Total pages in book: 138
Estimated words: 131875 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 659(@200wpm)___ 528(@250wpm)___ 440(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 131875 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 659(@200wpm)___ 528(@250wpm)___ 440(@300wpm)
“I don’t think she can speak,” the man said.
Their accents were slightly different from each other. And they were definitely different from hers.
Kerrigan’s gaze roamed past them. Fordham. Where was Fordham?
They’d fallen together through the portal. He should be at her side. He still had his magic, and he was … he was injured. A stab wound to his side.
Scales. She didn’t see him anywhere. She’d never entered a portal and not come out on the other side with the person she was with. Had he even made it through?
“Girl?” the woman said more strongly.
Kerrigan’s gaze snapped up to her. “Help,” she croaked.
The woman jumped backward a whole foot, her hand rushing to her chest. “My gracious, she is alive, Felix.”
“I see that,” he said with wide eyes. He hadn’t moved at all. The woman cleared her throat, and he bowed by inches. “Matron Flavia.”
She nodded her head once and then took a few steps forward. “Who are you, girl? Where did you come from? Who are your people?”
Kerrigan pushed herself up onto her elbows and then promptly flopped back down again. Her limbs barely functioned. She had never felt this weak in her life. Especially not after the last year of dragon training. Her stomach twisted at the thought. She’d left her dragon, Tieran, back in Alandria. She had no idea what was to become of him. It was enough to make her want to vomit all over again.
“Shall I help her?” Felix offered.
“Find out who she is,” Flavia said. She tilted her head. “Did you run away from your family?”
She sniffed as she assessed Kerrigan’s strange attire. She’d been in her dragon robes for the ceremony on her ascension to the Society council before all hell broke loose. She had no clue what she looked like now.
“I don’t know.” Her eyes focused, and she looked around. “Where are we?”
“Dear me,” Flavia said. “How far have you traveled that you know not where you are?”
Kerrigan couldn’t explain. Well, she could, but she’d sound insane. Dropping through a portal and landing in the middle of nowhere.
“I’m looking for my mother.”
Flavia blinked, a hungry expression crossing her face for a moment. “And who is your mother? Would I know her?”
Kerrigan recoiled from that look. Maybe she shouldn’t tell this woman anything. Her father, Kivrin Argon, had told her that the name Andromadix was a powerful one. That her mother’s husband, Vulsan, had been trying to find and kill her. Giving that name sounded like a death sentence. And she didn’t know if her mother’s name, Keres, was any better.
“I don’t know,” Kerrigan repeated instead.
Flavia huffed. As if she’d just lost a prize. “Well, help her up, Felix. Don’t dally. We’ll take her into the tavern and get her cleaned up. A hot meal and a bath will make a world of difference.”
Felix bent down and gently lifted Kerrigan to her feet. She wavered unsteadily, but he kept a respectful hand on her back to keep her up.
“What happened to you?” he asked low as Flavia traipsed toward the town that Kerrigan could now see in the distance.
“I … I don’t know,” she lied.
“Well, I hope you remember soon,” he said with a kind smile. “So we can return you to where you belong.”
“Thank you.”
He nodded. “Come now. It won’t do to make the matron wait.”
With Felix’s help, Kerrigan shuffled forward awkwardly until she got the hang of her legs again.
The town was only a handful of buildings, and people openly stared at her as she passed. They watched Felix with nearly as much disdain as they did with curiosity about her.
“Why … why are they looking at you like that?”
Felix pursed his lips. “They’re not used to seeing an Andine around these parts.”
Kerrigan understood the undertones of his comment, but she had no idea what an Andine was.
It must have been a touchy subject, because he said nothing further about it, just gestured for her to enter the tavern. More looks were thrown in Felix’s direction as they approached the bar, where Flavia was speaking with a busty woman with muted brown hair and keen eyes.
“This her?” the woman asked.
Flavia nodded. “We need to get her in a hot bath and some sustenance as well. You can handle it, Madrina?”
“Course. Course. Same as normal,” Madrina said. A broad smile came to her face when Flavia agreed. “We’re having stew for dinner tonight. Thalassia is baking the bread as we speak. Let’s get you into a tub, and you’ll feel a might better by the time it’s ready.”
Kerrigan felt as if she were missing a piece of the puzzle. “I … I don’t have any money.”
“I’ll cover it,” Flavia assured her. “We’re going to send out runners to see where you belong. What did you say your name was again?”
“I didn’t,” Kerrigan said.