The steady clip-clop of the horse’s hooves stopped abruptly, along with the gentle swaying. They must have arrived at their destination wherever that was. Sterling didn’t dare open her eyes to find out and let them know she was awake. Instead, she strained her ears, listening for any sign of movement—anything that would give a clue as to their location.

Leather creaked, followed by the thud of boots on the ground.

At any moment, they were sure to check on her. She tried to keep her breathing slow and even in hopes they wouldn’t notice she was awake.

The few times she had been conscious, they would immediately dose her again before she could figure out where she was—but the last time, they hadn’t been quite fast enough, and she had seen they’d left the forest.

It was warmer wherever they had taken her.

She’d already been awake for a few minutes now, her brain slowly coming out of the fog. So far, she’d been able to figure out very little, but she had noticed there still seemed to be only two horses. No one else had joined their little party.

They’d draped her over one of the animals, like a sack of flour, so she was facing downward, with her hands bound behind her back and her feet tied at the ankles. They hadn't bothered to gag her, presuming she would stay unconscious..

She might be able to get away with taking a peek around if she was careful.

Sterling cracked her eyes just a slit, giving herself a view of the horse’s hooves and the hard, rocky ground beneath them.

No sign of green, but no sign of snow either. Nothing she recognized.

Sterling strained her ears again, trying to tell if anyone was coming to check on her, but if her captors were nearby, they were silent. Cautiously, she wiggled her fingers, trying to get a feel for the tightness of the bonds. She had to bite her lip to keep in the hiss of pain as her raw skin pulled against the rope.

It was too tight. There would be no slipping out of this.

The pounding in her head was getting to her as whatever they had been using to keep her unconscious worked its way out of her system. Had they been feeding her? She tried to think, but her memories were a fog. Who knows how many days had passed since they had taken her from the market?

The market.

Papa.

Seraiah.

A wave of panic washed over her. She knew they must be worried about her. Especially Seraiah. Her older sister had been out of sorts the last time Sterling had seen her, having had one of her nightmares again.

Seraiah had broken down once and confessed the nightmares were always about her. Her sister had refused to go into too much detail, but from what little she had said, it sounded like Seraiah was dreaming about her death. There was something about someone else looking out from her eyes. It was nonsense, of course, but it always left Seraiah a mess for a day or two after it happened.

Sterling hoped her sister wouldn’t do anything stupid like try to come after her. As much as she wanted to be rescued, she didn’t want anyone to get hurt because of her. It had been her own choice to go off alone in the market, and no one else should have to pay for it but her.

The crunch of boots on the dirt snapped her back to reality.

It sounded like they were moving closer.

She froze, hoping they wouldn’t figure out she was awake. Better to let them think she was still unconscious. Sterling hated the way the drug made her feel. If she could stay awake long enough, maybe they would speak in front of her, and she could get an idea of what they planned for her.

Sterling held her breath as she listened to the approaching steps. It sounded like only one of them. Then a pair of scuffed boots appeared in her vision. She could barely see them beneath her lashes.

“I know you’re awake, girl,” a man’s voice came from somewhere near her head. “If you know what’s good for you, you’ll stay quiet. Do not make us gag you.”

She cringed and waited for him to dose her, but it never came. Instead, he gripped her shoulders hard, fingers digging into her skin, and pulled her from the horse.

Or rather, he let her fall. With her hands tied behind her back, Sterling had no way of stopping her face from meeting the ground.

Pop.

Then the pain hit.

Her vision went white for a moment, and her eyes filled with tears. She faintly registered someone screaming.

It wasn’t until the man kicked her hard in the ribs that she realized she had been the one screaming. She could feel the blood gushing from her nose and down her face—taste the coppery tang of it.

As she lay in the dirt, trying to breathe through her mouth, a second man approached.

“What do you think you’re doing?” he hissed. She assumed he was talking to the first man who had pulled her from the horse.

“Unloading the cargo,” came the unapologetic response.

“What did I tell you about being careful?”

“She’s alive, isn’t she? That’s all they asked for, and they better be grateful for that much.”

The other man grunted. “Just hurry up and bring her. Try not to injure her further. We don’t want to risk losing our payment.”

She heard him move away as the first man nudged her with the toe of his boot in the same bruised spot he had kicked earlier. That pain didn’t even come close to touching her throbbing nose. Sterling could already tell it had swelled.

He nudged her a second time when she gave no response. It was all she could do to focus on her breathing and cling to consciousness. “I’m going to untie your legs and you are going to stand up and walk. I don’t want any trouble now. You hear me?”

She ignored him. A few seconds later, she felt the rope around her ankles loosen.

“Get up.”

Sterling didn’t move. 

After being drugged into unconsciousness for who knows how long, her body was weak. Even if she could use her hands to push herself up, she wasn’t sure she could stand. It took him a minute to come to the same conclusion and pull her roughly to her feet.

Once upright, the pain in her nose became unbearable again. She swayed as the dizziness hit her. A fresh wave of blood ran down over her lips and dripped off her chin. Keeping her eyes down, she watched the pattern that was taking shape at her feet with each new drop.

The man gave her a shove between the shoulder blades that sent her stumbling forward. It was almost enough to push her back to her knees. Her legs and feet were numb after being tied up for so long.

“Walk,” he commanded.

She took one shaky step forward and then another.

“Faster,” he hissed in her ear. Then he gave her another shove. This one sent her to her knees.

Her legs were too weak to carry her, and she was quickly losing the battle to stay conscious as spots swam before her eyes.

“I told you to hurry up. Just carry her if she won’t walk.” Sterling heard the other man say from somewhere up ahead.

Her companion cursed under his breath but did as the other man instructed.

She didn’t bother to fight him as he picked her up and slung her over his shoulder. The movement was enough to jostle her nose, and she was thankful when the blackness finally returned to claim her.