Cara’s pretty but dirt-smudged face lit with a smile. “You will find her. I know you will and then all will be well.”
If only life could be as simple as a child sees it, Elara thought and the soft smiles on the women’s faces told her that they thought much the same.
“I will do my best,” Elara said.
The women lingered only long enough to thank Elara again before slipping back toward the village path. Their voices faded into the hush of the forest that was once again coming to life. Birds twittered, animals scurried, a soft wind poked at the branches and rustled the leaves of the many trees.
Once the last gray cloak disappeared. She turned to Dar and announced as she walked, “We go to Wedderlie.”
Dar’s long strides closed the space between them quickly as he hurried around to step in front of her, forcing her to an abrupt halt. “First, a respite might be wise. We have barely been able to take a breath since sunrise, and—” His tone turned firm. “We are not going to Wedderlie.”
“We cannot rest.” She pushed a loose strand of silver hair from her face. “Every hour we waste, the Hunters gain another. We need to find the healer.”
He stepped aside and kept pace beside her as she began walking again. “You think you can do what no one else has been able to? And do you believe she is real and not simply a myth?”
Elara shrugged, feeling the weight of both questions. “I can only try. Do you believe she is real?”
He turned a puzzled look on her. “I don’t know what to think but let’s say she is, and you find her. Do you think she will go voluntarily to the king?”
“If she is such a powerful healer, why wouldn’t she go to the king? What would she have to fear?” Elara asked as if it made sense to her.
“That the king would keep her captive,” Dar suggested.
She scoffed. “That is a ridiculous notion. If she can defy death, don’t you think she could easily defend herself against the king?”
Dar shook his head. “I honestly don’t know. She either hides or she is nothing more than a myth and if she hides the question remains… why? And what if you do find her and she refuses to go to the king?”
“Then we know her healing talent comes from a far different source, a deeper, darker source.”
“And one the king may need to think twice about,” he said, “and one we will avoid just as we should avoid Wedderlie.”
“I think not.”
Dar’s hand shot out, catching her arm firmly and pulling her to a halt. The suddenness of it stole her breath.
His gray eyes flared with annoyance. “You can’t keep throwing yourself at danger and Wedderlie is nothing but danger.”
She tried to pull free, but his grip only tightened. “Let me go.”
“Nay. Not until you see reason.”
The words vibrated between them, low and taut. She could feel the warmth of his hand through the fabric of her sleeve, the steady beat of his pulse against her skin. The command in his voice should have angered her, but it didn’t, it unsettled her instead and sent her heart stumbling.
It must have unsettled him as well since his eyes locked with hers, confusion and surprise mingling.
He released her arm. “Wedderlie sits too close to the forbidden land for it to be safe. People disappear from there all the time. Wanderers stay away from it as do wise healers. It is known that even Hunters avoid that village.”
“I understand your reluctance and quite agree with it. But we are left with little choice. With the village so close to forbidden land, someone there might know the truth of the tale. Besides, we will be safe from Hunters since you said they avoid the village.”
“From the fire into the firepit,” he grumbled, then grabbed her arm again, pulling her close.
She nearly gasped when her body brushed close, so close she could feel his warmth, see the vein in his neck pulse rapidly, and see specks of blue flash in his gray eyes.
“At my side is where you will stay when we reach Wedderlie or I will return you to Birkfell,” he warned.
Challenge sparked in her violet eyes.
“I am warning you, Elara. Defy me on this and I will shackle you and carry you over my shoulder all the way back to Birkfell.”