Free Web NovelChapter 16: Chapter 16
Astrid had never been more annoyed than she had during the last two weeks at sea with Adonis.
Everyone had eventually gotten to know that she had snuck onto the ship. At first, it was indifference, then hostility. The men would find ways to taunt or berate her. And Adonis seemed to enjoy every bit of it. Except, today, she’d had enough.
"Captain," Adonis called, "how long till Silithra?"
"If my calculations are correct, we should be there in four days." The captain was studying both the compass and the map seriously without looking at the prince.
"That’s great news," Adonis replied.
Astrid watched them converse from the side. She leaned on the gunwale, looking out at the sea, when Silas, one of the soldiers, shoved her.
"What is your problem?"
He gave her a look and tried to walk away.
Astrid grabbed him by the sleeve and stopped him in his tracks. "I asked what your problem with me was?"
Silas turns immediately and, without a word, throws her over the ship.
"You animal!" Astrid screamed. "Bastard! Get me out of the water!"
Adonis and the captain, who had been deep in conversation, turned abruptly towards her voice.
"Silas, what did you just do?" Adonis asked him, stunned
"She was in my way, your majesty." He said this without remorse.
"So you pushed her instead of doing the most sensible thing, asking her to move?"
"Get me out of the godforsaken water, you bastards, throw me a rope!" Astrid shouted. She was flailing her arms and legs.
Astrid wiped her face harshly as soon as she got back on the ship. Everything was on full display with her clothes plastered to her body.
She stomped over to where Silas stood and took a swing at him. He staggered back a little and worked his jaw.
"Was that really necessary?" She asked Silas. "Was it so crucial that you had to push me over the edge?"
He said nothing, studying her from head to toe, but his eyes had lingered on her breast...
Astrid scoffed. "You pig!" She hissed. She tried to punch him again, but he dodged it and smirked. Astrid only grew angrier.
She swung again, this time much harder. She didn’t wait for him to complete dodging her punch before throwing a hook at his jaw. He staggered back a little, his eyes red with anger.
He tried to punch her as well, but she had expected it and slipped sharply to the side before his fist connected with her face. Immediately, she jabbed at his stomach, again and again, then kneed his crotch, hard.
He fell to the ground, wincing in pain. ƒreewebηoveℓ.com
Her breath came fast and ragged. "Tell your men to leave me alone. " She had turned to look at Adonis and grit her teeth.
His eyes darted from her to Silas.
She stomped away before he could say something to her. The other men moved to the side as she passed them with a glare.
She made sure to bang the door to the cabin as she stormed into it. One by one, she peeled off the wet clothes from her body and used one of the shirts on the bed to wipe herself dry.
"Gods," Adonis cursed and turned around, "put on some clothes."
Astrid scowled at him but made no attempt to cover up in a hurry. "Which is what I was doing when you barged into the room. Did you think I was going to, what, stay in wet clothes while I was in here? Now leave."
He didn’t leave. He stood with his back turned to her, saying nothing.
Astrid sighed. She rummaged through his truck for a shirt and pants. "Soo? Why did you follow me in her?"
Adonis peeked and turned around when he saw that she was fully clothed. "I apologize for what Silas did back there."
Astrid scoffed. "You apologize? For the past weeks, you’ve seen them throw their weight around me, and you said nothing. I’m sure you thought it was funny. Your boys were having a little bit of fun; you didn’t need to say something, step in."
"What do you mean by ’throw their weight around’? You’ve not been exactly innocent in all of this. You walk around like you own the place, trying to order my men and tell them what to do. These are soldiers, the worst brutes in the kingdom. They don’t exactly think with their brains."
Astrid stared at him incredulously. "Order them around?" She huffed, "That’s what you call me asking them to act like normal human beings? Incredible."
"Look, I don’t need anymore trouble on the ship. It’s bad enough that we’ve been on a boat for two weeks planning how to attack a kingdom. Having a woman who doesn’t get along with the men on the boat isn’t really doing any good for all of us."
Astrid folded her arms.
"I’m sorry, ok? I’ll make sure the boys don’t cross you again. But try not to get in their way."
She rolled her eyes.
There were no more altercations after that. Silas occasionally glared at her, but the others ignored her completely until they reached Silithra.
It was a desert land with the largest salt mines in the northern region. Silithra had been a headache for a while now. The empire’s hold was loosening on the kingdom. Rebels, they said. They despised the empire’s involvement in the kingdom’s affairs and pushed back little by little.
Silithra had offered their princess up for the competition to placate the empire, but they had shortened their exports of salt.
" We would need to dock our ships behind the rocks near those beaches, far away from their border. We should arrive there by nightfall, and then we will take the kingdom. I want everyone to stick to the plan. Do not wander away or think you know best. There will be no reward for disobeying my orders, tell the others, " Adonis lectured.
The ships were moored behind the rocks, and the men descended.
"You’ll stay on the ship," Adonis said to Astrid, "I don’t need to worry about you getting killed."
"I wasn’t planning on getting killed or involving myself in your affairs. You’re the one who wishes to take, so go ahead and take."
Adonis shot a glance at her one last time before he descended from the ship.
As soon as the men left. She shouted for the girls. Andrea, Doris, Helen, and Lily came out from where they hid and joined Astrid.
"Is everyone ok?" Astrid asked, her face twisted with worry.
"That was the most excruciating trip of my life," Lily groaned. "The snoring and the smell, especially the smell. They are one disgusting bunch."
"Truly awful," Helen chimed.
Astrid smiled warily. "I’m sorry for dragging you into this. I wish things were truly different."
"Enough with the pity-party," Andrea said stoically. "It was our choice to come along."
Astrid chuckled. She could always trust Andrea to never coddle anyone’s feelings.
"So what do we do now?" Doris asked.
Astrid’s expression turned serious. "We wait. There’s no need to rush into the town, it’ll only cause a headache for us.
The girls got comfortable, took proper baths, and waited. A day passed, then two. A few men came running towards the ship, and they weren’t in familiar uniform.
"What do you think we should do?" Lily asked. ƒree𝑤ebnσvel.com
"We wait," Astrid said.
As soon as they reached, they tried to make a fire.
"They’re trying to burn down the ships," Doris whispered.
"Shoot them down," Astrid ordered.
Lily got her bow and aimed. Two of the men fell with a thud and an arrow to their chest. The other men froze, startled by the arrows. Lily waited for them to meet her eye, then shot again. Two more down. The remaining three tried to run but fell face down to the ground, blood oozing from their bodies.
"They’re doing a horrible job at whatever it is they’re doing in there," Andrea said.
"Do we help them?" Doris asked.
"We wait," Astrid insisted.
Another two days went by, and the men hadn’t emerged from the kingdom. On the fifth day, someone ran towards the ships. It was Silas.
"Why aren’t you back there fighting?" Astrid asked flatly when he joined them aboard the ship.
"I don’t think we can win this fight." His breath was heavy. "We just managed to cross the border yesterday, but it was like they planned for this. Their army matches us in everything. I fear we may have to retreat soon."
Astrid bit her lower lip and pondered the information. "What was the plan originally?"
Silas was still breathing heavily. "What?"
"How did the prince plan to take over this kingdom?" She asked impatiently.
"It was supposed to be quick. Get through the borders, take the towns, and kill the king. But, it’s like they were waiting for us, there were so many men."
Astrid paced. "Someone must have given them that information. Someone betrayed the empire." She waved the thought away. "That’s not important right now. We need to get into the kingdom as quickly as possible. Unless... your precious Prince will have no tail to hold onto."
Silas sat up, looking at her, confused. "And how exactly do you want to do that? Four women?"
"That shouldn’t concern you, Silas. Now give me a map."
