Page 35 of Destiny of a King

“No more talk. Tavish, make sure my men are ready to leave. I’ll only be a moment,” Dravic said and walked off.

Fiora looked at Feena. “What didn’t you tell them?”

Feena’s shoulders sagged with the weight of the burden.

“The necklace Adira showed me is an amulet and it belongs to the Morvane Clan, and I fear when the two pieces were joined, it alerted the Morvane to one of their own.”

Adira opened her eyes slowly, the gray light hurting her eyes and her head. Carefully, she shifted her head hoping to avoid the light, but it followed her. She closed her eyes again, trying to remember what had happened. She wrinkled her nose, recalling the sweet, sickly scent from the dark petals pressed against her nose and mouth. She remembered reaching out to Feena, then everything went dark.

She had been in the forest with Feena when men appeared and the fear of seeing them returned.

Feena.

What happened to her? Where was she?

Adira tried to open her eyes, but the light continued to be a problem even though it wasn’t bright. She had to open them slowly, let them adjust, let the pain fade.

When she was finally able to open them, she pushed herself up and the sudden movement sent the forest spinning around her. A hand caught her arm before she toppled over, and Adira jerked away from the touch.

Four men surrounded her. The same four men from the forest.

Adira scrambled backward until her back struck the rough bark of a tree trunk, her gaze moving quickly from one man to the next. They varied in size from slim to thick, to short, though none were tall. They wore no expression that would help Adira understand what they wanted with her. They made no move to grab her, though the way they watched her warned they would not allow her to escape.

One man crouched several feet in front of her, his lips moving.

Adira stared at him.

He spoke again.

She shook her head and pointed to her ear before shaking her head once more.

The men exchanged glances.

The one man crouched before her looked back at her and pointed to his mouth.

Adira shook her head again.

Surprise passed over his face.

He stood and turned to the others, speaking rapidly. Adira watched their expressions change, saw questions and confusion pass between them, but she had no way of knowing what was being said.

Adira kept her eyes on the men, trying to read something in their expressions that might tell her what they intended to do with her. They had left Feena behind. They had taken only her.

Why?

The man turned back to her and crouched again, his gaze moving over her with a scrutiny that made her uneasy.

Adira drew her cloak tighter around herself.

He reached for her and instinct had her fisting her hand and striking him without even thinking about it. The blow caught his jaw hard enough to snap his head to the side.

The other men reacted, their faces breaking into wide grins, and one threw his head back in obvious laughter.

Adira saw none of the humor in it.

The man slowly turned his face back toward her, his smile gone, his eyes angry.

She braced, squeezing her eyes shut, sensing it was coming and it did. The flat of his hand connected hard against her cheek and the pain resonated through her head.