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 walked slowly around the cottage, approaching the edge of the dense forest. She stared at the heavy line of trees, grown so close together that they looked like sentinels guarding the entrance, forbidding anyone to enter and yet, she got a feeling of welcome from the majestic guardians.
A soft wind whispered faintly across her cheek as if touched by a gentle, loving hand and the strong, familiar scent of ripe earth reached her, called to her.
Home.
This was home.
Elara narrowed her eyes, thinking she saw someone standing among the trees. Was she imagining it or was that a dark figure she saw? A man possibly? She strained trying to see clearly and then a motion caught her attention. A wave of a hand signaling for her to join him.
She had the overwhelming urge to do just that. The ache was so strong that she found herself taking a step forward when suddenly—she was yanked back.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Wedderlie
&
A Vision
* * *
Elara was spun around to land in her husband’s arms.
“What did I tell you about going near the forest here? The border of the forbidden land lies just beyond those trees.”
She turned her head toward the woods. “I thought I saw someone there.”
“Where?” he asked anxiously, keeping a hold on her, and turned her around.
“Among the trees,” she said, straining her eyes to see if she could spot the dark figure again.
Dar looked, narrowing his eyes to see if he could make out anyone standing there, but the heavy clouds overhead and dusk not far off made it difficult.
“He could be the man we seek.”
“I doubt it,” Elara said. “This isn’t the first time I saw him.”
“What do you mean?” he asked, turning her to face him.
“I saw him the last time I was here at Dea’s cottage, at least I thought I did but it was a fleeting glance.”
“So, you are not sure you saw anyone, neither now nor then?”
“I would say nay, but it felt real. He—somehow—felt real.”
Annoyance sparked the blue specks in his gray eyes. “I won’t dare send my men in there. They are fierce Hunters who catch their prey, but they are no match against sorcery.” He closed his hand around hers. “Come, the dark clouds will soon open and deliver rain. My men fill their bellies at the inn while they wait for me to join them and tell me what they have learned so far. You will tell me later what you and Dea discussed.”
The sharp dictate in his tone had Elara saying, “I understand you command the Hunters, Dar, but you do not command me. I have lived free as an herb-scribe and I will not see that change because I am now a wife, though I will find a way to accommodate that change so it will benefit us both.”
He looked about to argue, his brow narrowing, then he let out a huff and said, “Then I will do the same.”
Elara smiled. “You can be strange at times, demanding one moment and easily surrendering the next.”
He glared at her. “Hunters never surrender.”
“Not true,” she said with a chuckle.
“It is. There is not one Hun—” Dar shook his head. “You refer to Gorman losing his heart to his wife Regina.”
“Proving that what is said about Hunters is not always true.”
“And what is that?”
“That Hunters have no hearts. You have hearts, you just need to open them and feel.”
“Feelings do not serve Hunters well,” he said and stopped at the inn’s door. “There will be no talk of feelings once inside.”
“Later then,” Elara said and opened the door and entered.
The room was filled with talk and laughter, the awkward moments from earlier gone. Bella even wore a smile as she helped the lone servant maid refill pitchers and tankards and deliver platters of endless food that the Hunters devoured in no time.
Elara sat quietly at a small table in a corner where Dar had tucked her while he sat at a table not far from her to speak with his men. She took no offense to it, and besides, they were close enough for her to hear most of what they discussed.
“A wanderer and a seeker came through here as well as two travelers on route to Caerith to see family.”
“No one looked suspicious.”
“The wanderer entertained with tales in exchange for a meal.”
“The seeker annoyed everyone with questions.”
“Who cares why the sun rises as long as it rises.”
“Glad to see him leave.”
Dar listened, hearing much the same from Adelar, the village greeter.
“Maybe this fellow didn’t pass this way.”
Dar was beginning to think the same but there was the one fellow Bella mentioned who inquired about the old paths no longer traveled. Was he one of the travelers or pretending to be?
Then it struck him. Something he had told Elara.
Wanderers avoided Wedderlie. So, what was a wanderer doing here?