THE ALPHA KING'S MAID
I felt it hit bottom, the scrape of the keel against sand.
“You get down first and check,” said the nervous one.
Footsteps splashing in shallow water. Then a short whistle—probably a signal that the path was clear.
Rough hands grabbed me under the arms and lifted me. They carried me like a sack, my head hanging, arms swaying. Every step the man took stabbed my ribs, but I made no sound. Through barely parted eyelids, just a sliver, I saw white sand, low vegetation, a dirt path winding up through shrubs. An island. Small, from what I could tell. No buildings, no lights, no signs of civilization.