Chapter 32
Chapter Thirty-Two
No Way Out
What Awaits Within
Dravic had no time to consider it or how it was that Merek’s directions sent them straight into the hands of the Morvane Clan.
A shout sounded somewhere behind them. Closer this time.
He shoved the necklace back into Adira’s hand and she quickly stuffed it into the pouch and slipped that into her pocket.
Dravic caught her hand, and they ran.
The shout behind them was joined by another, then another, coming from different directions. Their pursuers were spreading out, attempting to drive them toward a destination Dravic could not see.
He changed direction.
“Fiora, stay ahead of us.”
The fairy darted through the trees while Dravic kept Adira close beside him.
The forest grew denser the farther they went, but it was not only the thick growth that slowed them.
The land itself seemed to change around them.
The trees grew twisted, their bare branches reaching across one another overhead like long, crooked fingers.
Roots rose unexpectedly from the frozen ground, forcing them to watch every step.
Something black and narrow slithered across their path.
Adira drew up sharply.
Dravic pulled her against him and watched the creature disappear beneath a tangle of roots.
“Keep moving,” he urged.
They did, but not for long.
A branch suddenly swept downward in front of them.
Dravic yanked Adira back.
The branch hung there for a moment before slowly rising again.
“Bloody land,” he muttered.
Adira might have smiled if she hadn’t heard another shout behind them.
She tugged at his hand and pointed back.
“I hear it. Keep moving.”
They pushed on, but the forest became increasingly hostile.
Thorny vines curled around tree trunks, their long tendrils stretching across the ground.
Bare branches seemed to shift as they passed beneath them, and more than once Dravic caught sight of something moving through the undergrowth alongside them.
He stopped.
Adira looked at him questioningly.
Dravic slowly surveyed their surroundings. The Morvane symbols were everywhere now. Trees. Rocks. Even a large stone half buried beneath dead leaves bore one of the carvings. They were going deeper into Morvane land. Exactly where their pursuers wanted them to go.
Worse, he had no idea what waited ahead.
Dravic had spent his life learning when to advance and when continuing forward would cost more lives than it saved. A man who refused to recognize the difference was a fool, not a warrior.
He would not be that fool today, especially with Adira beside him.
“We’re stopping.”
Fear flashed in her eyes.
He took hold of her face. “I don’t know this land. They do. Every step I take could lead us into greater danger.”
Adira shook her head and clamped her hand around his wrist.
He understood what she was saying. “I am not surrendering. I am King of Scotara. This land belongs to my kingdom as surely as Caerith does.” His voice hardened. “I have run far enough on my own land.”
Adira could not hide her fear.
He kissed her again as fiercely as his last kiss and her fear grew, worrying it could be the last time they ever kissed.
Dravic released her and drew his sword. “Fiora.”
The fairy flew to him.
“Stay with Adira.”
“My king—”
“That was not a request.”
Fiora immediately flew to Adira.
Dravic turned and waited.
The first warrior emerged between the trees. Then another and another. They came from both sides, spreading out until Dravic realized how thoroughly they had been surrounded.
At least a dozen men stood before him and more appeared behind them.
Dravic moved in front of Adira.
No one attacked.
That told him what he needed to know… they wanted him alive.
“Who commands you?” he demanded.
He was met with silence and his temper flared.
He raised his sword, not in attack but in warning. “I asked who commands you.”
A large warrior stepped forward. “You will come with us.”
Dravic’s eyes narrowed. “You mistake your position.”
The man looked almost amused. “Do I?”
“Aye.” Dravic lowered the point of his sword, though his grip remained firm around the hilt. “You stand on Scotara soil before the King of Scotara. You will take me to whoever commands you.”
“You are in no position to give orders.”
“I am king. I am always in a position to give orders.”
Adira’s heart pounded despite the fear gripping her. That was Dravic. Surrounded, outnumbered and with no idea where they were being taken, and still no man standing there could make him appear anything less than a king.
The warrior’s gaze shifted past him to Adira.
Dravic immediately stepped back closer to her. “Look at me when I speak to you.”
The man’s gaze returned to him.
“You want me?” Dravic said. “You have me. But no one touches her.”
“We were told to bring both of you.”
Dravic went still. So, Adira was part of this. He had feared that might be so ever since she was almost abducted. But why? Why would anyone want Adira?
“Take us to the man who gave the order,” Dravic commanded.
The warrior motioned to the others and several warriors moved forward.
Dravic lifted his sword and they stopped.
“I will walk willingly. She stays beside me, and no one lays a hand on her.”
The warrior nodded.
He agreed far too quickly. A sure sign that the warrior had been given orders not to harm them. Someone wanted them alive.
Dravic sheathed his sword and reached back without looking. Adira slipped her hand into his, and his fingers closed firmly around hers.
Whatever waited for them deeper in Morvane land, they would face it together.
And this time, Dravic intended to get answers.
They were marched for what seemed like forever, never resting, never stopping for a quick drink from a stream, never saying a word. Until now, when the forest gave way and a castle rose ahead of them.
“Faster,” the one who led them ordered, anxious to be home.
As Dravic picked up the pace, Adira doing the same beside him, he stared at the castle that was smaller than Caerith but formidable, built of dark stone with high walls and guards stationed along the battlements.
More warriors waited inside the gates, far more than Dravic expected to find gathered in one place.
They had barely entered the bailey when shouts erupted.
“My king!”
“Release the king!”
He turned to see his warriors and the Hunters corralled behind a high wooden enclosure at the far end of the bailey. Beyond them, their horses were confined in another, his stallion pacing angrily along the barrier.
Relief struck Dravic at seeing his men alive and unharmed.
“Stay alert!” he shouted.
The response was immediate. The shouting stopped. His men knew what was expected of them now. They would be ready.
Dravic gave them no further attention as he and Adira were taken toward the castle. He kept her close as they entered.
A warrior stepped in front of them. “The woman comes with us.”
Dravic stopped, fury gathering in his eyes as he issued a command like only a king could. “Absolutely not!”
The man’s voice lost some of its strength as he attempted to order the king again. “You go upstairs. She goes elsewhere.”
Dravic drew Adira closer. “She stays with me.”
The man shook his head, frustrated. “We have orders.”
“Aye, from your king. Now obey them.”
“Your orders are meaningless here,” another warrior said, stepping forward.
He sneered at Dravic, then motioned to two men, and they moved toward Dravic while another reached for Adira.
Dravic struck first.
His fist caught the nearest man across the jaw and dropped him where he stood. He drove his shoulder into the second, sending him stumbling backward into the stone wall before turning for Adira.
Two more warriors rushed him.
One managed to catch his arm. Dravic drove an elbow into the man’s face, but the delay was enough for another warrior to seize Adira and pull her away.
Fury exploded through him. “TAKE YOUR HANDS OFF HER!”
Adira fought just as fiercely. She twisted against the warrior’s hold and grabbed his arm with both hands, trying to shove him away.
NAY.
The word formed loud and clear in her mind and she shook her head.
The warrior suddenly stopped fighting her, his eyes turning wide. His hand fell away from her arm and he stepped back.
She stared at him, confused by his abrupt surrender, but Dravic was still fighting his way toward her. Another man went down beneath his fist before a sharp command rang through the passage.
“Enough!”
Everyone stilled.
“Take them upstairs… together.”
Dravic immediately went to Adira and tucked her firmly against his side, one arm locked around her as his furious gaze swept the warriors surrounding them.
No one attempted to separate them again.
“Move,” the warrior in charge said.
Dravic’s glare warned the man that his patience had reached its end. Then he guided Adira forward, keeping her tucked close as they were escorted up a winding staircase and through a long corridor. At the end, a heavy wooden door stood open, and they were ushered inside.
The room surprised Dravic.
A fire burned in the hearth. A bed occupied one wall, while a table and two chairs stood near another. It was comfortable enough, but the heavy shutters over the window and the bolt sliding into place on the other side of the door left no doubt as to its purpose.
They were prisoners.
Dravic waited until the footsteps faded before turning to Adira and taking her in his arms. “Are you alright? You’re not harmed, are you?”
Adira shook her head.
Dravic ran his hands over her arms, assuring himself that the men had left no injury behind before pulling her against him. He held her there for a moment, the anger that had consumed him when they tried to take her still lingering.
He had stopped running, knowing they would be captured, but he had little choice left to him. But then he had not entered Driochmor without a plan and that plan was what had given him the confidence to let them be captured. What he hadn’t expected was the attempt to separate them.
That troubled him more than he cared to admit.
He eased her away from him. “Show me the necklace.”