Chapter 7 #2
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.
It must have unsettled him as well since his eyes locked with hers, confusion and surprise mingling.
He released her arm. “Wedderlie sits too close to the forbidden land for it to be safe. People disappear from there all the time. Wanderers stay away from it as do wise healers. It is known that even Hunters avoid that village.”
“I understand your reluctance and quite agree with it. But we are left with little choice. With the village so close to forbidden land, someone there might know the truth of the tale. Besides, we will be safe from Hunters since you said they avoid the village.”
“From the fire into the firepit,” he grumbled, then grabbed her arm again, pulling her close.
She nearly gasped when her body brushed close, so close she could feel his warmth, see the vein in his neck pulse rapidly, and see specks of blue flash in his gray eyes.
“At my side is where you will stay when we reach Wedderlie or I will return you to Birkfell,” he warned.
Challenge sparked in her violet eyes.
“I am warning you, Elara. Defy me on this and I will shackle you and carry you over my shoulder all the way back to Birkfell.”
It had to be no more than a threat, but he said it with such conviction that she believed he would actually do it, though it would take much strength. Was she underestimating him? Was there more to him than she saw?
He was right about Wedderlie. It wasn’t a safe place, and he had agreed to go there with her. So, it would be wise of her to remain by his side once there.
She nodded. “I will stay close.”
The blue specks in his gray eyes flashed brighter as he said, “And you will continue to be my wife. As unpredictable as Wedderlie can be, there is a respect for wedded women. No man will touch another man’s wife.
Besides, those Hunters we ran across believe us to be so.
There is no telling if we might run into them again. ”
He made sense and the added protection of being his wife, though pretended, would offer the safety she needed while carrying out her search for the healer.
“Then let us not dally, husband, but get on with our task,” she said, accepting his suggestion.
A slight smile tickled his lips as he said, “Barely a wife and already she dictates to me.” And he stretched his hand out for her to lead the way.
Elara chuckled and walked ahead of him, though he fell in step beside her.
The forest was quiet and felt watchful. Had it fallen silent to listen to them, hear their words, understand what they intended to do and be prepared?
Elara kept an even pace and a silent tongue as they walked, her mind chaotic with thoughts while trying to ignore the ghost of Dar’s touch, when he had pulled her close, and the kiss that wasn’t real but felt real.
And it made her wonder why, in a time of such turmoil, her thoughts lingered on the wanderer.