Total pages in book: 92
Estimated words: 87731 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 439(@200wpm)___ 351(@250wpm)___ 292(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 87731 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 439(@200wpm)___ 351(@250wpm)___ 292(@300wpm)
He cast a glance at the tracks once more. “Aye, I came here searching—” His head shot up, his eyes focused somewhere in the distance. “No time to waste.”
Bria studied him carefully while he began following the tracks once again. Bria glanced toward the ground and saw little beyond broken earth and flattened growth. Yet Kaelan never hesitated, never searched uncertain for direction as though the beast’s tracks remained perfectly visible to him.
Another quiet reminder that far more remained hidden beneath the man than he willingly revealed. Still, despite the questions steadily growing within her, she followed him deeper into Driochmor without hesitation, and that realization troubled her the most.
Bria hurried to keep pace with Kaelan as he followed the tracks deeper into Driochmor. Dawn had strengthened enough now that the forest no longer lay swallowed entirely in shadow, though sunlight still struggled to break fully through the thick canopy overhead.
And slowly, almost without her realizing it at first, the forest began to change.
The twisted darkness that had surrounded them through the night eased little by little. The trees no longer stood bare and skeletal but carried leaves unlike any she had ever seen, long silver-green strands that shimmered softly whenever the faintest breeze stirred them. Thick moss spread across the ground in rich shades of emerald, and strange vines climbed the trunks in graceful spirals rather than tangled knots.
Even the air felt different, clearer.
Bria found herself looking around in growing wonder despite herself.
“It is not what I expected,” she admitted softly and yet Kaelan heard her as if the breeze had carried her words to him.
He glanced briefly toward her while continuing forward. “Most things are not, once truly seen.”
His words made her wonder if she was yet to truly see Kaelan.
Her attention drifted beyond him and caught suddenly on a cluster of flowers growing near the base of a pale stone. Tall and delicate, their deep purple petals glimmered faintly beneath the dim morning light, their color so rich it seemed almost unreal.
Without thinking, she slowed a step toward them. Then stopped herself.
Kaelan’s warning returned at once. Best not to touch anything here.
Bria folded her hands tightly within her cloak instead, though her gaze lingered on the flowers as she passed.
Ahead of her, Kaelan slowed briefly and crouched near the ground, brushing his fingers through disturbed earth before rising once more.
“The tracks turn east,” he said, more to himself than to her and set a faster pace.
Bria quickened her pace to catch him, though her attention continually wandered now. Strange things revealed themselves the farther they traveled. Small pale creatures darted silently through the greenery and vanished before she could fully see them. Long strands of silver moss hung from branches overhead, glowing faintly whenever light touched them. Once, she spotted water flowing between stones not in clear silver but soft shades of blue-green.
Nothing in Driochmor felt entirely natural. Yet strangely, it no longer felt entirely hostile either.
Kaelan suddenly stopped.
Bria halted as well, though too quickly. Her foot caught on a thick root hidden beneath the moss, throwing her off balance. Instinctively, she reached out. Her palm struck the trunk of a nearby tree.
At once warmth spread through her hand and she froze.
The sensation flowed gently through her, soft and calming, easing tension she had not even realized she carried. For one startled moment, she thought the comfort came from herself, from the strange ability she had always possessed.
But no. This comfort flowed into her, not from her.
Her eyes widened slightly as she stared at the strange tree beneath her hand. Its bark carried faint streaks of silver beneath soft gray, almost like veins running through stone.
The tree had comforted her, and the realization left her breathless.
Slowly, Bria straightened and drew her hand away, though the warmth lingered faintly against her skin.
Then she saw them again, more of the purple flowers.
Only a few steps away this time, growing tall among thick green brush, their petals swaying softly in the light breeze.
Suddenly she needed to touch one, not from recklessness, more from curiosity. A strange pull she could not explain.
Bria stepped toward them and reached out.
Kaelan moved instantly. His hand clamped firmly around her wrist and pulled her back against him before her fingers could brush the petals.
“Do not touch that.”
The sharp command startled her far more than his grip.
Bria looked up at him in surprise. For the first time since entering Driochmor, genuine alarm burned in his eyes.
She glanced quickly back toward the flowers. “Why?”
“They are poison.”
Bria stared at the delicate purple blooms in disbelief. Their petals shimmered softly in the pale morning light, beautiful enough to tempt anyone closer.
“They do not look poisonous,” she said, though she knew better, familiar with poisonous plants that grew in the forests of Leighfeld.
“Trust me, they are. Only the Wise can touch them.”