Total pages in book: 105
Estimated words: 97306 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 487(@200wpm)___ 389(@250wpm)___ 324(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 97306 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 487(@200wpm)___ 389(@250wpm)___ 324(@300wpm)
Fia continued walking, wondering over what she had sensed, for the storm was like none she had ever felt.
A storm of the heart brews.
Whatever did that mean? She wondered, though made no mention of it. She would think on it another time. Presently, she needed to keep aware of the forest and all that went on in it. The trees seemed content, the animals as well. It was not until they were not far from where she and Brock had their encounter with the hounds that she felt a change.
Varrick stopped her when they reached a certain point. “It is just beyond here.”
“Then I will walk ahead of you.”
Varrick went to object.
“I will keep you in sight,” she assured him.
“Make sure of it,” Varrick ordered and pulled her hood up on her head to tuck at her chin. “It is cold, keep your cloak closed tight and watch your step, the snow is heavy there.”
“Worry not. I have lived my whole life in the forest and know it well.” She kissed his cheek. Surprising herself and him, though he did not show it… but she felt it. Had an intimacy of sorts become that natural to them?
Fia pushed the strange thought aside and left her husband’s side, an odd sense of emptiness rushing to churn her stomach. It fled as soon as she entered the area, the complete silence startling her.
The forest was a melody of sounds, some seasons filled with more melodies than others. The winter was the quietest, but still, there was a melody. The trees whispered low among themselves, and the wind joined in, and the animals scurried about hunting for food, and the variety of birds called out, all creating the most pleasant melody. Unfortunately, she heard none of that. She heard nothing at all. She made her way to a large pine and rested the palm of her hand gently against it. It teemed with life, its roots strong and it slumbered as was its way in winter.
She glanced around, hoping to spot an animal or see a bird in flight, but she saw neither. She stepped away from the tree and cleared snow away from a spot on the ground. She laid her hand to the cold soil. It, too, slumbered peacefully. Yet there was something else she sensed but did not quite understand. Something that permeated the area. Something that gave it an empty feeling.
There was only one way she would come to know what it was. She turned and headed back to her husband.
A huge relief washed over Varrick when his wife started walking toward him. He had not taken his eyes off her since she had entered the area. He had waited, an anxious thumping to his heart he had not known before now disturbing him. He had kept his hand firm on the hilt of his sword ready to battle whatever might come her way, even if it was Death itself.
He spotted the uneasy look in her dark eyes as she got closer. She had discovered something, and he was eager to hear what it was.
Fia spoke before reaching him. “I need to stay in the woods to fully understand what goes on here.”
CHAPTER 18
“Absolutely not!” Varrick said, shocked by her remark. Never would he expect her to say that and never would he allow it.
“It is the only way,” Fia insisted, having expected resistance from him but not the anger she saw in his eyes.
“Find another way!” he ordered.
“Why bring me here and refuse my help?” she asked, wondering over his reluctance.
“I am not refusing your help, but you will help according to my orders.”
“That makes no sense,” she argued.
“It matters not. It will be done my way,” Varrick commanded.
She went to respond when the voice in her head whispered, “He loves you, but does not realize it. Does not understand it.”
Fia did not understand it as well. It was impossible. How could he love her? He barely knew her. But if it was true, then what about her own feelings for him? If anything, love was confusing, and she did not know what to make of it or least of all understand it. It was, however, even more reason for her to retreat to the forest and allow its peace and solitude to help her make sense of it.
“I need this, Varrick, and so do you,” she said softly.
He never corrected her when she spoke his name without his title. There was something intimate about it, something solely for them alone. And that gave him a thought.
He nodded. “You are right. It is something we both need.” He turned and shouted to Argus in the distance. “Lady Fia and I will remain in the forest to see this done.”
Fia hurried to shake her head. “Nay. Nay. I stay alone.”