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)
Silver threaded the dark hair that fell past his shoulders and more showed in the closely trimmed beard covering a hard jaw. He was tall and broad through the shoulders, his powerful build untouched by age, as were his fine features. His dark eyes were the same as Dravic remembered—sharp, watchful, and possessing the confidence of a man accustomed to command.
Tharne, the Warlord of Drogath.
Here in Scotara, in the heart of winter. How had he managed that?
Dravic felt Adira move closer to him. His fingers tightened around hers.
Tharne’s gaze shifted to Adira. Something changed in his expression. It was slight enough that another man might have missed it.
Dravic did not. He stepped slightly in front of Adira.
Tharne’s gaze finally returned to him. “You have something that belongs to me, King Dravic.”
Chapter Thirty-Three
Hidden Truths
A Kingdom Betrayed
Dravic’s arm tightened around Adira. “If you refer to Adira, you’re mistaken. She belongs to me.”
Tharne scowled. “She belongs to no man.”
Dravic delivered a scowl of his own. “You stand on Scotara soil, Tharne. I suggest you remember to whom you speak.”
“I know exactly to whom I speak.”
“Then you also know your presence here without my consent is an act I could consider a declaration of war.”
“You’ve considered us at war for months.”
“Impending war,” Dravic corrected. “You made it clear you were preparing for war, getting ready to strike.”
“A threat I had hoped would force you to give me what I wanted when the time came.”
“And that time is here?” Dravic asked, making certain that Tharne was threatening war if Dravic did not give him what he wanted.
“Aye,” Tharne confirmed and glanced at Adira.
He could not be serious, Dravic thought, seeing who he glanced at.
“You want Adira?”
“Aye,” Tharne said, confident he would get what he wanted.
Fury raced through Dravic, his eyes narrowing until an obvious explanation occurred to him.
“You believe Adira is the healer your men have been searching for. The one who can defy death.”
Tharne’s gaze remained on Adira.
“You’re wrong,” Dravic said. “She isn’t the healer.”
“That isn’t why I want her.”
Dravic’s patience was growing thin. “Then why?”
Rather than answer, Tharne asked, “How long has she been with you?”
Dravic’s eyes narrowed. “You don’t question the king. You answer to him.”
Tharne paid him no heed. “How long, Dravic?”
“Long enough for me to know you’re not taking her anywhere.”
Adira’s fingers curled more firmly around his.
Tharne noticed and asked, “Where did you find her?”
“Why does that matter?” Dravic snapped.
Tharne’s hands fisted at his sides. “Everything about her matters.”
Dravic studied him more carefully. This wasn’t simply about whatever connection Adira might have to the Morvane Clan. There was something personal in the way Tharne watched her, something Dravic had failed to notice at first because he’d been too concerned with keeping the man away from her.
“What do you know about Adira?”
Tharne responded with a question of his own. “Did she have the necklace when you found her?”
Dravic went still.
Adira gave no reaction beside him, but he felt the slight movement of her hand in his.
Dravic turned cautious, realizing more was going on here than he realized. “How do you know about the necklace?”
“Did she have it?”
Dravic took a step toward him, making sure Adira remained behind him. “You’re in my kingdom, imprisoned my warriors, and you’ve had me brought here against my will. You will stop asking questions and answer mine.”
The warriors lining the hall shifted, ready to step forward.
Dravic didn’t spare them a glance.
Tharne did. He raised one hand and the men stilled.
“Did Adira show you the necklace?” Tharne asked.
“Of course, she did,” Dravic said as if it was a foolish question to ask. “The necklace bears the symbols of the Morvane Clan. It belonged to Adira’s mother, which tells me there is some connection between them. Perhaps her mother fled the Morvane. Perhaps she had reason to hide her daughter from them. I don’t know.”
Tharne’s jaw tightened at the mention of Adira’s mother.
That reaction didn’t escape Dravic. “You knew her mother.”
It wasn’t a question.
Tharne’s gaze remained on him.
Dravic suddenly understood that he’d finally struck upon something the man hadn’t intended to reveal.
“You knew Adira’s mother?”
Tharne said nothing.
“What do you know of her?”
Still, Tharne said nothing.
Dravic’s temper snapped. “You threatened war against Scotara to get Adira. You crossed the Sea of Shadows before winter closed it. You brought armed men into my kingdom and somehow knew exactly where she would be. Now you stand there questioning me about a necklace that had belonged to her mother, while refusing to tell me why any of it matters.”
He took another step forward and this time Adira moved with him.
Dravic felt her beside him and stopped. He would not allow his anger to make him careless with her safety.
He moved close to her. “Who is Adira to you?”
Tharne looked at Adira, his hard expression softening. “Adira is my daughter.”
Dravic said nothing but felt Adira’s hand go slack in his. He turned immediately toward her. She was staring at Tharne.