Total pages in book: 97
Estimated words: 91636 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 458(@200wpm)___ 367(@250wpm)___ 305(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 91636 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 458(@200wpm)___ 367(@250wpm)___ 305(@300wpm)
“It is you who has delayed our departure,” Fiona accused with a grin.
Aliss approached the bickering couple. “Let us be on our way. I look forward to returning home. Is the weather good for our journey?”
She chatted endlessly as they left the bedchamber and entered the great hall, and did not stop until they had mounted the horses and were ready to leave.
Raynor rode over to her. “You must surely be winded by now, though your chatter did the trick. It got everyone moving without further arguing.” He laughed.
“Hold strong to your humor, dear brother, for it is now your turn to mediate the loving couple.”
His laughter ended abruptly.
They rode off leaving a tearful Oleg and Anya waving after them.
The journey was tedious and long, Tarr refusing to stop, insisting that they would travel straight through the night so that by midmorning they would be home. No one objected. It seemed as if the return journey was long overdue.
Aliss fought the yawns that frequently attacked her and the fatigue that racked her body. She did not wish to delay the journey, and besides she was looking forward to finally settling down to a normal existence. No more charade. No more worry of what was to become of them. They were together and they would stay that way.
Tarr finally relented and allowed them to stop for a couple of hours of rest, but Aliss felt as if she no sooner had closed her eyes than she was being shaken awake. She reminded herself that they would be home soon, that she would sleep the rest of the day and the entire night away.
Several hours after midday they approached the keep.
Aliss rode behind Fiona and Tarr, Raynor following at the rear with his men.
Aliss had kept her eye on the dark gray cloud that looked about ready to burst. It had trailed them for the last hour, and now the rumble of thunder in the distance convinced her the storm was about to descend.
They had arrived just in time, the thought of a blazing hearth and warm bed had her smiling. She was about to call out to Fiona when suddenly she was hit with great force on the side of her head, and as she toppled to the ground the world went black.
Chapter 28
The warriors’ frantic shouts had Fiona and Tarr turning simultaneously, their hands reaching for their swords.
Fiona froze for a moment, her heartbeat stilled and her breath caught in her throat. Aliss lay crumpled and lifeless on the ground, her bold red hair covering her face. She shook herself into action and bolted off her mare. In seconds she was on her knees at her sister’s side, her hands anxious yet hesitant to touch her.
She could be dead.
The dire thought froze every muscle in her body and tears crept into her eyes. She refused to surrender to either weakness and forced herself to gently brush her sister’s hair away from her face.
She gasped. “Oh my God.”
Tarr dropped to his haunches beside her and Raynor fell to his knees opposite them.
“An arrow has gashed her temple,” Raynor said.
Tarr exchanged knowing glances with Raynor before he stood. “Tend her while I see to the culprit.” He marched off.
Fiona shook her fear away and sprang into action. She began tearing the hem of her skirt. “I need to stop the bleeding and see if the wound needs stitching.”
“Can you stitch?” Raynor asked, gently peeling away strands of blood-soaked hair from the wound.
“Not as good as Aliss, but sufficient enough.” Fiona grimaced when she finally cleared the wound of blood enough to examine the gash. “The excessive blood has made it appear worse then it is. The arrow merely grazed her skin, the bone is not exposed.”
“This is good?”
Fiona nodded. “The worry now is that it will fester. Aliss spent much time cleansing wounds; she felt it important.”
“If it festers?”
“Fever usually sets in. Aliss does all she can to draw the poison out of the wound; sometimes she is lucky other times she is not.”
“So what do we do?”
“Clean the wound with fresh water, bandage it and”—she choked on her words—“pray that she wakes up.”
Tarr watched Fiona from a distance. He wanted to go to her, take her in his arms and absorb her pain. But she would not appreciate interference now while she tended her sister. She would expect him to see that whoever did this was apprehended and punished.
He had every intention of doing just that for the coward that did this was surely a fool to think that he could penetrate Hellewyk’s borders, harm a member of the clan, and escape unscathed.
Tarr tempered his rage, losing it would do him no good. He must keep reason clear and his mind sharp so that he could outwit this man who dared to challenge him so blatantly.