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“Where’s that wretched bitch?” he grumbled, reaching the lantern this way and that. “Beast’s supposed to be right here.”
He took another step down, peering into the darkness, the lantern’s light swinging like a pendulum as he turned. Above him, a swathe of daylight beckoned, promising freedom.
We had to flee! Now!
The tension in us snapped, and we shot forward. The man swung around just in time for our talons to scratch at his face. A shout erupted from his mouth as he lost his footing, tumbling down the stairs.
Glass shattered.
A flame roared.
Up, up, up we spiraled, feathers barely missing the licking fire below. The scent of salt filled our nares. Waves roared, loud, louder. Almost there! Freedom was within our grasp!
Until it wasn’t.
We slammed into something, like the web of a spider spun from hundreds of finger-thin ropes. Our wings bent, our feet tangled, our feathers broke. The more we struggled, the tighter the contraption squeezed us, wrapping around us with an almost sentient hunger. Our little hearts sank into a pit of despair.Trapped!
“Cut the net before she shifts back and breaks her neck,” Domren said, the authority in his voice unmistakable. “Don’t let her escape. You and you, put out the fire down there.”
Several men sprung into action. Knives glinted in their hands as they deftly cut the net where it was attached to the frame of the hatchway. They tied the ends of the net into tight knots, securing our prison once more. With a heave and a coordinated motion, they tossed us onto the deck.
Pain shot through us on impact, ripping a caw from my lungs that slowly morphed into my groan, failure settling like a rock in my stomach. How was I supposed to make it off this damn ship?
Black boots embellished with golden clasps thudded inches from my face. “And to think that I almost wedded and bedded thisanimal.”
Communal laughter.
Anger flaring in my veins, I strained my neck and looked up at Domren. “It would have been the least of your monstrosities.”
He folded his arms behind his back, the ends of the elegant red frock he wore shifting with the chilly ocean breeze. “Secure the net to the gunwale. Throw her overboard.”
My lungs collapsed. “No!”
Calloused hands grasped the edges of the net, lifting me as if I were a piece of cargo. The men wove additional rope through the netting that entrapped me, their knot meticulous and tight. With a grunt, they secured the end to a large iron hook jutting from the gunwale.
“For a swim you go…” one of them called out.
He tossed me overboard.
The ship rose above me for a split second before I plunged into the icy abyss below. The cold was a beast, gnashing its teeth into me. I tumbled and rolled in the throes of the ship’s speed until the rope strung tight. Then, I drowned, the ocean swallowing me whole, sealing me away from light and air.
A surge of panic shot through me, stabbing straight into my core. Wings flapped frantically, fighting against a current that seemed too viscous, too watery.
No. Please, no!
Another surge.
Hands pushed at the net, a sharpcrackresonating through my bones and a hot stab of pain lancing my knuckle until feathers once more unfurled. Talons tore desperately at the ropes, finding no purchase. Feet kicked out, my lungs burning as if I’d swallowed fire.
My vision grew dark. Darker.
The darkness receded as a violent jerk yanked me upward. Air rushed into my lungs. Water cascaded off me, the cold air nipping at my drenched body. They pulled me up, but instead of tossing me onto the deck, they kept the net sitting on the gunwale.
“Not much is better at robbing a Raven of his wings than burning them, but alas, we are standing on wood.” Domren stepped up to me, his boots tapping against the wood as if he was barely amused and almost bored by the spectacle. “The next time you consider an escape, know that I do not need you pretty, Galantia. I do not need you entirely intact. Come to think of it, I do not even need you… unbesmirched.” His upper lip gave a twitch, the sudden attention it conveyed driving a shudder across my body that had nothing to do with the cold. “However, I do need you alive. Send her down.”
I cried out.
They hurled me back into the abyss below. Again. And again. And again. Up. Down. Up. Down. A merciless cycle that blurred together, each dunk stripping away a little more of my strength, a little more of my resilience.
