Wherever You Are

by Sharon Cullen

  “We’re well away from the fort. Do you really wish a watery grave tonight? It would not be an easy death, I assure you.”

  “Do you offer me one then?” She turned her head because she wanted to see him, the brim of her bonnet prevented it. But he was correct; the walls of the fort had faded into the night. She couldn’t see the light from the wall torches any longer. A shaft of fear went through her. There was no preventing it. Nothing but darkness surrounded them. The night seemed larger than it ever had on land, closing around the boat. It felt like they might be crushed in its grasp, just like the man holding her had the strength to do. “As soon as you need me no longer, will that knife finish its work, granting me a swift death?”

  “Light ahead, Captain.”

  There was both joy and fear in the man’s voice. Lorena turned to look at him. The moon cast an eerie glow on his face, but she could not miss the longing in his expression. However much she detested her current circumstances, she could not fail to enjoy watching the men manning the oars. They looked radiant, lifting their faces toward the twinkling beacon in the distance like it was a promise of eternal youth.

  Compared to their life at the fort, she supposed it was. Her heart softened, their plight had been a grim one indeed. But their success meant her ruin.