And while she did not fear it, she did not yet know how to carry it.
Dar glanced toward the manor, his jaw tightening almost imperceptibly. Driochmor had saved her life, but Scotara still waited. A king still ruled. Promises still demanded keeping.
No matter how beautiful this place was, they could not remain.
They walked on in companionable silence for a few moments before Elara spoke again, her tone softer now. “I know your worry.”
He glanced at her. “Do you?”
“I saw it,” she said simply. “In a vision.”
His steps slowed. “What did you see?”
She didn’t stop walking. “You and I standing before the king. He was not pleased.” She met Dar’s gaze then. “But I did not feel danger. No blades. No blood. Just anger. And words.”
Relief hit him hard enough that he hadn’t been prepared for it. His grip on her hand tightened briefly before he forced himself to ease it.
“That is good to know,” he said quietly. “Very good.”
She smiled faintly. “I would love to remain here for a time,” she admitted. “To get to know my grandfather more. To learn about Driochmor, about my people.” Her gaze drifted toward the manor ahead. “But I know we cannot.”
“Aye,” he agreed. “There are matters waiting for us.”
He studied her for a moment longer. “Your visions, they are stronger here?”
“They are,” she said. “Clearer. I don’t fight them as much.” She tipped her head toward the manor. “My grandfather is helping me understand them. How to listen without being overwhelmed.”
Dar nodded, thoughtful. Driochmor was changing her, not weakening her, but sharpening something that had always been there. And though part of him feared what that might mean in the wider world, another part knew this strength was not meant to be denied.
“I meant to tell,” she said eagerness in her tone, “do you recall the two times I thought I saw a dark figure at the edge of the forest at Dea’s cottage?”
Dar nodded. “Aye, need it concern us?”
She smiled. “Nay, it was my grandfather. He hoped I would feel he was not a threat and that I might go to him.”
“That’s a relief, though I would not have allowed him to take you from me.”
“And I would not have left you, at least the second time I saw him—” She paused abruptly. “Perhaps not the first time as well.”
“I am glad to hear that, for I would have hunted you down and brought you back to me.”
He had told her often since she escaped death how much he loved her, but she also enjoyed hearing him say it without directly saying it as he once did before the words came easily to him. It touched her heart.
She slowed her steps as they drew closer to manor, her fingers tightened around Dar’s hand. “There is one thing that troubles me.”
Dar turned to her at once, his attention sharpening. “Tell me.”
“Driochmor is powerful. Its people, its magic, the land itself. And yet… the bairns were abducted from this place.” Her brow furrowed thinking on the tale Dar had shared with her. “I cannot understand how that could have happened.”
Dar nodded slowly. “You are not alone in wondering. It troubles me as well. If such a thing could be done here, then nowhere is as safe as we believed.”
She glanced at him. “I asked my grandfather. The moment I spoke of it, he grew upset. Would not meet my gaze. He only shook his head and said it was a troubling time for all.” Her voice softened. “He offered no explanation. No answers.”
“Men often do that when the truth is heavier than silence.”
They walked the last stretch without speaking, each lost in thought, until a sudden flutter of movement drew their attention.
Amelia appeared before them, her wings beating hard, erratic. She did not greet them with her usual quick smile or teasing remark. Instead, she hovered at eye level, her small face pale and strained.