Suddenly she needed to touch one, not from recklessness, more from curiosity. A strange pull she could not explain.
Bria stepped toward them and reached out.
Kaelan moved instantly. His hand clamped firmly around her wrist and pulled her back against him before her fingers could brush the petals.
“Do not touch that.”
The sharp command startled her far more than his grip.
Bria looked up at him in surprise. For the first time since entering Driochmor, genuine alarm burned in his eyes.
She glanced quickly back toward the flowers. “Why?”
“They are poison.”
Bria stared at the delicate purple blooms in disbelief. Their petals shimmered softly in the pale morning light, beautiful enough to tempt anyone closer.
“They do not look poisonous,” she said, though she knew better, familiar with poisonous plants that grew in the forests of Leighfeld.
“Trust me, they are. Only the Wise can touch them.”
His grip eased, though he did not fully release her at once, as though reassuring himself she would not reach for them again.
Bria looked once more toward the flowers. “How do you know only the Wise can touch them?”
Kaelan blocked the flower with his body. “Because the Wise know how to touch them without dying.”
“Who are the Wise?” Her brow puckered. “You speak of this place as though you have lived here your whole life.”
A faint shadow crossed his face at the words, gone quickly enough she almost questioned seeing it.
“There is no time to explain,” he said, giving her a light push to start walking. “We need to keep moving.”
Bria stood firm. “I need to understand more.”
“Later,” he said, a firmness in his tone. “When we stop.”
“And if I do not wish to wait?”
His brow narrowed. “It’s not an option.”
Bria went to argue further when Kaelan stepped closer and leaned his head down to speak low. “I lost the creature’s trail not long ago.”
Bria’s stomach tightened. “Lost it?”
“It vanished, but I picked up another.”
The calm certainty that had remained with him since entering Driochmor had changed subtly now. It wasn’t fear. He never showed that. It was an alertness she had not seen in him before now.
Bria looked around uneasily. “Another creature?”
“Nay, I can sense them.”
“Them?” she asked, alarmed. “There is more than one here?”
Kaelan lowered his head closer, his lips close to her cheek. “Not the time, Bria. Now stay close to me.”
His strong command sent a shiver through her. Or was it the way his warm breath brushed her cheek?
