Page 34 of Voices in the Stars
Atlas cursed before he jumped up, holding a hand out to pull me up with him. His face was twisted in a grimace. The smile dropped from my face as I watched a man march over to us. Long, silver hair swayed behind him from where it was tied up with a strip of leather. His face pressed into a glare, fully focused on where Atlas’ hand still held mine. My cheeks burned as a sinking feeling took over the joy I had been feeling. I dropped his hand like it had burned me. I had gotten too comfortable with him. His hand flopped back to his side. There was a quick glance at me before he stood to his full height, staring back at the man. It was unnerving to watch how he was able to wipe all emotions from his face.
“She was sick.” His voice was flat.
“I don’t care,” the other man snarled, stepping up to Atlas. “She needs to get away from my crew.”
Atlas’ fist clenched at his side. He stood a few inches taller than the man I figured was the captain. This would easily be in Atlas’ favor if a fight were to break out between them. Which is exactlywhat was about to happen. Power pulsed from Atlas as neither one broke eye contact. The last place I wanted to be was between these two when it all went down.
I grabbed one of Atlas’ hands, giving it a reassuring squeeze before letting it go. I walked across the boat back to the stairs. My legs still trembled as I moved slowly. That was pushed to the back of my mind by my racing questions. I’d been treated like a hostage and now like a monster. There was something else going on here that I didn’t know about, and I was tired of being left in the dark. Something told me that just listening to the angry hushed voices behind me would tell me more than I wanted to know.
Yet, all thoughts of listening vanished as the boat rocked violently, causing a new wave of nausea to rush through me as I ran for the closest edge. I was going to be in for a long day.
I spent the remainder of my day with my legs straddling one of the rails, dangling off the side of the boat. I rested my head against the railing. It had been a cool break from the sun beating down on me, but even it had quickly heated up. My eyes burned from the light reflecting back up at me. Every strand of hair that moved hurt the top of my head. The burn crept down my one cheek that was faced up. I didn’t even want to picture how I looked now. There was nothing I could do about it. Every time I tried to move, my stomach twisted and sent me careening back.
The day was filled with everyone on the ship working. The larger men threw giant nets over the sides of the ship. After minutes passed, they would pull the nets back in, hundreds of multicolored fish flopping inside. Some other men would open a hole in the far side of the ship where the fish were dumped into.
The sun was starting to set now. All the work around me had slowed down. Shades of pink and purples danced across the waves. Everything had settled as night started to set. The boat rocked less. There were less people wandering around. Most had retreated down the stairs. Their laughter and voices could be heard above everything else.
“You won’ feel betta if you sit here all night,” a soft voice chimed behind me.
I slowly lifted my head, hissing as the world spun. I still managed to move too quickly as I turned to look at whoever spoke. A hunched figure stood behind me, long hair draped over their face as it tilted toward the ground. I squinted, trying to make out any of their features.
“You’re the first to care.” I couldn’t keep the annoyance out of my voice as I gave up, turning my head back to the open water.
“Cap’n scared most of the crew from you.”
A laugh bubbled out as I sunk deeper into pity and self-loathing.
“Maybe you should listen to your captain then,” I muttered back. I felt the heat from my heart sink down to the smoldering ember causing it to start sparking back to life. Footsteps scuffled closer to me. I closed my eyes, switching positions so the burnt side of my face was now pressed to the wood. I just wanted to be left alone to suffer. To not be put through the torture of small talk with a stranger.
My brows furrowed as I heard more steps behind me. Great. Now I was a spectacle they were coming to watch. That coal in my chest gave a weak throb at the thought of the crew watching my misery.
“Yes,” I snapped, hoping to chase some away. “I’m so dangerous I’ve been kidnapped and almost killed multiple times. I was taken from the only home I knew and thrown into this forsaken world that I’m still mostly convinced is some nightmare of my own imagination, because there’s no way anyone could survive somewhere so awful.”
Tears were streaming down my face as I yelled the words at the river. My chest heaved as I tried to catch my breath.
“You can go, Sal.”
I ignored the way my heartbeat quickened just at the sound of his voice. It was residual fear from everything he’d put me through the last couple of days. The hunched figure left with Atlas’ words. He was the cause of most of my problems. I quickly wiped at my face, trying to hide any signs of my crying. It was pointless; I was sure everyone here heard my yelling. Everyone below deck had fallen quiet at some point during my rant.
“Are you okay?” he asked, placing a hand on my shoulder.
I quickly shruggedoff his hand.
“I’m fine.” I internally cringed at the wobble in my voice. I tried to hide my following sniffle.
“It’s not bad to cry.” His voice was soft. “It shows you’re better than most in this awful world.”
I glanced back at him. Any sign of the powerful man from earlier was gone. His brown eyes were soft as he stared down at me. His lips curled in a half small, the tip of one fang showing through it. I felt some of the tension leave my shoulders against my will at the care that was written throughout his features. My body rocked toward him as I ignored the way I wanted to sink into his arms. There wasn’t a single doubt in my mind that Atlas would’ve caught me. Even knowing that my body was stuck in place as I fought with the idea that all of this wasn’t his fault.
I was being tugged around by the hand on my shoulder before I could speak up. I squeezed my eyes shut tight as everything spun around me. I took measured breaths through my nose, sending silent prayers that I wasn’t about to ruin his clothes. My legs moved away from the railing until my back was now pressed to it instead. There was a soft thump in front of me. When I opened my eyes again, Atlas was sitting in front of me. My legs were crossed with my knees resting against his spread legs. I felt the rocking disappear as my attention was, once again, completely on the mysterious man in front of me.
“It’s all a game here,” Atlas continued, gesturing to everything around us, “to see who will end up with the most power and who will be submissive.”
“Like you’re much different,” I commented. Everything he’d done had proven he was just as much a part of this game.
Atlas took in a sharp breath, and my chest tightened at the hurt in his eyes.
“I’m not trying to make anyone’s life worse.” He spoke like we were sharing some deep secrets. He even glanced behind, making sure we were alone.
