Broken Aro (The Broken Ones) by Jen Wylie

use to try to escape.
    "Rot it!" She fought sudden tears at the
hopelessness of it all. Her body didn't want to obey and she turned away from
the others. She wanted to be home. She wanted her brothers. At the very least,
she wanted to know what had happened to them. Their absence was nothing new,
spring to fall they'd always been away. But she'd had letters and she'd known
where they were. The loneliness after the youngest had gone off had been hard.
She'd hated it and had fought it constantly. Deep inside she always knew they'd
be coming home though. Two years ago, her father hadn't. The hopeless feeling
she felt now reminded her of that. So did the pain in her chest. Losing her
father had been devastating. Now, losing all seven of her brothers at once was
something she didn't even want to think about.
    She glanced over at Kei. He had become something to
hold on to. Taking a deep breath she pushed the pain and hysteria away. It
would do no good here, now. Her family had taught her that. She needed to stay
in control in case an opportunity to escape presented itself.
    The storm intensified. She hadn't thought it possible
until the ship rolled nearly onto its side as the waves grew even larger. The
winds could be heard through the hull and had grown into an unnatural howl.
    "Quite the storm they've rode into," Bo
remarked with a grimace.
    When darkness fully blanketed the hold Kei took her
hand. She squeezed it tightly, wishing the chains didn't prevent her from
wrapping her arms around him. She just wanted to hold on to something and not
let go.
    The rolling got worse. Eventually they all moved to
the cell bars so they had something to grasp and keep them steady.
    By the faint light she could see people in the other
cells doing the same. She listened to the cursing and watched the gripping arms
and hands for a while before it registered there seemed to be a lot more people
in each of the other cells. She asked why aloud.
    "We're worth more," Prince answered quietly.
Even he had come to the bars so he wouldn't be thrown about the cell.
    She turned to look past Kendric at him and he smiled
faintly, with little amusement. Was he still mad at her or not?
    Before she could ask any more questions he continued, "The
cells at the front with the women are likely not as crowded either. But the
others are packed in twenty to thirty to a cell."
    Her mind went over this information. The fact that the
only thing those in her cell had in common was that they were soldiers, left
her confused. "So they want us to fight for them or something?"
    Prince shook his head, his face grim. "No.
Their…entertainment is the arenas. The crowds watch as slaves fight to the
death."
    His words turned her stomach and she clenched her
hands tighter on the bars in an attempt to fight down the rising panic and fear
within her. Dying in an area was what she had to look forward to? No. She didn't
really, because when they arrived at port they would certainly find out she
wasn't a boy and then...
    A deafening crack suddenly echoed above them, followed
by a groaning long creak and a boom that made the whole ship shudder.
    "Tell me that wasn't the mast," Kendric
grated.
    "It was," Prince answered. Kendric glared
over at him, as if it were his fault.
    Aro shifted to hold a bar with two hands, Kei and
Kendric both close to either side of her. The mast. That certainly wasn't good.
Did ships come with extra? Could they fix it at sea? She had no idea.
    Gah! Somehow things had gotten even worse. How was
that even possible? She found it hard
to think. Exhaustion pulled at her, but so did hunger. The cold and wet of the
water only made things worse. It didn't help she had started to not feel well,
she wasn't sure if it was from the rolling ship or being hungry.
    She had no idea how long they held on as the ship
rolled madly. She blacked out a few times, or maybe just fell asleep. Either
way, it frightened her. After the first time she started awake to find Kei and
Kendric