Shadow Weaver (Back on Wattpad 2020!)

Chapter 14

Back in the lodgings where we slept the previous night, Tug ties my hands and feet to the bedpost and goes to stand by the dark slatted window. He has his knife out, flicking it back and forth in his wrist.

"This is a dangerous game," he mutters. I do not know how to answer. He could end it now. The power is in his hands. All he'd have to do is take Kel and me back to the forest. But I know he will not. "Who is he?"

I bite my lips together. I cannot decide whether the Prince's identity will encourage or dissuade Beast-face. Better to say nothing.

Surprisingly, he does not force my answer. "I must return to the Pit." He gathers a piece of cloth and comes and kneels before me. His thick fingers untie the gut string holding the bloody rag to my neck. He tears another piece of cloth from some fabric with his knife.

"The man is too unpredictable," I say, hoping to plant a seed of doubt. Tug's steady eyes stare at me. I open my mouth to water the seed further, and his large fingers stuff the cloth against my tongue.

Once he is gone, there is no use struggling against the ropes around my feet and hands. Tug's knots are the kind you'd have difficulty cutting your way through with a knife. I watch the candle whittle down, leaving a creamy pool on the round table.

Two hours pass, perhaps longer. And with the hours, worry and hunger fester, rising in me until I am fraught and desperate. I fear Kel's reaction to his sale. I fret Tug will discover nothing about the man who buys my brother, and his and Brin's memories of the transaction, if I can find them, will be useless: a nameless face, one of millions in the Carucan Kingdom. Isn't that the whole point of the Pit? Isn't it designed to protect the identities of investors as well as sellers?

I long for anything to break the silence and darkness, even the sound of Tug's boots thumping up the stairs.

Eventually, they come.

He enters along with the mouth-watering odour of rabbit and leek stew. My stomach clenches with hunger. Tug lights a candle in the sconce by the door. I scowl at the thought of him and Brin spending the last hour or two drinking and feasting, celebrating the money they have received from trading my brother, like they would the pelts of hunted deer. Like he could ever belong to them!

The stiff leather of Tug's boots creaks as he lights candles about the room. Then he crouches beside me and unties my hands. It is unsettling how he does not meet my glare. Fear crawls through me. Did something go wrong? Has Kel been hurt?

I watch him rise and walk towards the door. He returns with a large platter of breads and cheeses and a wooden bowl of the rabbit stew. My parched mouth salivates until I'm practically dribbling.

I should resist. Tug is clearly taking up the Prince's suggestion to bribe me. But it has been too long since a proper meal passed my cracked lips.

I raise the soup in shaky hands and slurp. It is still warm! My taste buds explode with the mix of rich meat, tangy leek, thyme and nuts. I savour this small happiness, forcing myself to eat slowly. After the bowl is half-empty, my stomach almost full, I notice Tug is gathering our packs and stacking them by the door. The soup in my stomach turns into a messy, uncomfortable slosh.

He has made his decision. We are leaving.

I nibble on bread until he comes to untie my feet.

"Sit," he says, gesturing to the edge of the high double bed. A lump lodges in my throat. My heartbeat begins a wild dance in my chest as I push up on shaky legs. Images tumble through my mind like they're scrambling to get away. The bed, alone with Beast-face, the coupling of the man and woman we heard near the Prince's rooms.