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)
Fiora nodded.
“They knew we were coming.” He cursed beneath his breath.
He had walked willingly into the trap, pleased by the prospect of getting Adira alone when he should have questioned why everything had been prepared for their arrival.
Merek.
His directions had brought them here.
Dravic’s gaze went to Adira.
She had heard every word. She kept her expression carefully controlled, but fear had begun to gather inside her. Not for herself… for him.
Fiora darted toward the back of the cottage.
“The window in the rear wall. No one is watching it. They’re all waiting for the king to walk out the front door.”
Dravic looked toward the window.
“You need to leave. Now,” Fiora whispered.
“My men are out there and the Hunters who serve me loyally.”
“And what good will you do them if they capture you too?”
Dravic’s jaw tightened. He didn’t need a fairy pointing out what he already knew. Seger and his warriors had followed him into Driochmor and fought beside him. Every instinct demanded that he go to them. But walking out the front door would accomplish nothing except give their captors the one prisoner who mattered most.
“You said they’re all alive?”
“Aye. The Hunters too. They have them surrounded and disarmed, but no one has been hurt.”
He did not have to wonder why his men were not harmed. An attack would have woken him. This way all they had to do was wait until he left the cottage to capture him. But who waited to capture him?
“Did you see who commands them?” he asked.
“Nay. Some may be mercenaries and warriors disguised as villagers.”
Dravic cursed beneath his breath. “This could be Tharne’s doing.”
He looked at Adira again.
He would not take a chance with her life simply because he felt honor-bound to walk out that door to his men. Remaining free gave him a chance to find help and return for them. Captured, he could do nothing.
Fiora fluttered impatiently near him. “We don’t have much time.”
Dravic made his decision. “We’re leaving.”
He and Adria dressed quickly.
With their cloaks on, Dravic went to the window and eased it open and peered outside.
The rear of the cottage remained deserted, just as Fiora had promised. A narrow stretch of frozen ground separated the cottage from the forest, the trees close enough to offer cover once they reached them.
He glanced back at Adira and held up one hand, telling her to wait. Then quietly as possible he climbed out a window.
There was nothing graceful about it. The opening was narrow for a man his size, forcing him to turn sideways and duck his head before dropping to the ground.
Under different circumstances, he might have been annoyed by the indignity of it. Today he was simply grateful no one was there to witness it.
Fiora fluttered through the opening behind him. “I saw.”
Dravic sent her a warning glare.
The fairy grinned.
“Not one word.”
Fiora pressed both hands over her mouth.
Dravic turned back to the window and stretched his arms out to Adira. “Come to me.”
Adira heard him clearly.
She gathered her skirt enough to maneuver through the narrow opening, then hesitated when she saw the distance to the ground.
“I’ve got you.”
Her heart gave the same ridiculous leap it always did when she heard his voice, but this was no time to savor it.
She lowered herself through the window.
Dravic caught her around the waist and lifted her easily away from the wall, setting her on her feet without allowing her to move out of his arms.
For a moment, they stood there together.
His gaze went to the cottage, then beyond it toward the front of the village where his men were being held. Leaving them went against every instinct he possessed. But walking willingly into captivity would not free them.
He needed help, and he needed Adira away from whoever had gone to such trouble to bring them here.
Fiora suddenly flew higher. “Someone’s coming.”
Dravic’s caught Adira’s hand. “Stay with me.”
He tugged at her hand and ran, and she ran with him.
They crossed the open ground and disappeared among the trees just as voices sounded somewhere behind the cottage.
Dravic didn’t look back.
He kept Adira’s hand locked firmly in his as they moved deeper into the forest, choosing the thickest cover he could find. They had no horses, no supplies beyond what they carried, and he had no idea how many men would soon be hunting them.
Worse, he didn’t know where the bloody hell they were.
He slowed only when the village could no longer be seen through the trees.
“Fiora.”
“I know,” the fairy said, flying close. “See if we’re being followed.”
“Aye and come straight back.”
She flew off.
Dravic continued forward, keeping Adira close. He needed distance between them and Dunvar before their escape was discovered. Once it was, every road and path would be watched.
A faint sound behind them made Adira turn, then stop.
Dravic was brought to a halt with her. “What’s wrong?”
Adira stared toward the trees behind them. She had heard something. Not clearly enough to know what it was, but distinctly enough to know they were no longer alone.