Total pages in book: 105
Estimated words: 97306 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 487(@200wpm)___ 389(@250wpm)___ 324(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 97306 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 487(@200wpm)___ 389(@250wpm)___ 324(@300wpm)
Willard let loose with a painful shout, squeezing his eyes tightly as he did.
Fia stopped Marsh again when he went to wrap the wound. “That cloth is not clean enough.”
Varrick watched the entire exchange between his wife and Marsh. She showed not a bit of anger, unlike Marsh who wore his for all to see. She spoke calmly and explained why the wound should be handled a particular way, and all the while, Willard had listened, and he could see that the young warrior paid more heed to Fia than to Marsh.
He caught his smile before it could surface when he saw Marsh grumble as he stood after Willard asked Fia to finish tending his wound. His captured smile sank when Marsh stopped beside him.
“Be careful, my lord, she works her wiles with kindness and will soon have everyone in her evil clutches. What then will happen to the clan?”
Varrick had considered that when he had realized the only solution to his problem was to find a witch to combat it. He and his men had traveled to foreign lands for a few missions, and he had seen what powerful witches could do and how some had suffered for it. While other witches were revered and treated well, though kept at a distance. He was well aware of the chance he took but it had been necessary.
He also was aware that Marsh was right. He had to be careful. He had to make certain he had found a witch and not an innocent woman, for if she was, then he may have, like it or not, just found himself a wife.
CHAPTER 9
Varrick was relieved when they reached home and annoyed as well since it had taken two days more than he had planned. Of course, he had not planned to pick up strays along the way. At least they had been lucky that snowfall had remained light, though the bleak sky that had followed them and the sudden bite in the air today warned of change.
He had seen the relief on his warriors’ faces when the fortress had come into view, whereas his wife’s face had gone from questionable to curious. He wondered what she thought of her new home, as temporary as it might be. It either impressed or frightened those who saw it for the first time. He waited for her to remark but was met with silence. It wasn’t until they drew closer that his wife finally spoke.
“What are you so afraid of that you imprison your clan?”
Anger sparked in him at her unexpected remark. “I protect. I do not imprison.”
“From what? The beautiful forest that surrounds you?” She stared ahead, her eyes wide. “Your keep looms large enough over the area to alert you to an approaching troop. Anyone would be foolish to attempt to attack you since you would see them long before they reached here.” She tilted her head up at him. “What is it you fear?”
He locked his eyes with hers. “I told you. I fear nothing.”
Perhaps he didn’t but his warriors feared something. Fia had not only seen them tense, but felt it, and their eyes roamed anxiously when they had entered a particular section of the forest. Fear lurked in them, but why?
Fia remained silent, thinking it wiser that she observed rather than speak, and her husband must have agreed for he did not say another word as they made their way to the tall, wide wood door in a portion of the stone wall. He kept her tucked snug against him, and his cloak wrapped around them both, keeping her well-protected against the cold.
It had been strange and unnerving when she had first found herself sharing his horse, feeling the strength of his body as he held her firm and, to her surprise, finding it pleasing. When, at all possible, she had avoided men as she had been warned to do. Troublesome and not trustworthy were words her grandmother often used when referring to men.
Fia had hoped to wed one day, a good man, an understanding one who could accept her for who she was… a skilled healer. Never had she thought she would be forced into a marriage, not only to a warrior but a titled man, and into a marriage that would have her fearing for her life. But how was it that she could find comfort in her husband’s arms and fear him at the same time?
She brushed her thoughts aside, it being more important to pay heed to her new home, so she could devise an escape plan if necessary.
She focused as they neared the door. It appeared to open of its own accord when they were not that far from it, then she spotted the warrior who had opened it as he nodded respectfully to Varrick. Her ears picked up the clink of metal churning and as they passed through the open door, she saw a gate up ahead finishing its climb. She cast a curious glance around at the space between the wood door and the rising gate. It was not a large space and did not extend that far to the sides being walled off at the corners of the stone wall that circled the castle and village. She tilted her head back to see overhead a walled area running along the sides of the gate, four sentries stationed along it. It was an area where anyone entering beneath could be trapped. It also made it that more difficult for anyone to leave.