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)
The little creature’s ears suddenly twitched.
A moment later, footsteps approached quickly through the trees and Kaelan emerged from the darkness.
The instant he spotted her standing there, his expression sharpened. He crossed the clearing swiftly and stopped directly before her, his eyes searching her face.
“What happened?”
The urgency in his voice startled her.
Bria barely spoke above a whisper. “The beast was here.”
His jaw tightened instantly. “In camp.”
“Nay, I woke to find you gone—”
“So, you foolishly searched for me?” He gave her no time to answer. “You do not wander in Driochmor alone in the middle of the night.” Irritation roughened his voice. “Anything could have found you.”
“But it did not.”
Kaelan went still.
Bria held his gaze despite the lingering fear still twisting through her. “This is the second time I have stood face-to-face with the beast, and neither time has it harmed me.”
“It approached you?”
She nodded slowly. “Close enough that I could feel its breath.”
Kaelan’s expression hardened further, though not in the way she expected. Not fear for himself, fear for her. The realization touched her heart in a strange way.
“He could have killed you.”
“But it did not,” she repeated softly and turned quiet for only a moment, before admitting, “I almost touched him.”
Kaelan’s head lifted sharply.
Bria frowned softly, her thoughts drifting once more to the beast standing so close beside her in the darkness. “I wished to know what he felt.”
Alarm flashed openly across Kaelan’s face now. “You must never do that.”
His sharp warning startled her and had her asking, “Why?”
“Because you do not know what waits inside another creature’s mind.”
Bria watched him carefully. “A comfort healer sometimes must look deeper to understand pain.”
His gaze narrowed instantly. “You enter people’s feelings that way?”
“Not always,” she said quickly, suddenly realizing she had revealed more than she intended. “Only when necessary. Sometimes pain hides itself too deeply for simple comfort alone to reach it.”
Kaelan remained disturbingly still.
“And when you touched me?” he asked quietly. “Did you look deeply there as well?”
The question unsettled her far more than it should have.
Bria looked away briefly toward the fire. “Nay.”
“Why not?”
Because something about him frightened her. Because something about him tempted her. Because every touch already affected her too deeply. But she could hardly speak those truths aloud.
“I did not feel the need,” she said and caught a hint of relief in his eyes.
Kaelan turned to kick loose dirt over the last of the dying flames as he continued to talk with her.
“As a healer, you should understand that some things are kept buried deeply for good reason.”
His words were not sharp nor did they warn. They seemed more personal. And suddenly Bria found herself wondering not what Kaelan hid from the world… but what part of himself he feared she might someday uncover.
The little creature barked, drawing their attention.
Bria smiled. “He is impatient to leave.”
“As am I,” Kaelan said and placed a gentle hand at her back for her go, then he followed behind her.
Morning light spread more easily through this part of Driochmor, though the forest still carried an otherworldly feel that kept Bria glancing uneasily around as they traveled.
The strange silver trees slowly gave way to greener growth, and while unfamiliar plants still crowded the forest floor, more ordinary signs of life appeared the farther they walked. Birds called softly overhead. Narrow paths wound between the trees, worn not by animals but by frequent use.
Signs of people.
Even so, Bria could not shake the feeling that Driochmor remained unpredictable and dangerous.
The little creature trotted happily ahead now, his long ears bouncing with each step while Kaelan followed at an easy pace beside her. From time to time the small fellow would stop and look back at them impatiently, as though making certain they continued behind him.
Bria found herself strangely comforted by the little fellow’s excitement.
After midday, the trees finally began thinning ahead, allowing sunlight to spill more freely across the ground. A moment later the forest opened entirely, and Bria slowed in surprise.
A village stood nestled within the clearing. Not ruins, nor strange crumbling remains swallowed by the forbidden land. Nay, it was a true village.
Stone cottages with moss-covered roofs rested among gardens and narrow winding paths. Smoke curled lazily from chimneys while villagers moved about much as they did in Willowmere or any other village in Scotara. Children carried baskets. Women hung herbs to dry. An older man split wood beside one cottage wall.
For one startled moment, Bria forgot she stood in Driochmor at all. Then she noticed the silence. People had seen them.
Conversation faded quickly as wary eyes turned toward the strangers emerging from the forest.
Bria instinctively moved a little closer to Kaelan.
The little creature paid the tension no mind whatsoever. He suddenly gave an excited bark and raced ahead across the clearing.
An older woman near one of the cottages gasped sharply. “Tibby!”
The cry rang through the village.