~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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THE ROOM IS silent for a long moment, and they all stare at Lana, not certain how she's going to digest the news, but her expression gives nothing away. Her features remain slack and expressionless, as if she's an ancient statue, an inanimate object that has never felt any kind of sentiment before.
Skye tries to meet her gaze, but she shuts herself away from him, her sight never deviating from a small spot of dirt on the wall across from her. The only hint she even heard what Arlo said is the tenseness in her body, all of her muscles flexed as if she's going to move at any second. He doesn't blame her.
Even if the news isn't about him, he still feels its immense impact. It's as if a weight has been placed on his chest, and the air inside of the building is thick with intense humidity, making it hard to breathe. Lana was supposed to be the one guaranteed to save their world from destruction, to prevent the havoc that's about to be unleashed, not be a harbinger of their doom.
Then, after a long moment, a look of fierce defiance makes her eyes narrow and a dangerous glint flashes within their honey brown depths.
"How much?" Lana says, her voice like a sharp knife into the silence, shaking with both fear and anger.
Skye frowns. "What?"
"The bounty. I assume there is one if they want me so badly." she says and looks up to face him with a ferocity on her countenance that startles me.. "How much?"
Samena speaks up from where she is sitting upon an empty table, appearing, surprisingly, bored. "100,000 coins."
Lana clenches her jaw, and takes a deep breath. For a second, she eyes the door as if she wants to leave, then she hesitates, looking lost and confused. She frowns and bites her lip, indecisiveness crinkling her expression, but in a flash, a look of certainty comes across her features and she starts to move towards the exit.
Startled, everyone starts to gravitate towards her. He immediately follows her and calls out. "Where are you going?"
"I need some air."
She catches up to her and grabs her arm. "You can't."
She spins around to face him, and her eyes are blazing with anger. "Why not?"
He looks at her incredulously. "You realize what this means, right? Everywhere you go, people are going to be looking for you. They're going to want to hurt you."
She scoffs, an annoyed expression turning her expression into a scowl. "I'm your greatest weapon against the Morai, and you want me to do what? Hide? I won't do that. I can help these people."
"Maybe hiding is the only way you don't get hurt."
She turns away from him. "I'm willing to risk that."
