Total pages in book: 134
Estimated words: 127026 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 635(@200wpm)___ 508(@250wpm)___ 423(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 127026 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 635(@200wpm)___ 508(@250wpm)___ 423(@300wpm)
Are we close? he asked through the wind.
She huddled down close to him. She had no idea how close they were. They had just reached the Erewa mountains. That was clear. In Kinkadia, it was summer, and here, it was perpetual winter. But she could barely think, let alone search for Fordham in the snow.
“We need to get lower. We need … a fire,” she said, blowing against her frozen fingers.
Even though her magic was returning to her, it seemed to be taking its sweet time in replenishing her supply. She was less than pleased.
I see smoke on the horizon, Tieran noted.
She peeled her eyes open and scanned the skyline. Snow dropped heavy into her lashes and on her face and into her eyes. She squinted, trying to see what his keen eyesight could pick out.
As much as she wanted to get out of the skies and enjoy someone else’s fire, the people of Erewa were notoriously unpleasant. They holed up in their mountains, wearing the fur pelts of the enormous mountain animals they hunted for food and clothing. They isolated themselves from the rest of Alandria by the height of their mountains and treacherous nature of their land. The few who made it through the dragon tournament and into the Society finished off their training and headed back to the mountains rather than stay in Kinkadia.
The last tournament, one of their competitors had instigated a riot and killed many of her fellow competitors. She was part of a fringe faction that wanted to escape Society rule and run their tribe as they saw fit. Kerrigan was unclear how many people agreed with her, and whether a dragon would be welcome in these parts.
At the same time, she was far from turning her nose up at a fire.
“Let’s get lower to see,” she said through chattering teeth.
Tieran circled low around the clearing and found a cave mouth that had been shoveled empty. A fire was burning within, and the smoke was coming out of the entrance. It was the only smoke they’d seen for miles.
“Drop me off nearby and stay close in case I need backup,” she told him.
You still don’t have full control of your magic.
“But I can fight like the best of them.”
Without the ability to feel your toes?
Kerrigan huffed. “I’ll make do.”
Tieran did as instructed, and she slid to her feet into the ankle-deep snow. She crept close to the entrance of the cave. The warmth from within hit her first, and she shivered all over. Next was the smell of some roasted animal with intense spices. Her stomach growled at that.
She was still debating how to approach the entrance to the cave when a knife slid over her throat.
“Not another step,” a voice said, low and dangerous.
Kerrigan stilled and raised her hands. “I mean no harm. I am merely walking through, looking for another stranger in these parts.”
“Liar. You’ve come to steal from us.”
“I swear to the gods that I have no interest in stealing from you. That I simply am looking for someone.”
“We’ll see about that.”
The person behind her tied Kerrigan’s hands behind her. She could have broken the knot if she wanted, but she wanted to use her magic as a last-case scenario. She didn’t know how skilled this person was. Surprise would always be better.
She was marched forward into the warmth of the cave. A half-dozen mountain males squatted around a raging campfire. Their furs were pushed back off of their faces, and a large boar roasted on a spit before the fire. The closer she got, the more she realized that two of the Fae were actually female. Their hair was cut short with a long braid at the front to indicate rank, as far as Kerrigan remembered.
“Look what I found.”
Then, she was tossed forward onto her knees.
She winced as the stone floor bit into her, but she was glad that at least she was closer to the fire. “I apologize for the inconvenience. I am not here to make trouble. I am simply looking for a friend.”
The person stepped forward, and Kerrigan got a good look at the female. She was enormous. Twice Kerrigan’s size with a string of braids wove into a crown on her head.
“I don’t believe her. We don’t have strangers up here. Certainly not ones who would be stupid enough to trek up the mountain in nothing but a bit of wool,” the woman barked.
The group laughed, and one of the other females stood. “I’ll tie her up, and we can decide on her story after our last one arrives.”
Kerrigan was lifted over the woman’s shoulder as if she were a sack of potatoes and deposited roughly to the edge of the cave. The other woman smiled kindly as she tied her hands to the stone.
“No worries. We’ll make a decision before dawn.”