Total pages in book: 129
Estimated words: 119158 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 596(@200wpm)___ 477(@250wpm)___ 397(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 119158 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 596(@200wpm)___ 477(@250wpm)___ 397(@300wpm)
“Yep. Clothes are dry, and I’m warm. Nothing to worry about. No illness here. You’re not ditching me yet.”
“I’d at least wait to ditch you in a town. I’m afraid you wouldn’t be able to survive on your own without me to watch over you.”
“And you need me to watch your back in town to keep you from getting killed. Face it, you’re stuck with me.”
A strange expression I couldn’t quite read crossed Nylian’s handsome face, but it was gone too quickly, lost to the shadows cast by the flickering fire. “Get some sleep. I’ll take the first watch tonight.”
“Are you sure?” I’d taken the first watch the past two nights because I struggled so much falling asleep on the hard, cold ground.
“It’s fine. I want to think about the Riverhold plan some more.” He turned his head toward Jasper and Adeline, who were getting their meager pallets ready to sleep. “We’ll start out at first light. The more miles we can cover each day, the faster we can get to Riverhold.”
I lay as close to the fire as I could stand while wrapping my cloak across my torso. With my right arm pillowed under my head, I reached out with my left to catch the edge of Nylian’s cloak before he could take up a guard position away from the fire. The elf stopped and kneeled next to my head.
“Make whatever plans you feel you have to, but they have to include me,” I whispered harshly, hoping the crackle and pop of the fire masked my words for Jasper and Adeline. “You need my help. You’re not going anywhere without me. Even Galinaes.”
Long, slender fingers drifted down and threaded through a stray lock of my hair, pulling it from where it had fallen across my forehead. “I know, Lockhart. I know.”
Nylian straightened and moved away from the light so his eyes could adjust to the darkness of the surrounding forest. I don’t know whether it was the soft ripple and splash of the nearby stream or the unexpected swim we’d taken, but I had little trouble falling asleep that night.
However, those five words followed me into my dreams, leaving my heart aching. There had been something heavy and unsettling in his tone, as if he didn’t find my presence reassuring, but something that made him weary…and maybe even sad.
Chapter 10
Drunk Me Is an Idiot or Puns Suck
Riverhold was huge.
How had I underestimated the size of this city in my mind?
Most likely because I’d been basing it on my first encounter with Misty Pass, which was a tiny rural town that had sprouted on a minor road between Wolfrest and Edros.
Riverhold, on the other hand, was a major trading port and an important stronghold for the kingdom of Edros.
The sun was getting low in the sky as the towering stone walls of Riverhold came into view, lengthening the shadows and making the city appear even more impressive. Flags of gold and black fluttered and flapped from where they hung on the walls and at the top of towers. Guards walked the walls at regular intervals, watching the nearby forest while the guards on the ground eyeballed everyone who entered the main gate.
I tried to ignore the feeling that we received extra scrutiny when we approached, but no one stopped our progress or said a word.
The city inside the walls was even more overwhelming as the buildings of stone and wood towered three and four stories above the narrow streets. There were a few main roads wide enough to allow three carts to pass abreast of each other, but most were slender, winding affairs.
A variety of interesting smells filled the air—cooked meat, rare spices, human sweat, animal dung, and occasionally something soft and floral that I couldn’t place.
And then there were the people!
People once again surrounded me. I never in all my life thought I’d be happy to see so many people in one location. It was an interesting mix of humans, elves, half elves, and even a few towering orcs. They were all dressed in a mix of colors and fabrics, rich and poor. Weapons were everywhere.
More than once, Nylian had to grab my arm and physically move me, so I didn’t walk straight into a person or a cart because I wasn’t paying attention to what was directly in front of me.
“I’m beginning to think you’ve never been in a city this size,” Nylian murmured.
A sheepish smile spread across my lips, and I shrugged, pushing aside a repeat of my excuse of a faulty memory. He’d heard it all before, so there really was no point to it.
Maybe I had created all of this in my mind, but it was different to walk through it, smell it, touch it. This city was bigger and more complicated than my imagination could have managed, and now it was a living, breathing place. How could I not feel a sense of awe?