Slowly, she sank lower against the base of the tree, hiding her pale face in shadow. The fire crackled softly in the clearing, and Dar’s shape moved at last, stirring the embers with a stick before turning his gaze to the dark beyond.
Elara watched him, her mind whirling. She’d trusted her instincts before—the drums, the faint warnings that proved real—but this felt different. A voice that came from nowhere and yet was real as if the person stood next to her. And for the first time since leaving Birkfell, she sensed there was more to this hunt for the healer than anyone realized. And she feared what that realization might be.
She felt the touch before hearing her name.
“Elara.”
She jumped up, startled, and when she turned and saw it was Dar, she dropped against him in relief.
His arm wound around her, his hand stroking along her neck after feeling her shiver against him, the cold having settled into her.
“I called you twice and you didn’t respond,” he said.
“Fear and thoughts that overwhelmed,” she admitted, though offered no detail and he did not ask.
“Sunrise is not far off. At first light, we’ll get started.”
“Why not now?”
He offered a reasonable explanation. “The forest is not easy to navigate in the dark.”
Elara never had any trouble navigating a forest no matter day or night. The trees, foliage, the ground itself guided her, but she would not share that knowledge with him.
“The Hunters found their way,” she said as if proving it could be done.
“They have experience at such a task. We wait until daylight. Besides, we don’t want to chance running into a group of Hunters who might question more than we’d like. There is no point in tempting fate.”
“Have you slept at all?” she asked, recalling he’d said that sunrise wasn’t far off.
“I dozed,” he said as if it were enough.
“Then sleep until the sun rises. I will keep watch.” When he looked about to argue, she hurried to add, “You will be of no use to me if worn out.”
“So, you find me worth having along,” he said with a touch of a smile.
“You have proved beneficial.”
He bowed gallantly. “I am here to serve.”
Elara could not help but chuckle at his playfulness. “You serve me well, brave wanderer. Now rest.”
“I’ll doze,” he said and stretched out by the fire, closing his eyes. “But if you hear the slightest noise alert me.”
“Aye,” she said softly and watched him, his breathing taking on a steady rhythm as he more than dozed.
Elara turned her gaze back to the fire, though her thoughts refused to follow. Instead, they drifted to the kiss that lingered still on her senses. She touched her lips absently, wondering if it had truly been a dream or something more. A vision, perhaps. A glimpse of what might yet come. It had felt too real to dismiss, too tender to ignore, and it left her unsettled.
Was it fate, pressing gently, insistently, toward a path she had not chosen? Or simply her heart, tired and confused, reaching for comfort where it could find it? She did not know which troubled her more, that it might mean nothing, or that it might mean everything.
Her gaze shifted back to Dar, sleeping by the fire, his presence solid and reassuring. Whatever the kiss had been, whether dream, vision, or wish, it had stirred something she could not easily set aside. And for now, that was enough to trouble her thoughts as she kept watch, waiting for dawn and whatever truths it might bring.
Chapter Six
Brannoch Forest
Shadows of the Hunters
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