Total pages in book: 109
Estimated words: 103333 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 517(@200wpm)___ 413(@250wpm)___ 344(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 103333 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 517(@200wpm)___ 413(@250wpm)___ 344(@300wpm)
She raised the branch ready to defend herself but the man fell to the ground before he reached her, Dar’s dagger protruding from his back. She stood speechless seeing three men dead and one only minutes away from death.
Warrior.
The thought rang like a tolling bell in her head. Dar had to have once been a warrior to be so skillful with a blade. His dagger had landed on each man where there was no chance of survival, the blood loss too great.
Dar gathered the four horses’ reins and secured them to tree branches, then he retrieved his dagger from the fallen man’s back, wiping it clean on the man’s cloak before sheathing it and went to Elara.
His hand went to her face, cupping it firmly. “I will always keep you safe, Elara.”
Words failed her. She simply did not know what to say.
Dar smiled. “I am glad to see that you would have fought beside me.”
The word slipped out from her lips without hesitation. “Always.”
“We make a good pair, wife,” he said, his hand falling away from her face as he leaned closer and kissed her lips gently.
Her trembling legs, she hadn’t realized trembled, gave way and she fell against him, his arms going around her to hold her tight. She pressed her face to his chest, inhaling his manly scent that mingled with the rich scent of the forest she loved so much. He almost smelled like home to her and his scent calmed her.
“It’s over. You’re safe,” he assured firmly, leaving no room for worry. “And we have horses now, which will make our quest easier.”
She drew her head back and smiled faintly. “An improvement for sure.”
“Aye,” he agreed and brushed his lips over hers once again even though he silently warned himself not to.
He favored the taste of her, sweet and potent, and her courage intoxicated as well. That she hadn’t run in fear, hadn’t left him, had him admiring her even more. But that was a dangerous thing to think, dangerous to feel, dangerous for them both.
Dar kept hold of her as he asked, “How did you know the men approached?”
“I don’t know,” she admitted, her voice steady now. “I heard them before the forest did, felt them, saw them.”
“You have the power of sight?” he asked, looking at her strangely.
She allowed herself to feel comfortable with him, trust him, and, in doing so, she made a mistake. The power of sight was linked to dark magic, though she did not quite understand why. What was evil about seeing things before they happened? Could it not somehow prove beneficial? But after the Great War that divided Scotara and brought about Driochmor, the forbidden lands, the power of sight was considered evil.
She had only the truth left to her. “It would seem so, though I don’t know why. I mean no one harm and it has only served to help me.”
He stared at her as if contemplating this unexpected revelation. “Does anyone know about this?”
She shook her head. “Nay, I was too fearful to speak a word of it. It is my secret alone and now yours… I hope.”
“It is a dangerous secret to keep.”
“And even a more dangerous secret to reveal,” she countered.
“You will alert me to these visions and share them with me,” he ordered.
He commanded as if he was used to doing so and Elara once again questioned if he had once been a warrior and one used to command. If so, what had happened to him to make him choose the solitary life of a wanderer?
“Your visions could prove helpful to us as they just did,” he added.
“And you will share my secret with no one?” she asked, needing a direct answer from him.
“It will not slip past my lips, but you are foolish to think it will remain a secret. These visions do not come upon by will but unexpectedly. One day someone will see how you grow unsteady on your feet and look dazed and begin to question.”
“I can feign illness.”
“Not for long. The history of dark magic and how it almost took control of Scotara lives long in people’s memories. They are quick to spot it and eradicate it before it spreads.”
“Yet the king searches for the healer who has Driochmor blood running through her. How is that different?”
“That you would have to ask the king, and he does not take well to being questioned from what I hear,” he cautioned. “We best not linger. We have a journey ahead of us that will be made easier by the horses that are now ours.”
Elara’s eyes turned wide, the violet color glowing like a polished amethyst stone. “Feena, the old healer, maybe she can at least advise me on how to control my visions.”
“You will need to see if you can trust her first,” he said, taking hold of her hand and leading her to the horses.