Page 101 of Destiny of a King

“My king⁠—”

“Enough, Seger.”

Merek gave Dravic the faintest nod before walking away.

Seger waited until the man was out of hearing before moving his horse alongside the king’s. “You should not have agreed to that.”

“I should ride into a village that already distrusts me and allow armed men to threaten them?”

“We are here to protect you.”

“Then protect me without starting a war in the middle of a village.”

Seger’s mouth tightened.

Dravic looked toward the people of Thorskaill once more. “They are afraid of us.”

“They do not look afraid.”

“Fear is always recognizable.”

Seger followed his gaze.

Dravic’s attention settled on a woman ushering two children inside while her husband remained outside watching the warriors.

“These people will have a choice soon enough. Scotara or Tharne.”

“They belong to Scotara,” Seger said as if that was answer enough.

“That does not mean they will fight for it.”

Seger went silent.

Dravic looked toward Merek disappearing between the cottages.

“And if I cannot give them a reason to choose Scotara, then I have failed them as their king long before Tharne ever reaches our shores.”

Merek had not gone far when he stopped and looked back at the king.

“The cottage is this way.”

Dravic dismounted and reached for Adira. His hands settled around her waist, and he lifted her from the horse, lowering her slowly to the ground.

She smiled when her feet touched the snow, relieved that the soreness from earlier had eased considerably.

His hands remained at her waist. He needed to speak with Merek and see what the man could tell him, and yet? He wanted to be alone with Adira, in the quiet they shared, and take her in his arms and for a while, just a small while, forget he was king.

Adira tapped at his hand to get his attention. His focus elsewhere, and she cast a quick glance to the side.

Dravic let his musings behind and followed her glance. Several villagers were watching them with much curiosity. He released her reluctantly and looked forward to the time they could be alone.

He handed the reins to one of his warriors and motioned for Adira to walk beside him before following Merek.

Thorskaill looked different from any village Dravic had ever visited. Not simply because of the strange lights hovering along the paths or the green vines clinging stubbornly to cottages despite the bitter cold. It was the ease with which the people lived among things that should not have been possible.

A woman stood beside a frozen water trough, her hand resting lightly upon its rim. Dravic watched a thin crack spread across the ice. It widened without the woman striking it until the frozen surface broke apart and disappeared beneath the water.

A short distance farther, an elderly woman stepped from her cottage and one of the floating lights immediately drifted toward her. It hovered above her shoulder as she made her way slowly along the path, following faithfully until she entered another cottage. The light remained outside the door… waiting.