Page 137 of Destiny of a King

Adira might have smiled if she hadn’t heard another shout behind them.

She tugged at his hand and pointed back.

“I hear it. Keep moving.”

They pushed on, but the forest became increasingly hostile. Thorny vines curled around tree trunks, their long tendrils stretching across the ground. Bare branches seemed to shift as they passed beneath them, and more than once Dravic caught sight of something moving through the undergrowth alongside them.

He stopped.

Adira looked at him questioningly.

Dravic slowly surveyed their surroundings. The Morvane symbols were everywhere now. Trees. Rocks. Even a large stone half buried beneath dead leaves bore one of the carvings. They were going deeper into Morvane land. Exactly where their pursuers wanted them to go.

Worse, he had no idea what waited ahead.

Dravic had spent his life learning when to advance and when continuing forward would cost more lives than it saved. A man who refused to recognize the difference was a fool, not a warrior.

He would not be that fool today, especially with Adira beside him.

“We’re stopping.”

Fear flashed in her eyes.

He took hold of her face. “I don’t know this land. They do. Every step I take could lead us into greater danger.”

Adira shook her head and clamped her hand around his wrist.

He understood what she was saying. “I am not surrendering. I am King of Scotara. This land belongs to my kingdom as surely as Caerith does.” His voice hardened. “I have run far enough on my own land.”

Adira could not hide her fear.

He kissed her again as fiercely as his last kiss and her fear grew, worrying it could be the last time they ever kissed.

Dravic released her and drew his sword. “Fiora.”

The fairy flew to him.

“Stay with Adira.”

“My king⁠—”

“That was not a request.”

Fiora immediately flew to Adira.

Dravic turned and waited.

The first warrior emerged between the trees. Then another and another. They came from both sides, spreading out until Dravic realized how thoroughly they had been surrounded.

At least a dozen men stood before him and more appeared behind them.

Dravic moved in front of Adira.

No one attacked.

That told him what he needed to know… they wanted him alive.

“Who commands you?” he demanded.