market sprawled across the frozen ground. Splintered tables, bone-carved trinkets, slabs of salted meat traded in silence by figures wrapped head to toe in furs. Caramyn found her body trembling uncontrollably, desperate for warmth, and could only imagine if it was already this brutally cold down here, what chance would she stand against the elements further up into the Spires?
At the center of it all lay the bidding ground—a ring of trampled snow and dirt, and a few charred fire stains. Voices rose from around the ring, mostly of men naming their prices for the women who stood in the midst of it all. Women stood rigid in the cold, eyes forward, as brooding, towering men examined them like livestock.
The crew began lining up the women they’d brought from the ship at the entrance of this bidding ring. And she was part of the inventory.
“Run as soon as you have a chance.” Brenn whispered, hardly moving his lips as they stepped off the pier. Caramyn gave a subtle nod, but deep down, she didn’t have the faintest idea where she could even go. She would die in this place without shelter and warmth. But better to freeze to death than be caged as some man’s pet bird.
Then she saw her—a young girl, barely a teenager—standing amongst the group. She was different, her skin the deep tan of the arid desert lands far across the sea and her hair like smooth raven’s feathers. She might’ve been from Gahmea, a prominent kingdom of sand and sun. Her terrified brown eyes met Caramyn’s for a moment, and like the girl’s on the ship, they haunted her. She looked away, sickened at the thought of theseyoung girls forced to this desolate, cruel place, and desperate to distract herself from this unfolding nightmare she could not stop.
“Have you ever been here before?” Caramyn asked Brenn, eyeing the meager tents and rune jewelry.
“Just once. Briefly.” Brenn didn’t turn around but slowed his pace as he lagged behind the rest of the group. Then he gave her a nudge. “Whenever you’re ready, run. Maybe if you can hide out long enough you can catch another ship that comes in and stowaway.”
Not a bad plan, Caramyn thought. She ripped her hands from the chains and ducked away, running for her life in the opposite direction towards another unknown fate, but hopefully better than this one.
