Total pages in book: 108
Estimated words: 105132 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 526(@200wpm)___ 421(@250wpm)___ 350(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 105132 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 526(@200wpm)___ 421(@250wpm)___ 350(@300wpm)
His mother would have known the names of many of them.
The thought came unexpectedly.
Once he would have dismissed most of what grew around him as little more than forest growth. Now he found himself wondering what purpose each plant served, which ones healed, which ones harmed, and he looked forward to Adira teaching him about them.
His stallion suddenly stopped and Dravic immediately looked down.
The small dog-like creature that had been trotting ahead of him had halted beside a patch of thick undergrowth. Its nose worked furiously against the ground.
Dravic leaned forward in the saddle. “What is it, Tibby? Have you found her?”
Tibby lifted his head and sniffed the air, turned in a circle—and sat down.
Dravic swore.
Tibby looked up at him.
“Do not look at me like that. We have been searching for five days.”
Tibby scratched behind one ear.
Dravic’s eyes narrowed.
Five days. Five damned days of following the little creature through Driochmor while it sniffed trees, rocks, paths, and anything else that caught its interest.
When Kaelan had first told him about the strange dog-like creature he and Bria had encountered during their journey through Driochmor, Dravic had thought the answer to finding Adira had finally been handed to him.
According to Kaelan, Tibby could follow almost any scent.
Dravic had wasted no time seeking out Winnie, the creature’s owner, upon returning to Driochmor in the spring.
The woman had been only too pleased to allow Tibby to help the king. But she had warned him of one thing. Tibby could not be hurried.
Dravic had discovered that for himself.
The creature went where his nose took him, stopped when something interested him, and when he grew tired, he simply plopped himself down wherever he happened to be and refused to move.
No command changed his mind. No amount of coaxing worked. Even food had failed once Tibby decided he had walked far enough for the day.
Dravic had never encountered a creature so completely unimpressed by the authority of a king.
Tibby yawned.
“Do not even think about it.”
The little creature lowered himself onto his belly.
Dravic swung down from his stallion. “Nay. We are not done for the day.”
Tibby rested his head on his front paws.
Dravic glared at him.
His stallion gave a snort behind him.
“I need no opinion from you either.”
He paced several steps away, then back again. His patience had been strained long before this journey began. He had spent the winter ruling Scotara while every instinct in him had demanded that he return to Driochmor and search for Adira.
He had attended council meetings. Settled disputes. Listened to petitions. Prepared Scotara for the changes that would come with Driochmor no longer isolated from the rest of the kingdom. He had done everything required of a king.
And every night he had gone to bed alone. Nearly every morning he had awakened reaching for the woman he loved who was not there.
Winter had seemed endless. And damn if he had not seen hide or tail of Fiora once during all that time. He wondered what might have happened to her, since she could not go long without taking great delight in annoying him. And he feared she may have met some harm.
Now spring had finally arrived, and he was wandering through a damned forest arguing with a creature small enough to carry beneath one arm.
Dravic looked down at Tibby. “I have been separated from her long enough.”
Tibby’s tail moved once.
“I love her.”
Another small thump of his tail.
“And she loves me.”
Tibby closed his eyes.
Dravic scowled. “You could at least pretend to care.”
That earned him nothing.
He turned away and looked through the trees.
Where was she?
Tharne had insisted Adira was safe. Faith had agreed. Neither would tell him more, if they even knew more. And Dravic had finally stopped asking.
He didn’t want someone to tell him where Adira was. He wanted to find her himself. He wanted to see her. Touch her. Take her in his arms and assure himself that she was truly there.
After that—he would decide precisely how angry he intended to be with her.
Very, he suspected.
A rustling sound came from behind him.
Dravic turned.
Tibby was on his feet, his nose lifted into the air, sniffing. Once. Twice. Then his whole body seemed to change. He darted off the path and disappeared between the trees.
Dravic’s heart slammed against his chest. “Tibby!”
The creature didn’t stop.
Dravic grabbed his stallion’s reins and swung into the saddle.
For the first time in five days, Tibby wasn’t wandering… he was running.
Dravic urged his stallion after him. “Tibby!”
The little creature vanished through the trees, forcing Dravic to duck beneath a low branch as he followed. The trail narrowed, then disappeared altogether, but Tibby continued without hesitation.
For the first time since their search began, Dravic did not have to urge him on.
His heart beat harder. Adira, she had to be close.
The trees began to thin ahead, sunlight spilling through the branches. Dravic slowed his stallion as he emerged from the woods into a clearing.