Free Taken by the Enemy by Jennifer Bene Page B

how she passed the hours, occasionally opening her eyes to mark the movement of the sun, before returning to her focused meditation. The chill had long since settled into her skin, and shivers rippled through her muscles causing her teeth to chatter for minutes at a time before fading, only to return again.
    Shouts and cheers broke into her reverie and she lifted her head to see people gathering off in the distance. Their voices grew louder until snippets started to drift towards her.
    “Deer! Five Deer!” a young man’s voice shouted.
    “They’re back, they’re back!”
    “Victor is going to be pissed when he returns, his group will never beat this haul!”
    The crowd parted as they moved into the village center, uncomfortably close to her, and then Lucian appeared with a narrow log over one shoulder. Another man held the other end and between them hung a deer. They were laughing, talking, as the others filed in to place the other deer on the ground. His face was brightened by a broad smile, and he caught the excited hug of a woman with one arm before she ran off into the crowd.
    That was when he saw her.
    Lucian’s face changed instantly, the joy wiped from it as a cloud of anger replaced it. Another round of shivers shook Emmie then, and she dropped her eyes from him. His voice roared, “BEN! Ben, where the hell are you?”
    He was getting closer to her, she could hear the furious crunching of his boots over the leaves, but then another shout to the side stopped him. “Lucian! Let’s talk.”
    Mathias .
    Emmie forced her head up again, and found herself staring across the distance directly into Lucian’s gray eyes. He kept his eyes on her for a moment longer, his fists tightening, but then Mathias called his name again and he turned away from her to follow the older man.
    Ridiculously, Emmie felt relief as he left even though it meant more time bound to the tree. The gathered crowd assisting with the deer was looking at her, but she just closed her eyes against them and dropped her head. Time had little meaning anymore, measured only by the reprieve she had from her shivering, and then Lucian’s voice snapped off to her right.
    “Get her down from there and bring her to Mathias’ now!”
    It was Evan who stood in front of her a moment later, still dirty from the hunt, but he gently lifted her chin and looked her in the eyes. His were honey brown, and suddenly Emmie was thinking about whether his child would have his eyes or Lucie’s blue ones. “Are you all right?” he asked softly as he started to work at the rope around her waist.
    “Fine.”
    “You have a talent for getting under their skins.” Evan glanced at her as he threw the rope around the tree, gathering it in loops as he freed her.
    “I’m sure your child will be a lot better behaved.” The words left her before she could catch herself, and he froze. Emmie sighed, rolling her ankles as he began moving again to let her loose. “Lucie told me, she was teaching me to make baskets this morning. I was terrible at it.”
    “Bad basket weaving got you tied to a tree? Exactly how bad were you?” Evan laughed a little, but sobered as he stood to free her wrists.
    “It wasn’t the basket weaving.”
    “I figured. I, uh, haven’t seen her yet. How is she doing?” The tremble in his voice made the father-to-be’s nerves clear.
    “Good. She’s very nice.” Emmie spoke quietly, wincing as her wrists were freed and she started to work the stiffness out of her fingers. The rush of blood back to her arms made her dizzy for a moment, but he reached out to steady her before she lost her balance.
    “Thanks, I think so too. Do you need to sit down for a minute?”
    “I’m fine.” She brushed his touch from her shoulder and he backed away, giving her space and turning his eyes everywhere but her. “Let’s just go,” she muttered.
    Evan nodded and lightly grabbed her arm to lead her back to Mathias’ house, even though there was no chance