A Savior's Worth (Book #3)

Chapter Eighteen

Elouise awoke with a slight jolt and gasped.

She tried to sit upright and found her wrists and ankles restrained, tied to the iron posts of the bed with rope. She tugged hard, biting down on her tongue to prevent herself from crying out from the burns caused by her struggle. But a small whimper escaped through her lips anyway. Then movement shuffled from outside the hut.

Coming through the fabric that covered the doorway was the same little girl. Her hair was neatly braided back, and her skin was mostly clean now. Elouise noted the tiny scars she had along her cheeks, neck, and the particularly large gash across her right eyebrow.

"Don't do that," she uttered softly. "You'll hurt yourself, Your Highness." Elouise scowled at her and yanked again out of spite, though she knew this affected her more than it did the girl.

"You hate me," the girl continued, diverting her green eyes to the dirt floor.

"You tricked me!" Elouise snapped. "I was worried for your well-being, and you were merely a trap!"

The little girl held a finger up to her lips. "Please don't be so loud. Daddy will hear you."

"Let him, then! I am not afraid of him!" Elouise inhaled sharply, catching her breath. She shook her head, calming her rage before it got worse. "Is this what you do to people? Why?"

"Because Daddy tells me to. I gotta do what Daddy says or he gets real mad."

Elouise blinked and raised her eyebrows. What she'd said sounded so natural—as if all children did this.

Elouise swallowed hard. "What, what happens... when he gets mad?"

The little girl pointed to each of her scars. And Elouise's heart dropped as she focused on the across her eyebrow. Before she could answer, the man himself entered, along with the same woman. Their faces were still covered, yet the crinkles around their eyes indicated their wicked grins.

"There she is," the man mused. "Our savior." He walked toward the side of the bed, carelessly shoving his daughter to the side.

Elouise gawked at him. "Do not treat her like that. She is a person—" and she gasped as she received a smack across her face from the woman. Her cheek tingled and stung from the impact. Then a drip of warm liquid trailed down to her jawline. She'd been scratched.

"Do not lecture us," the woman scolded. "We treat our people however we please."

Elouise's vision blurred. She blinked hard a few times, pushing back her tears. She used to hear stories of young princes and princesses being physically scolded until they learned their lessons. But Elouise had never been struck by anyone, and the shock of it happening now left her in speechless dismay.

"Don't hurt her!" the little girl begged, tugging on the older woman's torn skirt. "She was nice to me!"

The woman pulled her skirt free and glared down at her. "Go outside now."

"Minerva—"

"Now!"

The man looked pointedly at the girl and gestured to the sheet with his arm. "You heard your sister. Go. You've done your part."

The girl's lower lip stuck out in a pout. However, she didn't protest. She fled from the hut, and Elouise worried she would later be punished for this.

Chuckling darkly, the man locked his eyes with Elouise. "For years we've been sacrificing those worthy of the Almighty—some of them even our own. Never did we imagine we would have the honor of sacrificing the savior herself."