“Elara,” he said, his voice firm as he approached, his horse following behind him.
She looked only because she had no choice.
“You ride with me.”
Her breath caught. “I prefer to ride in the cart.”
“It was not a request,” he said, brooking no argument. “King Dravic will expect you unharmed, unshaken, and accounted for. I will see it done.”
She stiffened. “I am not a parcel to be delivered.”
Something sparked in his eyes, anger, regret, the ghost of something softer, but his tone remained iron. “Nay, you’re my wife, whom I mean to protect.”
“There is no need to pretend any longer,” she said, a strange regret filling her.
Dar moved closer, his strong hands landing on her waist and with one swift lift swung her up and onto the saddle. Then he quickly mounted to settle behind her.
He leaned forward to take hold of the reins, his lips a whisper away from her cheek. “You are my wife until I say you are not.”
His warm breath skimmed her cheek, sending a shiver through her. Or it could have been his words, sounding like a declaration that he didn’t intend to let her go. A frightening thought or a sober one, since she had no doubt Dar was a man who would protect his wife with his life.
The stallion shifted beneath them, and the line of Hunters began to move.
The stallion moved with an easy, rolling stride, its warmth rising through the saddle. Elara kept her back straight, refusing to lean against the hard breadth of Dar’s chest, though the temptation was stronger than she wished to admit. His arm brushed her side each time he shifted the reins, and every brush sent a whisper of heat spiraling through her, a familiar and comforting heat she didn’t want to welcome, but she did.
Finally, she found her breath, though only one word slipped from her lips. “Why?”
A long moment passed before he answered, his voice low behind her ear. “Word reached us that a healer with silver hair and amethyst eyes, a rare combination, could be found in Birkfell.”
Elara stiffened. “So, you specifically came searching for me?”
His arm slipped around her waist, and he tucked her against him, keeping his voice for her ears alone. “Aye, I was to find you and determine if you were the one King Dravic seeks.”
Her pulse stumbled. “Why not just take me captive like the other healers?”
“Hunters hunt their way and gathering endless prey to find the one we search for is not our way. I was sent to hunt as only Hunters can and deliver what the king wants.”
“But I am not what the king wants. I have no remarkable healing powers—” she gasped. “My visions. You bring me to the king because of my visions.”
His body grew as taut as his silence.
“Dar,” she said, turning her head enough to catch the edge of his jaw, the rough stubble along it grazing her soft cheek. “Tell me that you will not betray me further.”
He stared at her in silence, his manner stoic, his gray eyes cold, and his arm tightened around her as if he never intended to let her go. And why she felt a moment of relief she could not say but she clung to it with hope.
“When we stand before King Dravic, you will follow my lead,” he ordered.
Disappointed with his reply, she sighed. “That is not an answer.”
“It is the only one I can give you just now.”
Elara kept her eyes on his, as if they would tell her more than he would say. “You expect me to trust you after everything you’ve done?”
“I have kept you safe, Elara, and I will continue to do so.”
She was about to tell him that it was his duty to keep her safe until she was delivered to the king, but something stopped her. Why would he tell her that he would continue to keep her safe when it would no longer be his duty to do so?
“You will always be safe with me,” he whispered close to her ear.