Total pages in book: 96
Estimated words: 91416 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 457(@200wpm)___ 366(@250wpm)___ 305(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 91416 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 457(@200wpm)___ 366(@250wpm)___ 305(@300wpm)
“Aye, I was, and I’m grateful to my mum for it,” Dru said.
“So, where do you think my grandson went?” Robert asked. “And don’t tell me you don’t know. I heard the way you talked with him yesterday. You were not only giving him advice, but you were also learning about him. What is it you know about Ethan that the others don’t.”
“He doesn’t think. He reacts.”
“How does that help?”
Dru explained. “Ethan would take off without thinking and wind up getting lost.”
Robert nodded. “That would be Ethan. You’re going to look for him, aren’t you?”
Dru smiled. “My husband has yet to learn that I don’t take well to orders.”
“Oh, I think he does,” Robert said with a grin. “It’s just that he doesn’t know what to do about it. Do be careful, Dru. Men will take only so much.”
“Aye, but so will women. Don’t tell your daughter that I’ve gone to find Ethan.”
“I won’t.” He pulled a sheath that held a dagger from his boot and handed it to her. “You may need this.”
Dru took the dagger and slipped it into her boot, feeling the reassuring weight of it against her ankle.
Robert rested a hand on her shoulder, his grip firm but gentle. “Be careful, Dru, and please, bring my grandson home safe.”
She met his gaze, her resolve unwavering. “I will.”
CHAPTER 11
Dru moved quickly through the village, keeping her steps light and her ears sharp. The morning mist curled around the ground, lingering in pockets while clouds hovered overhead. Men gathered in groups to join the search while the women were busy with morning chores, gathering water, tending to animals, and exchanging quiet words about the runaway chieftain’s son.
She didn’t head to the spots where the others searched. Ethan wouldn’t go somewhere easy to find—at least, not on purpose. His emotions would have driven him, not logic. He’d run without thinking, and by the time he realized he was lost, it would be too late to turn back.
That meant one thing—he had gone deep.
Dru left the village behind and took the narrow path leading toward the hills, where the land rolled in uneven waves before breaking into dense forest. It was wilder here, the trees thick and the undergrowth tangled. She searched for footprints but found none. The night’s damp air had hardened the ground, hiding his tracks.
She pressed forward, the morning quiet except for the occasional call of a bird and scurrying of small animals. Time stretched, the mist thinning, clouds partying, and the sun peeking through, but still, she found no sign of Ethan.
She climbed a steep incline, pausing at the crest to scan the land below. The woods stretched before her, darker and less tamed than the land around the village. If Ethan had gone this far, he’d be truly lost.
Then, something caught her eye—a disturbance in the tall grass near the edge of the trees. Dru hurried down the slope, her heart pounding. She crouched and ran her fingers over the flattened grass, noting the broken stems. Someone passed through here recently.
Straightening, she let out a slow breath. “Ethan,” she called, her voice carrying through the still air.
Silence.
She took another step forward, her senses prickling. She wasn’t alone out here.
Then, faintly, carried on the breeze, she heard it—a sniffle. A small, choked sound, barely there.
Dru turned toward the trees, scanning the shadows beneath the branches. And then she spotted him.
Ethan sat curled against a thick tree trunk, his arms wrapped tightly around his knees. His face was pale, his clothes marked with forest debris. He looked up at her, eyes red-rimmed, his breath hitching as if he wanted to speak but couldn’t.
Relief swept over her, but she kept her voice calm. “So, here you are.”
Ethan sniffed again, scrubbing his face with his sleeve. “I—I didn’t—”
Dru crouched beside him, placing a steady hand on his shoulder. “Think. You didn’t think and it got you lost.”
He clutched his knees tighter. “My da is right. I’m useless and he let the whole village know I’m a liar. I don’t want to go back. I can’t go back.”
Dru sighed, brushing a leaf from his tangled hair, then sat beside him. “You’re not useless, Ethan. You just haven’t found out who you are yet and your da isn’t helping you and that’s not his fault. He just doesn’t know how and that probably worries him. Sometimes we’re left on our own to figure things out and that takes time and plenty of mistakes.”
“Were you left on your own?”
“Aye, but not as young as you and you’re not completely alone. You have your mum, who loves you so much and your brothers, who can probably be annoying at times but are searching for you right now, and so is your da and Knox. And your grandda truly loves you.”
“My grandda is my best friend. My brothers don’t treat me so badly. It’s my da who hates me and is probably furious with me right now.”