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)
“Are you sure?” the lass asked, a tremor in her voice.
“It’s safe,” Dar confirmed, leaving the two elderly women to lean against each other as he joined Elara. “I heard two Hunters say they were finished here. It was time to move on.”
The young lass ran to the two older women, and they hugged her close.
“What of the others?” one of the old women asked.
“We’re here,” a voice called out, and two more women emerged from the woods.
“Two were captured,” Dar said, “or so I heard the Hunter say.”
The woman who recognized Elara huddled together with the other woman, tears pooling in their eyes.
One woman spoke the concern of them all. “What now?”
“With the Hunter saying they were finished here, I doubt they will return to Rathmor again,” Elara said. “At least for now.”
“You mean they will keep returning until the healer they search for is found,” one woman said what all thought.
“And if she is nothing more than a myth,” another woman asked.
“We all suffer,” an elderly woman said, her wrinkled cheeks wet with tears.
“The healer the king looks for shouldn’t hide. She should go to him,” the young lass said as if the solution was simple.
“It is not that simple, Cara,” one woman said.
“Why not?” Cara asked, scrunching her nose confused. “Healers heal. Healers help. Healers do not let anyone suffer.” Her young eyes spread wide. “Maybe she doesn’t know. We need to find her and tell her.”
The women stood silent, the solution sounding so simple and yet…
Cara turned to Elara. “You are brave. You can find her.”
“That is a good idea, Cara,” Elara said, making it seem that she placated the young lass. “I will search for this healer the king wishes to meet.”
Cara’s pretty but dirt-smudged face lit with a smile. “You will find her. I know you will and then all will be well.”
If only life could be as simple as a child sees it, Elara thought and the soft smiles on the women’s faces told her that they thought much the same.
“I will do my best,” Elara said.
The women lingered only long enough to thank Elara again before slipping back toward the village path. Their voices faded into the hush of the forest that was once again coming to life. Birds twittered, animals scurried, a soft wind poked at the branches and rustled the leaves of the many trees.
Once the last gray cloak disappeared. She turned to Dar and announced as she walked, “We go to Wedderlie.”
Dar’s long strides closed the space between them quickly as he hurried around to step in front of her, forcing her to an abrupt halt. “First, a respite might be wise. We have barely been able to take a breath since sunrise, and—” His tone turned firm. “We are not going to Wedderlie.”
“We cannot rest.” She pushed a loose strand of silver hair from her face. “Every hour we waste, the Hunters gain another. We need to find the healer.”
He stepped aside and kept pace beside her as she began walking again. “You think you can do what no one else has been able to? And do you believe she is real and not simply a myth?”
Elara shrugged, feeling the weight of both questions. “I can only try. Do you believe she is real?”
He turned a puzzled look on her. “I don’t know what to think but let’s say she is, and you find her. Do you think she will go voluntarily to the king?”
“If she is such a powerful healer, why wouldn’t she go to the king? What would she have to fear?” Elara asked as if it made sense to her.
“That the king would keep her captive,” Dar suggested.
She scoffed. “That is a ridiculous notion. If she can defy death, don’t you think she could easily defend herself against the king?”
Dar shook his head. “I honestly don’t know. She either hides or she is nothing more than a myth and if she hides the question remains… why? And what if you do find her and she refuses to go to the king?”
“Then we know her healing talent comes from a far different source, a deeper, darker source.”
“And one the king may need to think twice about,” he said, “and one we will avoid just as we should avoid Wedderlie.”
“I think not.”
Dar’s hand shot out, catching her arm firmly and pulling her to a halt. The suddenness of it stole her breath.
His gray eyes flared with annoyance. “You can’t keep throwing yourself at danger and Wedderlie is nothing but danger.”
She tried to pull free, but his grip only tightened. “Let me go.”
“Nay. Not until you see reason.”
The words vibrated between them, low and taut. She could feel the warmth of his hand through the fabric of her sleeve, the steady beat of his pulse against her skin. The command in his voice should have angered her, but it didn’t, it unsettled her instead and sent her heart stumbling.