Racing Hearts (Shadow Quest 4.5)
Page 7
From one prison to another!
“There. You're free of your restraints.”
She made a rough noise in her throat. “You call this free?”
“It's as free as you're allowed on my ship. You've committed a serious crime by smuggling yourself onto my ship. It requires serious punishment. I'm willing to be lenient, though. If you tell me where you came from, I promise to take you back there unharmed.”
“I'd rather die,” she supplied.
He raised an eyebrow and waited a moment before speaking again. “You're in luck then. The punishment for your crime is death.” He scanned for a reaction. When he didn't receive one, he continued. “If you don't tell me where you came from, then your only other option is to be released into space. Actually, you'd be releasing yourself into space. In my culture it would be seen as an honorable death.” He crossed his arms in expectation.
Analia considered his words carefully. He was offering her death at her own hand. She'd contemplated suicide before—many, many times before. But, as closely guarded as she’d been, she never found ample opportunity. Now it was being offered to her on a silver platter.
Thinking over her life, she could only call up memories of suffering and sorrow. There wasn't a single moment that brought her joy. No memory sparked a hint of happiness to make her want to cling to this existence. Could she really push the button that would end her completely?
Yes.
Her shoulders slumped ever so slightly.
At least I had tried.
Her greatest and, sadly, sole achievement was her escape from Extarga. If she were dead, Darius could truly never hurt her again. The time she had spent in the small maintenance room had changed her completely. Even though she was technically still trapped, it was a small taste of what true freedom could be. It had been her choice, her decision, and no one else’s, that brought her here now. She had felt the power of freedom and knew she could never go back. The moment she set one foot back on the Hell Ship would be the moment her spirit broke completely, reducing her to a mere shell of herself.
And here she was, locked up at the amusement of yet another arrogant captain. If she couldn't be physically free, then his offer was the only way to end her suffering.
With her decision resolved, she met Sebastian's gaze. “I accept your offer.”
“Good. First tell me the moment you came to be on my ship.”
“No. I accept your other offer.” She almost smiled when his jaw dropped.
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