Chapter 16
IbrOS
Sonah pulled up her knees and rubbed her sore wrists against her breeches. She glared over at the soldiers sitting around the fire they’d built a few minutes ago while she’d been trying to loosen her bindings.
It was bad enough Xoran’s men had trussed her up similarly after surprising her and Lerek when they’d fled Sparta. To be caught again—this time by Heylisia’s ruthless Rivermen—really chafed at Sonah’s frazzled nerves.
And both times she’d been in the company of a man she’d thought might prove helpful, but in the end was no help at all.
Sonah was sick of waiting for a man to help her.
Eyeing the group of soldiers laughing now and eating—rudely not offering her any—Sonah rubbed her hidden wrists together, fraying the rope little by little.
She winced when the friction cut into her wrists and made them raw and bloody but she kept on.
Heart pounding, she muttered under her breath, willing the rope to split faster.
A lifetime later, Sonah gasped when the last of the rope gave and she looked over at the Rivermen, now settling down after their meal.
One soldier, the one who had dragged her kicking and screaming to this place, had long since left the circle of men for gods-knew-where and hadn’t returned.
Sonah would have to be vigilant when she escaped, so as not to run into him.
That left the seven soldiers bedding down near the fire.
Wiggling her legs, she groaned. They’d fallen asleep while she’d struggled with the rope. She cried out, then bit her tongue to stop herself. Sonah winced at the taste of copper in her mouth. Pins and needles overwhelmed her legs as they came back to life.
“Here,” a deep voice said out of the darkness, and Sonah gasped, flinching back. Her head smacked against the birch tree behind her and she glared up at the offending male standing over her. When she saw it was the same soldier who’d captured her, she groaned.
He grinned, holding a bowl out to her. Keeping her hands hidden within her lap, she watched him through narrowed eyes as he crouched at her side, setting the bowl near her hip.
The soldier motioned with one of his hands—his fingers long and elegant for such a dirty shit—and Sonah edged away.
“Are you afraid of me?”
Sonah lifted her chin. “I am not.”
He arched a dark eyebrow at her.
“You are a Riverman?”
“Aye.”
“Why are you here? In Ibros, I mean. Aren’t you supposed to be somewhere in Heylisia? Patrolling the rivers for hapless travelers to rob?”
The man’s lips tugged up on one side and Sonah looked away.
“Ibros is ours now.”
“Ours?”
“Well,” the soldier shrugged, resting his face in his palm. “Heylisia’s.”
“How is that?” Sonah scoffed. “Ibros is independent. And they are a friend to Lakonia. Is the emperor deliberately provoking Sparta?”
The man eyed her, his gaze considering. “You know much for a sheltered lady.”
“I am not sheltered,” Sonah grumbled. She shifted, her legs aching, and the man reached out. Flinching back, Sonah let out a cry as the man’s hand fell to her hip, only to realize he was merely lifting the bowl he’d put near her further away from her squirming.
“I am Leander.”
“I don’t care.”
The man ducked his head. She watched him, fascinated at the way the shadows danced along his strong features, the half smile he wore covering teeth she knew from earlier were white as pearls.
Ugh! What was wrong with her?
“Thank you for dinner, but I won’t be eating anything you or your men have prepared. We are enemies, and as such I will not make myself comfortable in your company, sir. You may have succeeded in abducting me, but I will not make it easy for you.”
He laughed, and Sonah dropped her eyes to her lap, cursing her body for the shiver wracking through her at the sound. If he but bathed more, the man would be devastating, she was certain.
Gods’ blood, Sonah! Stop!
“Believe me, Lady Sonah, you’ve not made it easy. And I’ll wager those brutes you had with you are on their way to us right now, complicating this endeavor even more.”
“You know who I am?”
“Aye. As does every man here.”
“Then do yourself a favor and release me,” she hissed, leaning forward with a mulish mien, hoping her wrath would intimidate him.
The man had the nerve to chuck her beneath her chin!
“You’re adorable when your color’s up, lady, even in this darkness.”
“Release me! Now!”
“Alas, I cannot,” the annoying soldier replied with a sigh as he rose to his full height. Sonah hated having to crane her neck back to glare up at him. “I need to keep you safe, lady. So many are after you just now. It’d be a shame to leave you at the mercy of men with ill intentions.”
Sonah’s brows rose to her hairline as she gaped at him. “You wretch! You have ill intentions! Release me at once or I will—”
“Aye?”
Sonah fumed, her eyes narrowing to slits. “I will tell my friends how poorly I’ve been treated, and they’ll gut you like a fish.”
The man crouched down so fast, Sonah jerked back.
“Your friends?” the oaf, Leander, whispered. Glancing over his shoulder, he leaned closer, his sour breath fanning her face. Thank gods he had awful breath. It made her disgust more believable. “You are fully capable of gutting me yourself, are you not?”
Sonah’s scalp prickled. “What do you mean?”
He regarded her in silence. As it stretched, Sonah felt as if the man was looking into her mind and reading her thoughts.
You are ugly. You are a disgusting human being. There is absolutely nothing redeemable about you.
There. Let him read those thoughts.
The buffoon smiled at her as if he had, in fact, read her thoughts.
And saw the lie in them.
Shifting uncomfortably, Sonah groaned. Her stomach decided it wanted to be heard, letting out an undignified growl loud enough to wake every soldier within ten miles.
“Eat, lady.”
“I’m not hungry.”
Her stomach denied her lie angrily.
“Are you not?” he asked, his voice rough like he’d been smoking a donderis pipe the nobles at the White Palace enjoyed after dinner.
“Now you’re concerned about my welfare?” Sonah snorted and turned her head, dismissing him.
“Eat, please. You’ll need your strength.”
Sonah scoffed, watching him from corner of her eye. He was as filthy as the rest of them, as if he constantly slept on the ground. His uniform was torn, either from the fighting earlier or some other scrap he and his men got into.
The Rivermen were Heylisia’s river guard, patrolling the major rivers and tributaries throughout the empire. She’d never actually seen a Riverman in person, but the firstborns loved to share stories of them at the palace.
The only thing remotely resembling Heylisian about this soldier was his clean-shaven face. Pity he didn’t splash some of the water he shaved with on the rest of him. Sonah scrunched her nose.
“I don’t plan on being here that long,” Sonah muttered.
To her surprise, the man laughed. She turned, blinking up at the transformation of his face as he grinned back at her.
“Whatever you’re planning,” he said, shifting to lean closer, his arms braced on his thighs. “Don’t. These men are vicious at the best of times. You do not want to see them at their worst.”
“And you,” she sneered, raking her eyes up and down his body, hoping he saw how lacking she found him. “Are you not equally vicious? Absconding with a helpless woman while others fight in your stead? A vicious, lying, thieving, Riverman?”
Sonah felt him still, the grin fading, replaced by a cold mask of cruelty completely changing his features. His green eyes narrowed and, for the first time in hours, dread washed over her.
“I give you fair warning, Lady Sonah,” he said so softly, it was almost a caress. “Do not test me. I am civil now, but I am a vicious, lying, murderous Riverman.”
It was a long time after he’d gone before Sonah stopped shaking.