~A Wattpad featured and Wattys Longlisted story~
Lana can hardly remember what it's like to be free. After nine years as a captive on board a ship ruled by ruthless bounty hunters, sailing across Maris with no clear direction, she's desperate for so...
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LANA'S FEET HIT the deck of the dragon hunter's ship with an all too familiar thud. she looks around the ship with a curled lip, and a feeling of dread rises within her. She hoped to never return to one these dreaded ships again.
The salty sea breeze that brushes against her face lightly is like poison in her lungs, only reminding her of the awful past she's returning to. It's getting harder and harder to breathe clearly, and she feels herself getting short on breath. Everything around her seems to close in, confining her, because despite the clear and vastly free ocean, she's never felt more trapped.
Anger and panic rises within her, and she finds herself searching for someone to blame, but she knows it's all her fault. she should've listened to Skye and her gut feeling. She knew this was going to be a trap. She knew there had been an underlying agenda to Vyanna's words. If she had just listened, maybe she wouldn't be in this situation. Maybe she could've saved the people she cares so much about. Now, according to Vyanna, Lana has doomed them all, including herself.
But she won't give up. She refused to do that. Instead, she realizes with grim determination, she needs to get off this ship. If she does that, then maybe she can fix what she's done.
"Keep it moving," the voice of one of the guards who captured her whispers in her ear, making her cringe, disgusted by his sudden closeness.
Laughing at her discomfort, he shoves her forward, almost making her fall to her knees. She bites back several curses, and rights herself, forcing her body to stand tall. She tries to ignore the heavy weight of the chains securing her wrists together as she straightens her posture. It's as if they're trying to drag her back to the ground and render her powerless, but she refuses to let them do that.
A plan rushes through her at that thought, and almost instantly she forces her spine to buckle at the shackle's weight, letting her arms hang down. She makes herself look the picture of pure misery. The guard laughs harder at her pathetic state, and moves closer to her, enjoying her weakness.
But he also ignores her plan.
As he sidles up closer to her, she pretends to submissively avoid his gaze but instead has the small sword he has strapped to his belt in her sights. He pulls her closer in order to nearly carry her dead weight forward, but in doing so, he fulfills her goal.
She lashes out, unsheathing his sword and throws her chains over his neck, effectively cutting off the guard's mobility. Using her newfound reach from the chain's position, she presses her sword threateningly against his neck and turns to everyone on board.
"You will all let me go, or I will cut his throat," she yells, looking around at the frozen crew of dragon hunters. Their eyes are all wide, startled by her ferocity, and several hunters nod at her words. She feels more confident in her botched together plan through their reactions, and can feel her sword hand steadying. As she stares at them all expectantly, no one moves to stop her, and that's all the confirmation she needs.
