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)
The wife knelt beside her fallen husband, her sobs the only sound left in the still air as she hurried to tend to his wound.
Elara turned away, pressing a trembling hand to her lips. “Hunters are heartless creatures.”
Dar’s jaw tightened. “They do what they are ordered to do. It is the king who is heartless in his demand, and he will not stop until this healer is found.”
“Then perhaps it is time she is found, for if she is such an exceptional healer, she would not want anyone to suffer because of her.”
His brow shot up. “You think to find what others can’t?”
“I think this horror must stop and she is the only one who can stop it.”
Dar shook his head. “We can talk of this later. We need to move.” He scanned the edge of the woods. “They’ll search the forest next.”
“I can’t leave. Not yet,” she said shocked he even suggested it.
He turned a stern glare on her. “You can, and you will. The Hunters won’t stop for nightfall.”
“I need to speak to the villagers,” she said, her eyes darting to the village. “Learn what was said and who was taken.”
“What does any of that matter?”
Her chin lifted, defiant. “The Hunters’ words might provide information. And as for who was taken? They must be named so they can be found and returned home.”
He stared at her for a moment, the muscle in his jaw tightening. “You think the king will allow them to return home?” He shook his head. “He will put them to use at Caerith or in the village. They are lost to their families.”
“Nay, I don’t believe that,” she said with an unshaken resolve. “There must be a way to bring them home.”
Silence fell between them. He could see the stubbornness in her eyes. Foolish yet at the same time brave. A combination that could prove dangerous.
“You’ll get yourself caught thinking such nonsense,” he cautioned.
“Or not,” she challenged.
He grunted. “Willful woman.”
“Determined,” she corrected.
Her voice held no heat, only conviction. He almost smiled at that—almost.
“Besides, we separate here as agreed,” she reminded him and went to free her hand from his.
He kept hold of it, raising it up between them. “I let go when I say so.”
She glared at him, her voice sharp. “I am not your captive. I am free like you who wanders.”
He released her hand. “You are as free as I am to follow you.” His hand shot up when she went to speak. “Don’t bother to argue. It will do no good. I will remain with you until I know you are safe, and nothing will change that.”
“You are free to do as you will,” Elara said, seeing no point in arguing with him and took a step toward the village.
He watched her go, silver hair catching the light through the trees, her figure shapely, her stride determined. And damn if he didn’t admire it more than he should.
Elara’s heart hurt seeing the village in such disarray. The Hunters had torn it apart in their search for anyone hiding, much of it unnecessary. It was to instill fear, make people obey. Women moved among the wreckage, gathering what they could, blankets, spilled grain, righting toppled cauldrons.
“Elara? What are you doing here?”
She turned at the sound of her name.
Two women hurried toward her, skirts gathered in their fists, faces streaked with dirt and ash, and Elara recognized one.
“Nell, I hoped to warn you. I am so sorry I arrived too late,” she said, tears glimmering in her eyes.
The other woman gasped. “The Hunters hit Birkfell?”
“Aye,” Elara said.
Nell drew back, her eyes searching Elara’s face. “And Maelis? Where is she?”
Elara fought her tears as she shook her head slowly. “They took her.”
Other women had joined them, and they all shuddered at the grave news.
Nell pressed a trembling hand to her mouth, tears spilling freely. “Nay… not Maelis. She’s tended to most of us since we were bairns. She saved my boy when fever nearly took him.”
Elara’s voice faltered. “Maelis urged me to run and warn others.”
“That would be Maelis, always putting others before herself,” Nell said.
The grief in the woman’s eyes struck her like a blow. Elara wished she could offer some comfort, some promise that all would be well. But that only seemed like a distant dream now.
Nell gave a nod toward Dar, helping two men carry the man the Hunters had felled, into a cottage. “Who is he?”
“A wanderer,” Elara said. “He helped me avoid the Hunters that comb the nearby woods after they hit Birkfell. He offers me a bit of protection.”
“Wanderers don’t linger long in one place. Be careful, Elara,” Nell warned.
“I care not if he stays with me. I must do as Maelis asked… warn other villages.”
She did not mention her idea of hunting for the healer the king sought. It was better that no one knew of her plan. Maelis would argue against it, tell her she was insane, but what else was she to do, stand by as healers disappear, leaving others to suffer?