Page 147 of Destiny of a King

Fear and fury mixed in Dravic, but one thing was certain, he would make Ernach suffer before he killed him.

Dravic’s gaze locked on Adira, and he caught her slight smile. She trusted him. She knew he would survive and come for her. He would find her.

Ernach dragged her toward a doorway beside the dais, his voice ringing out. “Kill them both.”

The warriors surged forward.

Dravic grabbed the sword off the ground, his glance darting to the doorway.

Adira was gone, but following through the door was a small ball of golden light.

“FIORA!” he roared with fury and swung his sword alongside his enemy.

No one would keep him from going after the woman he loved.

Chapter Thirty-Four

A Kingdom in Peril

A Deadly Turn

Cold air struck Adira’s face as Ernach hurried her away from the castle.

He kept a firm grip on her arm as they crossed the open ground toward the woods, occasionally glancing behind them as though expecting Dravic or Tharne to appear at any moment.

That alone told Adira that he feared Dravic and Tharne, though outnumbered, would defeat the mercenaries and soon be after them. It gave her hope, but then Dravic would have it no other way. He would come for her. Of that, she was certain.

She had made sure he knew she believed that before Ernach took her away. That small smile had been meant only for him, and the look in Dravic’s eyes had told her he’d understood.

They reached the edge of the woods where a man waited among the trees with two horses.

Ernach shoved her toward him. “Keep hold of her.”

The man caught Adira roughly by the arm.

“Let’s go. The others wait,” Ernach said, and headed deeper into the woods.

The man pulled Adira after him.

She didn’t fight, not yet. Ernach believed she could neither hear nor speak, and as long as he continued to believe that, he would have no reason to guard his words around her. She intended to hear every one of them.

The woods thickened as they went. They followed a narrow path that curved through the trees until the castle disappeared completely from sight.

Then Adira began seeing men. First just a handful, then dozens, and then more.

They emerged into a large clearing, and Adira stopped.

Mercenaries filled it. Some stood beside horses. Others gathered around small fires or sat sharpening swords and checking weapons. More waited beneath the trees surrounding the clearing. There were far too many for Adira to count quickly. How had Ernach managed to keep a sizeable army hidden in the woods?

A man approached him. “We were beginning to think there was trouble.”

“It went as planned,” Ernach assured him.

The man’s gaze went to Adira.

“She is here for the men to enjoy later,” Ernach said, and received smiles and nods from the men moving closer around him.

“Tharne?” one asked.