Chapter 53 --53
As they boarded the barge again, Elara made a mental note: check on everyone more regularly. Just because people looked fine didn’t mean they were fine. Lisa had been suffering for two days in silence rather than ask for help.
Leadership wasn’t just about making big strategic decisions. Sometimes it was about noticing when someone needed candied ginger and a bench on solid ground.
The ’Silver Merchant’ pulled away from the dock, back into the flowing river.
Lisa turned distinctly green again within minutes.
But this time she was on deck with ginger, water, and a pressure point bracelet.
.
.
.
The storm hit on the fourth day, just after dawn.
Elara woke to shouting and the barge lurching violently to one side. She was thrown from her bed, hitting the cabin wall hard enough to bruise.
Outside, the sky had turned black. Rain hammered the deck. Wind howled.
She grabbed her cloak and stumbled out of her cabin, immediately getting drenched. The river—calm for three days—had transformed into choppy, angry water. Waves crashed over the sides of the barge.