His Captive Sorceress

Chapter 21: Leave Jade Alone

Boots stomp the mud around me. "Salts!" Giddius curses. I don't bother to turn my head to face him. Nothing matters right now. I just need to recover.

An assortment of supplies is dumped out the bags. Giddius empties them onto the ground. "This worthless mit has led to yet more loss. The navigation sheets are lost. The rations are lost. The coin is lost. All swallowed by the Merk because she cannot manage even the most basic of tasks."

I remember now – Trevus was carrying the bag over his head, but he no longer had it after he saved me. Giddius's scolding remarks run off me like water. I'm too exhausted to care.

"Leave Jade alone," Trevus says.

"What is it to you?" Giddius spits.

He steps beside my head, his boots so close to my eyes that they blur. "Even with your sorcery, you not only let yourself become a hostage, but a body of water nearly finished you."

Trevus rises to his feet. "Stop goading Jade."

"Why? Does she have you under charm?" Giddius's boot nudges my side, pushing me to roll over. I gingerly sit up, supporting myself with both arms. "You are as a child, a carried burden on every step."

"Leave. Jade. Alone."

Giddius turns to Trevus. "Or what?"

Trevus steps closer. "Or I shall put you in your place."

Giddius's hands ball into fists. He'd rather be dragged behind a horse than be reminded he's Trevus's subordinate.

Trevus is inches from Giddius, not allowing him any personal space. Giddius is a little shorter than Trevus, and it becomes more apparent when he's forced to look up.

"You are no longer my Captain. I shall make my own path," Giddius says.

Trevus's face hardens. "Then so shall it be."

Giddius points his finger in my direction. "The girl shall follow my party."

Trevus grits his teeth. "No."

"Marcellus! Make the square!" Giddius shouts.

Marcellus's eyes jump between them, but he doesn't move. Their team that seemed tight knit when leaving Antiock are now dueling over who shall take me as their prisoner.

Trevus gives Marcellus a nod. It snaps Marcellus out of his shock, and he draws a square in the dirt around them. His boot passes between me and the two men, separating us by a line in the mud.

Giddius gets into position on one side of the square. "A single round shall settle the matter," he says.

Trevus takes the silver locket off his neck and tucks it in his pants pocket. Losing that locket would make Elie seem even further out of reach.

Giddius raises his fists up like a boxer. Trevus remains still. Without oban shirts in the way, their strong builds are out in the open. Despite being shorter, Giddius doesn't lack muscle. His bow-trained arms carry more bulk, while Trevus is lean.

Trevus holds the stoicism of a stone statue. I've seen him angry before – when the wild men caught me – and he wasn't like this. This is his expedition, where finding his mother is on the line, and it's falling apart around him.

He believes sending me into Nepolis will help him reach the king, but it won't. One woman has already lost her life because I used my connection on her. How could I possibly live as a free person committing the same crime to others? I can't defend myself in Nepolis as Trevus believes. Sending me in there will achieve nothing but my execution for impersonating their leader.