CHAPTER FOUREscape
My aging servants mingled on the shore, a leaderless army as Kuiti’s men hauled me towards his tiny rowboat like a sack of flour. My bodyguard didn’t reappear. Rage blossomed in my chest. “We’re being watched,” I told Kuiti, pointing towards the place where I’d last seen my guard. “A warrior readies himself to attack.” I made it convincing and Kuiti’s armed guard wasted valuable time searching. They found no one.
“Let’s go,” Kuiti snapped. He still sounded drunk with false affection. “I must get my new bride to safety.” He rushed me along the path to a rowboat pulled high on the sand. His men wove like drunkards to push it into the water. Then Kuiti himself carried me through the shallows and deposited me into the boat. Bliss waded behind and the bottom of her skirt sa
