Page 154 of The Secrets of Jane: Reborn
“Oh, shut it. You’re the only one that wants this,” the first one replies, her blonde hair braided down the middle, her knobby knees all red.
“At least we’re nother,” the protesting one says, nodding at me. “She’sgoing to die at some point. We get to live. And berevered.”
Shit, okay. So, she’s our weak link. If I can somehow free myself, then she might scream about it. She lifts her head up as if to look down on us all. “We’re going to have to all partake, one way or another.
Squeals and light screams begin to echo through us as the ship clearly dives down, nose first, over a swell, sending our bodies to really push against our restraints, some of the cargo sliding.
The blonde yells out, “Brace yourselves!”
I press back against my pole, digging my heels into the wood as the ship is then rocked dramatically in the opposite direction as if the front hit water and is now rising upward again.
That wasnotexciting. My heart skips a beat as I pant, the ship creaking and groaning.
“You work on a ship?” someone asks the blonde.
“Aye. I did.”
Rope groans somewhere above us, and I feel like we’re all stuck in a barrel that’s adrift in a stormy ocean.
I waste no time in feeling around with my hands, trying to figure out what finger or bone needs to break in order to get out; I’ll just knock the one out that seems far too interested in living in this new world. With just enough jostling, I realize a thumb should do it.
I sigh, accepting that I should probably break one and then heal it. Or, what if I don’t have time? At some point, I realize I’m just sitting there, holding my thumb. I can just pull it out ofplace, yank with no mercy. But there’s no guarantee I can get it out of the ropes.
There are a few false starts, but it’s when we begin a dive over another massive wave, our bodies slung against the confines of our ropes again, that I nearly do it but focus so much on balance that I miss my window of opportunity.
As I look at the one who worked on a ship, I get an idea, but that other one is listening in. It might not be worth shouting these things out because then she’ll share what we’re plotting.
The blonde is the only one that’s quiet, like the eye of a storm.
Okay.
Assess.
I work to bring my wrists to my mouth, right at the bindings. The first knot is a bitch, tied so tight that it makes my jaw tremble every time my teeth slide up the rough rope—the knot barely budges.
“What is she doing?” the loyal one asks. “Stop that!”
I don’t reply. Instead, the blonde speaks for me, “Quiet.”
The loyal one scoffs. “What is she going to do? Kill Misery, in astorm?” Her eyes widen. “Now, you better not fuck up my chance at a royal life.”
Move quickly.
I connect my gaze to the blonde, and then up at the lantern, and then down at my confines. I hope she gets the message. If she’s been on a ship, she’ll know how to make it burn.
She lifts only her gaze, so as not to draw attention, and then nods.
Perfect.
Shehasto know.
If she can free herself, she’ll have a better chance at succeeding than me?—
Someone appears in the threshold, a dramatic groan escaping my lips when I see who it is. My eyes roll as I dropmy head, turning to the side like my body has a sudden rush of energy, and I can’t sit still.
“Morvock is calling for Jane,” Jesper says, almost with too much joy.
“What the hells did I do?”
