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)
Adira lifted her head and looked anxiously between them, sensing every thread of tension.
The king studied the two of them, expression carved from cold stone, but something calculating flashed behind his eyes.
Feena continued gently, “Please, my king, allow me to stay with her as she acclimates. I will help her understand her new role, her responsibilities. She will not fail you.”
A charged silence followed.
Finally, the king spoke sharply. “Very well, she may keep you near her… for now.”
Feena sagged with relief, though she kept her composure, her hand tightening gently on Adira’s.
“But,” the king continued, lifting a stern finger, “you will not accompany her everywhere. There will be places you are not permitted. There will be times she must stand at my side alone.”
Feena bowed her head. “I understand, my king.”
“You will ensure she understands it as well,” he said sharply. “Explain it to her. However, you do it—by touch or gesture—she must know her place.”
Feena turned slightly toward Adira and pressed her hand to her own heart, then tapped the space above Adira’s. A soft reassurance. A promise.
Adira’s shoulders eased a bit, though her hand remained tangled tightly in Feena’s sleeve.
The king lifted his chin in dismissal. “You may all share the morning meal together in the Great Hall. Go. I will join you shortly.”
Feena bowed her head. Elara did the same. Adira hesitated—her gaze flickering anxiously between Feena and the king—until Feena touched her arm and guided her toward the door. The lass followed, steps small, shoulders tight with uncertainty.
Tavish opened the chamber door for them, and once all three were outside, he shut it firmly behind them.
They walked in silence down the corridor, the torches throwing shifting pools of gold along the stone floor. Only when they had turned the corner, far from the king’s hearing, did Feena release a long, tremulous breath.
Elara touched her arm gently. “He allows you to stay with her. That must bring you some comfort.”
Feena managed a thin nod. “Aye… for now.”
Adira slipped her hand into Feena’s, clinging like a frightened child. The old woman squeezed back, her voice soft but unsteady as she tried to reassure her with gentle pats to her arm.
But when Feena lifted her eyes to Elara, something in them had changed, something hollowed by dread.
“At least she is safe for the moment,” Elara whispered, hoping the words offered solace.
“Nay, lass,” Feena murmured, her aged voice breaking like thin ice. “Safety is the one thing I fear she no longer has.”
Together they walked on toward the Great Hall, the heavy hush of the castle swallowing their steps, while somewhere behind them, a door closed again with a soft, final click.
Chapter Eighteen
The Great Hall
Shadows of What’s Next
* * *
The Great Hall of Caerith always seemed too large, too echoing, too cold but never more so than that morning.
The long tables were laid with trenchers of warm bread, soft cheese, roasted roots, and bowls of oat porridge threaded with honey. Servants moved silently behind them, refilling cups and adjusting platters, but the hall itself felt hollow, as if the stones were holding their breath.
Elara, Feena, and Adira sat close together midway down the table before the hearth, their meal half-eaten. The king had not yet appeared.
Elara watched Adira nibble at a small piece of bread, her movements stiff with unease. The lass kept glancing toward the dais where the king’s high-backed chair loomed empty and overbearing.
Feena placed her hand over Adira’s, offering the gentle touch that always calmed her. “Easy now, lass,” she murmured, patting her chest, then touching Adira’s. “Safe. Together.”
Adira’s tense shoulders softened slightly, but fear still clung to her like a second skin. Her wide green eyes moved between Feena and Elara, searching for understanding.
“No harm will come to you this morn,” Elara offered with a reassuring smile, knowing the lass could not hear the words yet hoping she might feel the calm behind them.
“She’s beginning to understand,” Feena whispered, glancing toward the king’s empty chair. “She knows we will stay here… and I believe she knows, and fears, she will serve the king.”
Elara’s stomach tightened. “How? She cannot hear what’s been said.”
Feena turned weary eyes on her. “It took me time to learn how she senses what others miss. Touch, expressions, the weight of a room, the way men stand, the way fear fills the air. She feels it all. And I cannot imagine the joy it must bring her at times and other times how it must terrorize her.”
Adira lifted her head, watching their faces with anxious attention, as though piecing together a puzzle she wished to understand.
Feena smoothed a hand over the lass’s braid. “She will adjust in time.”
It was easy to hear that Feena sounded more hopeful than certain and before Elara could comment, a subtle shift rippled through the hall. Adira must have felt it too, since her eyes widened and she turned toward the door.