Total pages in book: 82
Estimated words: 76583 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 383(@200wpm)___ 306(@250wpm)___ 255(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 76583 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 383(@200wpm)___ 306(@250wpm)___ 255(@300wpm)
It’s a stranger, no more than ten paces away from me, and far too close to make me comfortable. The man is a peasant from the look of things, with a scraggly graying beard and weathered clothing. His face is lined and deeply tanned, and when he leers at me, he’s missing a few teeth. “Aren’t you pretty.”
“My thanks,” I say, though I’m not thankful at all. Then, I put my lying skills to work. I crane my head, trying to peek over his shoulder. “Did you pass my husband? He was just here.”
“No one here on this beach but you and me and the boys,” he says, taking another step towards me.
I take a step backward, still clutching my skirts. The boys? I scan the shore quickly and sure enough, there are two other grown men—both larger than I am—watching from nearby, their eyes covetous. I’m a woman alone, which is problematic…but I’m also dressed in what’s clearly a slave garment.
“You’re wrong,” I correct, keeping my tone cheerful. “I’m positive my husband is nearby. You’d know if you saw him. He’s a sea-ogre, and quite a fierce one.”
“That his turtle?”
“Yes it is.” I’m relieved they noticed, though I’d prefer if Akara came out of the water and chased these men off. They’re making me uncomfortable.
Or she could eat them. Truly, I wouldn’t mind that either.
“Call for him,” the bearded man says, and there’s a gleam in his eyes I don’t like. “If he’s nearby, I’m sure he’ll answer.”
I haven’t seen Ranan since I stepped onto the beach, though. He keeps avoiding me as if he hates me, and I don’t know what to do about it. I’m not sure how sea-ogres treat their wives normally but surely better than this? I don’t have any authority to complain, though, and so I’ve ignored it. But my heart sinks as the man takes another step towards me.
If I call for Ranan and there’s no answer, these men are going to snatch me…or worse.
“RANAN,” I yell, as loud as I can.
We wait. I hold my breath, hoping for his crested head to appear. There’s no response, though, and as the moments slide quietly past, my anxiety rises.
The bearded man glances behind me. “Jos, ready the boat. Kep, you know what to do.”
Rough hands grab my arms, and I drop my shells to the sands, screaming.
Chapter
Seven
RANAN
“RANAN.”
The woman screams my name, and I fight back a surge of irritation as I swim through the waters of the cove, back toward where I left her. I went up and down the coast, looking for a human settlement. The hut near the water’s edge made me think there would be a city nearby, but all I’ve seen are a few rude farms that look far too poor to take on another mouth to feed, and a few travelers—all male—that eye me as if they’d like to rob me.
I can’t leave the woman with them. They’ll have her on her back before my back is turned. And while she irritates me, she also prayed to the gods that I would save her, and I’m loath to put her back in the same position. There has to be a place I can leave her safely. An inn of some kind, or a shop. Somewhere where I can give her a few necklaces to sell and send her on her way.
But when I find nothing, I head back to the water’s edge and slip into the waves so I can think. The sea always helps me clear my thoughts, and as I swim through the rolling blue waters, a large fish moves past, a fish much larger than should be in these waters. It reminds me of the human woman and her vow to offer a sacrifice to the god Vor.
She wants to thank him for bringing her to me.
I don’t know what to make of that. I’ve treated her badly ever since she arrived and yet she still wants to thank the gods. Her situation must have been terrible for her to enjoy my company. I think of how she was chained with the other slaves, how she’d mentioned that she was going to end up in a brothel, and I feel a twinge of guilt. What happens if I leave her on the shore to her own devices?
But I can’t be responsible for her, I tell myself. She doesn’t belong with me. What happens to her after we part ways is in the hands of the fates.
Even so, I follow the large fish and make note of where it dives when it heads into the reefs, just in case I come after it later. If she doesn’t have a chance to make her sacrifice to Lord Vor, I’ll make it on her behalf, I decide. It’s the least I can do.