The Commander: A Sacrificed Short Story (The Last Oracle) (2 page)

She paused before answering, and Riece knew whatever she said would be a lie.

“I have always been a slave. Do you make it a habit to ask personal questions of girls being led to the slaughter?”

Clever girl
. She wasted no time turning the conversation back on him.

“No, I try not to. You intrigue me, is all. I’ve never been taken down by a girl before…by anyone, really.” He pulled the knife out of the flames and headed toward her. As he brought the blade down, she flinched. It was the first time she had shown any fear at all, and Riece couldn’t help but feel relieved. “Not as brave as you thought.”

She met his eyes once more. “I intend to live. Do it.”

At first, he thought she wouldn’t scream. But when the knife dug into her ragged flesh, she finally cried out. Still, she fought to stay awake. He wished she wouldn’t because the sound of her pain was making his hand shake, but finally it was finished.

He let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding and turned to clean the blade, but she caught his wrist.
 

“Thank you,” she breathed. Sweat ran down her forehead, tracing black lines across her skin.

He froze. For the first time, she wasn’t looking at him with anger or resistance. The effect was more disarming than any of her attacks.

For a few dizzying moments, Riece forgot that he was the commander and she a slave who would die in several days.
 

But then a guard came bursting through into the chamber, and the spell was broken.

Riece looked to the door to find Hul, an older guard, looking very confused.

“Sir? Is that you? Why—what are you doing in here?” Hul’s gaze darted between the two of them, landing on the slave’s hand on Riece’s wrist.

The girl took back her hand, clearly stunned.

Riece glanced at her, amused at her shock, before turning back to the intruder. “Everything is fine, Hul. You are dismissed.”

There was no hiding it anymore. He knew the slave could see his plumage—the evidence of his rank, of his power, and of what he had had to do to get that power.
 

“How many men does it take to get first rank here?” she asked, timid.

The number was no secret. It was displayed to everyone who saw him with the golden plumage he wore on his back. All the same, Riece felt himself not wanting to tell this puzzling Sheehan girl. He didn’t want to admit how many men he had had to conquer and lead back to their deaths.
 

But she had to know. He needed her to fear him. To stay away from him.
 

“Ten,” he answered as stoically as he could.

“How old are you?” she asked, awed.

“Now, who is the one asking personal questions?” He eyed her. “I’m 17, and also the commander of the Emperor’s forces.”

Her mouth dropped open. “How?”

“You know how. I presented the priest with ten warriors for sacrifice.”

She stared past him, and Riece found himself wishing he could know what she was thinking. Was she scared of him? Did she hate him? Was she disgusted by the blood on his hands?
 

Yes,
he told himself.

“And he saved the Emperor’s life,” Hul added from behind.

Riece shot the guard an irritated look. “I thought I dismissed you.”

Hul nodded and made his retreat.

The girl tried to rise, but as she got her feet under her, she began to sway dangerously.

“Whoa there, maybe not so fast,” Riece said, catching her and holding her still. Clutching her against him sent an unwelcome thrill through his body.

“No, no, I’m all right,” she said unconvincingly as she tried to right herself and push his hands away from her. “Really, I feel—” But her words were suddenly choked off as her eyes rolled into the back of her head and her frame went rigid in his arms.

Her head. Maybe Tenoch had hit her harder than Riece had thought. He laid her back on the mat and cradled her head between his hands. She didn’t shake like someone suffering a fit might, and she didn’t go limp either. She was still conscious, but her entire frame was tensed, and her forehead creased with pain. Then, just as suddenly as it started, it ended, and she was blinking awake once more.

“Sorry, I must have gotten up too quickly,” she said groggily.
 

He eyed her, searching for the truth. She was ill. She had to be. There was no explanation for what had just occurred other than that, and he found himself foolishly worrying for her once more.

He had to get away from her before she was no longer just a slave, before he could only see her as the bold and fiery girl with dark eyes and a sharp tongue, before he found himself asking for her name and wishing for things and time that they would never have.

“Time to get you to the cells,” he said, ducking out to see Hul at his post down the hall. “Hul, escort this girl to the cells.”

“Wait,” she called after Riece before he could escape her. “You saved my life. Can I at least know your name?”

He had to bite his tongue. It took all of his self-control not to turn back and look at her. She could not know him, and he could not know her, and there was nothing he could do about it.
 

“My name is Riece, but you should stick to calling me ‘Sir.’”

He walked out of the room wishing a million things, and knowing that should she call out to him once more, he would be powerless to whatever she asked of him.

She was going to be trouble, he already knew.

This short story was inspired by

Sacrificed (The Last Oracle)
, the first book in The Last Oracle Series.

Forsworn (The Last Oracle Book II)
is now available on Amazon:

Read more about
Sacrificed (The Last Oracle Book I)
on Amazon

Read more about
Forsworn (The Last Oracle Book II)
on Amazon

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About the Author

Emily Wibberley grew up in the South Bay where she spent her formative years battling zombies on her Xbox, watching
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
, and voraciously reading Jane Austen and books like
The Hunger Games
, where her love for feisty young heroines was born.
 

After graduating from Princeton University Magna Cum Laude in 2014, she began writing. Her debut novel,
Sacrificed
, was named a finalist in the Young Adult category of the 2015 International Book Awards, the Young Adult category of the 2015 Beverly Hills Book Awards, and in the Young Author category of the 2015 Next Generation Indie Book Awards. Since its release,
Sacrificed
has spent more than six months as a Kindle Top Ten Teen and Young Adult Bestseller.

When she isn't reading the latest YA book, Emily enjoys watching kick-butt action movies with her two rescue German Shepherds, Hudson and Bishop, named after characters from James Cameron's
Aliens
.

Find out more about Emily on her website:

www.emilywibberley.com