Total pages in book: 155
Estimated words: 142916 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 715(@200wpm)___ 572(@250wpm)___ 476(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 142916 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 715(@200wpm)___ 572(@250wpm)___ 476(@300wpm)
Movement from the meadow brought her attention back to the frantically digging badgers. She had no idea how the women would get out of that hole. It was a good six feet deep and they were still descending.
Silke studied the four women. Each wore a distinctive shawl. The woman who had been on Benedek’s left side had a shawl that was woven with a grayish ombré hand-dyed yarn. The colors blended into the night and shadows quite easily. This time her heart jumped. She’d seen that shawl on many occasions. Fenja had tucked it around her when she was a mere toddler. She had asked Fenja to borrow it when she went out late at night to visit an ailing child because the warmth and comfort of that lightweight shawl were incomparable.
Silke had never asked Fenja where she got the shawl. She’d always had it, and Silke took it for granted. If she had thought about it, she assumed Fenja had made it. The shawl was very distinctive, and she doubted if there could be two of them. Was this woman an ancestor of Fenja? She shared her thoughts with Benedek.
“Do you think it is possible?”
Benedek hesitated. “It is possible. The spirits of wise women sometimes remain to walk the earth and aid others. I know that to be true. It is possible Fenja is one of these women. Tell me about her.”
“She’s an incredible healer. There is not one single plant that we’ve come across that she isn’t familiar with. She knows how to use them and what each is good for.”
“She never married.”
“No, she said she had the calling and it was important. A husband would demand her time, and she didn’t have it to give.”
His arms tightened around her. “Did she teach you everything she knows about plants and healing?”
“Yes, of course. I’m her daughter. I may not be her blood, but I’m her daughter. She’s the only mother I’ve ever known. She was generous teaching me.”
Benedek indicated the women as they turned from his body and looked up toward the darkened sky. The badgers had taken the hole down at least twelve feet and were still digging. A wave of power emanated from the resting place. There was nothing in the least feminine about that power. It was solidly masculine.
Benedek raised the four women from the hole. The badgers continued to dig, dropping him deeper and deeper into the soil. Silke had no idea how far down they put him, but it was the deepest she’d ever seen. The soil sparkled with minerals and healing properties. All four of the witte wieven women sprinkled a mixture of herbs, flowers and powders over Benedek’s resting place and his battered body while they chanted.
The badgers suddenly ceased their work and clawed their way to the surface. Immediately, soil poured into the hole, covering Benedek’s body completely. Silke found she couldn’t look away. Once again, she found her lungs were burning raw. She was unable to pull in air, suffocating, her nose and mouth refusing to draw the much-needed oxygen into her lungs. Panic welled up.
“You are not underground, sivamet. You are here with me. We are merely observers. We could be watching a play unfolding, but it isn’t interactive.”
She realized it felt real because she was merged with Benedek. It was real to him because he’d lived through it. Still, it was strange that she’d had such a reaction and even now had to force herself to breathe deeply. Her reaction? Or his?
He felt perfectly calm, but he didn’t always acknowledge his emotions. Was it even possible for a Carpathian to feel as if they were suffocating?
“This is probably a silly question, Benedek.” She was going to ask him, even if he made fun of her later.
“There are no silly questions. If you want to know something, just ask. If I am able to answer you, I will. Not that I can guarantee you’ll always like the answer,” he warned.
She leaned her head against his chest. Her heart beat that little bit too fast. “When the soil closed over your head, did you feel as if you were suffocating?”
“I am Carpathian. The soil is rejuvenating. I needed to be deep, where my father and brothers couldn’t detect where I was sleeping.”
She remained silent. Waiting. He hadn’t answered the question. He dropped his arms from around her, and at once she felt alone. She was used to being alone, so it didn’t make sense to her that she was vaguely upset. She didn’t let men touch her, yet she was already missing the way it felt to be held by him.
Benedek gently turned her to face him. “Do you want to know because it will be one more thing for you to put on your list of why you don’t want to be Carpathian?”