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)
Her eyes opened wide and for a moment they were unfocused. Then they found him.
Relief crashed through him so violently that he pulled her against him and held her tight.
Adira sagged into his embrace, relieved to be in his arms, and to hear him swear softly that he would never let her out of his arms again.
He closed his eyes and pressed his face into her hair.
“Bloody hell, woman.” His voice was rough. “You will never frighten me like that again.”
Adira barely heard him. Something strange filled her. It wasn’t pain she felt, nor did she feel weak. Maybe a bit tired and yet she felt strong, a strength she had never felt before now.
It rushed through her body, through every part of her, as though something that had always been hidden deep inside had suddenly awakened and stretched after a lifetime of sleep.
Images flashed through her mind—memories, she realized after a few of them, and yet she did not recall living them.
She saw a Hunter with an injured arm, a woman lying motionless in a forest clearing, a man bent over her. Then there was a healer to whom she had handed part of a necklace to. She recognized the young lass in the village who had nearly died, and Cadby who had died but the healer…
Adira gasped and pulled away from Dravic, but he would not have it.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, keeping firm hold of her.
She shook her head and gripped his arm around her.
“You don’t know?”
She shook her head again.
“We need to get her to back to the castle. There are magical healers there who can help her,” Tharne said.
“That won’t be necessary.”
Adira turned at the sound of the gentle voice. She didn’t have to see who it belonged to. She knew. Though how, she couldn’t explain. She only knew it belonged to her mum.
She turned her head, and there, not far from her, stood… Feena.
Chapter Thirty-Six
Truths Hidden
What Lies Within
Morvane Castle was quieter when they returned. It wasn’t all peaceful, not yet. The damage left behind by Ernach’s betrayal remained everywhere. Warriors moved through the halls carrying supplies, tending to the wounded, and securing the prisoners who had survived the battle. Orders were given in low voices as the castle slowly returned to some sense of order.
But the Great Hall itself was calm, for now. Tharne spoke with a servant and Feena lingered not far from him.
Adira sat at the long table near the hearth, close to the heat.
Dravic stood beside her with a cloth dampened in warm water, gently wiping away the last traces of blood from her face.
“You are fortunate I am too relieved to be angry with you.”
Adira smiled softly, hearing the king in him.
His hand moved carefully over the spot where the blood had been. There was not a single trace of a scar. It was like she had never hit her head.
When he had first found her in the forest, he had seen the blood and believed the worst. He had known battles, seen wounds, and too often had witnessed death. But nothing had ever terrified him as much as seeing her lying lifeless.
He took hold of her chin. “There is something I need you to remember.”
Adira kept her eyes on his, sensing the importance of what he was about to say.
“Whatever is said here today, whatever truths are uncovered, whatever anyone should claim…” He paused, his expression softening. “To me, you are and always will be the woman who challenged me when no one else dared. The woman who saw things others overlooked. The woman who sat beside my hearth and somehow made a place that had always felt empty feel like home.” His hand fell away from her chin to take hold of her hand. “Nothing will ever change that.”
Adira held his gaze.
Dravic lowered his voice. “And no one takes you from me.”
Before either could say more, the doors to the Great Hall opened.
Tavish entered first. Behind him came Dar and Elara, Kaelan, and Bria.
“Look who is here,” Tavish said,
Dravic remained seated beside Adira, his hand remaining wrapped around hers.
Dar crossed the hall first. “We missed the battle, but we are grateful to Tavish for sending word that you needed help.”
Kaelan inclined his head as he stepped forward. “We came as quickly as we could.”
Dar and Kaelan both bowed.
“We are here to serve you, my king,” Kaelan said.
Dravic acknowledged them with a nod. “I am pleased to see you all. What of the men who were sent to kill members of the High Council?”
“They have been captured, though it was more of a surrender,” Kaelen said. “Thanks to Henry, a troll and a friend of mine and Bria’s. He is on the large size—”
“That’s an understatement, but he’s one of the good ones,” Fiora said, zipping past Kaelen’s head.
Kaelen continued. “He brought several of his large friends with him. Surrender was swift.”