Total pages in book: 96
Estimated words: 91416 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 457(@200wpm)___ 366(@250wpm)___ 305(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 91416 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 457(@200wpm)___ 366(@250wpm)___ 305(@300wpm)
It wasn’t long after they ate that Knox started yawning.
“Go and lie down. I will be right with you,” she encouraged. “I just wish to freshen myself a bit.”
“Don’t be long,” he said and went to kiss her, but a yawn interfered.
“Go,” she urged with a playful shove. “I won’t be long.”
She waited and when after some time had passed and he didn’t call out to her, she entered the room. He was naked, the blanket half covering him. She went and tucked it around him, then added more logs to the hearth so he would stay warm.
She didn’t dare glance his way one last time, for she feared she might not have the courage to leave him. Then she slipped on her cloak and walked out the door, the pain of leaving him so unbearable that she feared she might not survive it.
CHAPTER 18
Dru’s breath came fast and shallow, each step pushing her farther from the man she loved, from the life she had just begun to think might be possible. The night had swallowed her whole, and now dawn threatened to expose her, painting the world in streaks of pale gold.
She couldn’t stop. She couldn’t think. If she did, she might turn back.
The road ahead was long and dangerous, and she would have to once again become the lass no one would look twice at. A wretched thing with tangled hair and the stench of filth clinging to her. It was the only way to survive.
Tears threatened, though she didn’t know how that was possible since she had cried copious tears after leaving Knox. They left her drained and now she was exhausted after walking all night. She would need a place to rest—a place where she wouldn’t be found.
She treaded lightly, not wanting to be heard in case someone was in the area… mercenaries mostly.
A sound brought her to an abrupt halt. What was it she heard? She listened, waiting to catch it again.
It came. A sharp, ragged cry.
Dru stilled, every nerve in her body tightening. The breeze carried more sounds—gruff voices, the unmistakable thud of a blow landing, and a muffled grunt of pain.
She dropped into a crouch, keeping low as she crept along, what could barely be called a hill, toward the noise. The trees thinned, giving her a glimpse of the clearing below.
It didn’t surprise her to see four of Phelan’s men. It was why she intended to avoid the roads and take paths less traveled.
What did surprise her were the people they held captive and how badly they’d been treated.
Owen was on his knees, blood dripping from his lip down over his chin. One eye was already swelling shut. Rona stood beside him, her face set in a grim line despite the crimson staining her mouth, her lip swollen. Wilbur had one arm wrapped around his middle, his nose broken, his breaths wheezing.
“You didn’t think we’d be watching you, foolish lad,” one of the warriors sneered, tapping the flat of his blade against Owen’s cheek. “Where is she?”
Owen spat blood onto the ground. “Who?”
The warrior drove a fist into his stomach, and Owen crumpled with a sharp gasp.
The warrior grabbed his hair and yanked his head back. “You know who. I’ve told you three times—Autumn. Tell me where she is or next time you’ll feel my blade instead of my fist.”
Dru’s vision blurred with rage. The thought of running, leaving her friends to suffer, never entered her head. Her mind quickly went through different rescue scenarios, fearful Owen did not have much time. She needed to at least even the odds some. She had to get rid of two men before facing the other two. And she had no doubt the trio would help her once she disabled at least one warrior.
Her eyes quickly searched along the ground, finding what she needed. She reached for the sizeable rock, gripping its rough edges until her palm burned. She rose just enough to get the one man in her sights and take aim. Then with more strength and speed than most would expect from her slim arm, she sent the rock flying.
The stone struck her target, hitting the warrior in the temple with a sickening crack. He collapsed like a felled tree.
Everything erupted at once.
Rona lunged for a fallen branch and swung it into another warrior’s ribs. Owen, still gasping for breath, forced himself upright and threw his weight into the man closest to him, sending them both sprawling.
Dru didn’t hesitate. She sprinted forward, grabbing the fallen man’s sword and whirling to block an attack from the third warrior. The clash of steel rang through the clearing. Her arm shook with the force of it, but she held firm, twisting her blade and driving forward.
The warrior grunted as she sliced across his arm, but it wasn’t deep enough to stop him. He managed to kick her legs out from under her.