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)
“Before you begin to worry senselessly, you should know that Ogga cannot possibly have cast a spell on your grammy,” Bria said.
Henry looked unconvinced. “Ogga said—”
“Ogga lies,” Fiora snapped impatiently. “The council stripped her powers years ago. Fear is often more useful to her than magic.”
Henry fell silent, though his frown remained.
Bria could not blame him for not trusting what he was being told. But there was one way to be sure.
She stepped forward and reached her hand out to the older looking man, “May I?”
The man didn’t hesitate. He held his arm out.
She had barely touched him when she felt honesty in him.
“Go with them, Henry. They will help you.” Bria placed her hand on his arm, his frown not fading. “They will make certain you and your grammy are safe.”
“You?” Henry asked.
The genuine concern in his large eyes for her brought a glisten of tears to her eyes.
“I will keep her safe,” Kaelan said, “and I have no doubt our paths will cross again.”
“You meet Grammy,” Henry said and finally smiled.
“We look forward to it,” Bria said and gave Henry a hug, though her arms didn’t reach nearly far enough around his waist.
Henry grinned and tears pooled in his eyes as he walked away with the two men, turning twice to wave to her before the forest closed around him.
Kaelan took Bria’s hand in his as he stepped beside her and looked at Fiora. “What is it that you would not say in front of the troll?”
“Word escaped Driochmor, though how the council does not know, and that worries them as well. The tide is changing. War is not only coming to Scotara, but within Driochmor itself. Two sides want different things. Two factions wish to rule.”
“What word escaped Driochmor?” Kaelan asked impatiently.
Fiora flitted close to Bria. “The king knows that a Wise lives and he has called for her execution.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
The Council Summons
When the Past Speaks
The farther they traveled, the more Driochmor seemed determined to prove it possessed two very different souls. Gone were the twisted trees and oppressive shadows that had greeted them when they first entered the forbidden land. Here, sunlight filtered freely through golden and crimson leaves. Small streams wound lazily through moss-covered stones and birdsong drifted through the forest.
It was beautiful, quiet, peaceful, and entirely at odds with the darkness that lingered elsewhere in Driochmor.
Bria found herself wondering if the land reflected those who lived within it. Some sought peace, others power. Some wished to protect, others to conquer. Even now, with war threatening beyond its borders, Driochmor seemed divided against itself.
Fiora flitted ahead, her golden light weaving between the trees as she urged them onward.
The council waited, was impatient to meet her. But they were not what troubled her most.
Kaelan had barely spoken since learning the king knew a Wise lived, since learning the decree still stood and threatened his wife.
He walked beside her, alert as always, his gaze constantly sweeping the forest. Yet something had changed. He no longer held her hand.
The absence felt far greater than it should. Several times she almost reached for him and several times she stopped herself. He needed time to think, and she needed to give him that time, even though the distance unsettled her.
Bria watched him for several moments, lost deep in his thoughts, and then she caught it.
A brief flash of gold in his eyes.
The color appeared and vanished so quickly she wondered if she imagined it.
She glanced away, then back again. This time she saw it clearly. Gold flickered through his eyes before fading once more.
A chill ran through her.
The beast… he was fighting it.
The realization troubled her. Never had she seen him struggle so hard to keep the beast under control. Not when dealing with Henry or Ogga. Not even when Braden stood before him.
She watched him more carefully after that. His shoulders remained rigid. His hands opened and closed at his sides. Every muscle in his body seemed tightly wound as though holding something back.
Suddenly she understood why he had not taken her hand. He did not want her to feel what churned inside him.
A root caught the toe of her boot unexpectedly and she stumbled, her hand instinctively reaching out and finding nothing to stop or ease her fall.
Before she got anywhere near the ground, Kaelan’s arm wrapped around her waist, strong, steadying her.
Briefly, his eyes met hers. Gold burned brightly in them.
Then he set her back on her feet, released her immediately, and continued walking.
The distance returned in more ways than one and Bria’s worry only grew.
Enough was enough.
She hurried to walk beside him. “You are angry.”
Kaelan kept his gaze fixed ahead. “Nay.”
“Don’t deny the obvious.”
“I’m not.”
Bria frowned. “You have barely spoken for hours.”
“I have spoken.”
“A word or two does not count as conversation.”
A faint smile threatened the corner of his mouth. Then vanished just as quickly, but she had seen it and confirmed her suspicions. He was definitely upset.