Total pages in book: 46
Estimated words: 43414 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 217(@200wpm)___ 174(@250wpm)___ 145(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 43414 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 217(@200wpm)___ 174(@250wpm)___ 145(@300wpm)
The pleasant sensation vanished, leaving in its wake a hurt that stung her heart. He didn’t kiss her because he wanted to kiss her. He kissed her because she was the only woman left for him to kiss.
She lifted her chin slightly and forced a bit of a smile. “I understand. We should get going to the ring of stones.”
Declan was about to object but held his tongue. She was right. It was wise for her to go with him. She might see something that he would miss.
“Aye,” he said and grabbed her cloak off the hook and draped it over her shoulders and could not help but think how much he enjoyed the tender kiss. How she tasted of honey and mint and how an enticing, sweet scent drifted off her hair to tickle his nose. And how he would not mind, at all, kissing her again.
The foreboding gray clouds seemed to follow them the whole way to the ring of stones and though Aura would normally pay mind to such an ominous sign, she didn’t overly worry about it since she had given small rowan sticks to the men for protection against evil, which they eagerly accepted, and she carried one herself.
It didn’t take long to reach the place. Though it did take a bit of maneuvering to get past the bushy pines that seemed to guard the area. Two of the four men who rode with Declan remained with the horses while the other two followed Aura and Declan, both clinging tightly to the rowan sticks.
Once past the trees, a small clearing appeared. It was cloaked in silence, as if the very air held its breath. The ring of stones rose from the earth like ancient sentinels—six in all, weathered and cracked, their jagged edges bearing the mark of time and something… older. Moss clung to their bases like forgotten prayers, and strange symbols, faint but unmistakable, had been etched into the stone. Some were worn smooth by centuries of wind and rain, while others looked newly carved, as if someone—or something—had been here not long ago.
The men hesitated, their gazes shifting warily around the area. Even the birds had grown quiet and not a single animal occupied the space.
Aura stepped forward, the rowan stick tucked in her belt at her waist, the cool dampness of the soil seeping through her boots. She could feel it, something unnatural had touched this place. It clung to the stones like a lingering whisper, low and taunting.
“It doesn’t feel right here,” Declan said. “We will not linger.”
“A moment,” Aura urged and got closer to the stones.
Declan grabbed her arms. “You shouldn’t get too close.”
“I need to get a closer look. I’ll be careful.”
He didn’t take any chances, he kept close at her side.
Aura approached carefully, peeking around the stones near the center and that’s when she spotted something concealed beneath a thin layer of fallen leaves. She quickly found a long stick and gently moved the leaves aside.
“Blackthorn,” Aura said, staring at the small bundle, each branch carved with symbols.
“Blackthorn is for protection,” Declan said.
“Aye, unless used for dark magic,” Aura explained.
“And those symbols?”
“I am not familiar with them.”
A wind suddenly rushed around the place, stirring up leaves and debris.
“We leave now,” Declan said, “and take nothing with us. This place bodes far too much of evil.”
He took hold of her arm and hurried her to the pines.
“Wait,” she urged and bent down to pull something half buried out of the ground and take it in her hand, brushing the dirt off it.
“Drop it,” Declan ordered. “Nothing from here leaves with us.”
Aura opened her hand to show him a stone with a hole going through it. “This doesn’t belong here. Someone purposely left it here.”
“How do you know that?”
“It is a hag stone and found only by seashores and riverbeds. It supposedly possesses magical properties that offer great protection. The only way it could have gotten here is if someone left it.”
“Or dropped it when brought here against their will,” Declan said.
“Regardless, it comes with us,” Aura insisted.
He didn’t argue. He wanted her gone from this place, fearful it held the type of power he couldn’t protect her against.
He rushed her to the pine trees, the two men already headed through them when the wind picked up just as he eased Aura through the slim entrance. It whipped around him, leaves and twigs striking him, forcing him to raise his arm to protect his face and halting his steps.
When it finally settled and he lowered his arm, it was to find himself facing the ring of stones and the witch standing beside it.
Her long white hair was windblown with leaves and sticks protruding from it and there was a sneer of anger on her face that had him taking a step back.