He had minimal time left until the Conjugation. Amaris’s safety was a pressing matter. Duncaster, missing persons, and pirates could wait.
Chapter 30
Amaris
Amaris reclined inthe brass tub, absorbing the bubbles from Adelaide’s inventory of soaps as the warm water soothed her chilled body. As she dragged a rag over herself, the warmth released the tension she held in her muscles. She dipped beneath the surface. Her hair stretched through the water, and she combed through the tangled tendrils.
With jitters regaining their hold, she stepped from the tub. Her gaze swept the ground, avoiding the haunting reflection awaiting her. Mirrors had been a constant battle. She’d avoided them, taking only small glances to fix the occasional stray hair.
As she reached for her towel, she caught sight of something out of her periphery. What she spotted in the mirror wasn’t the woman she’d feared she’d find. Her cheeks weren’t sunken, nor were her eyes puffy balls of gloom. Brightness spread across her full cheeks. She dared a step closer to the mirror, hovering a finger over the small pink scar on her cheekbone. Forever she’d carry the reminder of what Derek had done to her.
She extended her scarred hand out before her. Similar tiny scars littered her knuckles, and her spiral welt was almost gone. The rapid healing ofher hand shouldn’t have been possible, but each day, her stiffness waned and her strength returned. Amaris had never seen the healing timeline for a flogging injury, but she’d guessed Theodoric had experienced a similar rapid healing. He’d been on his feet for a week now and only grimaced once at breakfast. It seemed a remarkable feat.
She brushed away the curious thought for later and emerged from the bathroom. She padded on bare feet through Adelaide’s room, wrapped in only a towel, stepping over clothes, weapons, and what she was hoping was only moldy food. Water followed in her wake, leaving small droplets on the floor.
Adelaide had already donned her dress, and her makeup was perfection. She was only missing her mask. Her hair was released from its tightly wound ponytail. Its glossy shine spread through the straight, dark strands, appearing to have a blue hue. She wore an elegant long-sleeved gown, black of course, hugging her hips. The neckline plunged to the bottom of her ribcage.
Amaris almost didn’t recognize her. She even wore eyeliner and red tint on her lips. In all her time with her, Amaris had never seen Adelaide wear any makeup.
“You look wonderful,” Amaris admired.
Adelaide raised a seductive brow. “I know.” Then she smirked. “I have your dress.”
“Oh great,” Amaris said, full of sarcasm.
“I must say, I’m impressed with Esaias.”
Amaris tried to imagine what waited for her. Judging by Adelaide’s gown, she was even more terrified of the possible revealing nature. She had a feeling they both had different meanings of the wordmodest.
“Here it is.”
Amaris turned, expecting to find a flimsy piece of fabric. What Adelaide held in her hands wasn’t flimsy at all, but an extravagant gown. It was a cream-colored tulle dress decorated with red roses, connected bydark vines. Lace outlined the sweetheart neckline and plunged past the shoulders to form three-quarter lace sleeves.
“Holy shit,” Amaris breathed.
There were few words to describe its sheer beauty. She wanted to hold it and most definitely wear it. She stepped in, and Adelaide assisted with lacing the corset built into the bodice, tightening the strings, while still allowing Amaris to breathe. The dress hugged and outlined her waist before spilling out into a bouncy skirt trailing to the floor.
“Shall we go over the plan once more?” Adelaide asked.
They’d gone over the adrenaline-inducing stunt every day, and Amaris still found her palms growing sweaty with the fear of getting caught. She also wasn’t thrilled with the idea of sharing a boat with Esaias for days. The worst part was the twinge in her chest that the discussion brought. As the night of anticipation had loomed closer, it’d only grown. It felt as if a rubber band had wrapped around her and slowly squeezed each day.
Amaris had lost track of time, but she guessed she’d been gone over a month now. It was hardly any time at all, but it felt as if she’d been gone a lifetime. Thrown into a new world, kidnapped, near-death experiences, and being whipped, all with the threat that she’d be sent to a prison that was apparently worse than any nightmare she could concoct.
She’d been so preoccupied with trying to escape that she’d barely contemplated what to expect or if she could even make it back. Esaias was to take her to Duncaster, but from there, she had to figure something out to find the tree in the woods or even venture to Charibert. She hadn’t told them of either destination, fearful of their questions. How could she explain it?
Please drop me off at the nearest willow tree.It didn’t make any logical sense.
Thankfully, they were setting her up with some money, which she planned to use to hitch a ride on a ship if necessary. When Theodoric had handed her the small silver and gold coins, she’d wanted to shove theminto his palm and force him to take them back. She wasn’t scared for the journey, having already accomplished the impossible, traveling through space, but she feared what she would be going home to. If Derek had hit her once, would he do it again?
Amaris twisted the band of her engagement ring, the single ruby sparkling in the rays coming through the window from the setting sun. Theodoric hadn’t brought up what they’d shared, and she hadn’t found the courage either.
How did he hold himself up after what happened? Amaris was falling apart at the seams because Derek hit her once. Theodoric had been tortured. Even through his anguish as he’d poured his trauma out to her, he’d still wanted to protect her and had offered a different life.
What if I stayed?It felt incredibly selfish, but maybe that was what happened to some missing persons. They fell through a magical portal and woke up in a different world.
“At midnight tonight, most everyone will be too drunk to walk straight. Esaias will take you out to the beach. As everyone believes he’s escorting Ann Lawson, no one will think anything of it. They’ll think you two are attempting to find someplace private.”
“Are you sure you can ready the boat yourself?” Amaris asked. “What if someone finds you?” After all she’d heard and seen, she wouldn’t fuck with Adelaide, but she wasn’t that familiar with anyone’s actual fighting abilities. For all she knew, Adelaide could be mediocre.
