Page 61 of Destiny of a King

A strong voice rose from the gathered crowd. “No one rules the land.”

The villagers turned.

Dravic did as well.

The crowd shifted aside as an old man approached.

He walked slowly, yet there was strength in every step. His shoulders were slightly bent by age, but his eyes remained sharp as he made his way through the gathered crowd.

He stopped near Dravic’s horse and looked up at him. “The land rules us.”

The words settled over the village.

Dravic stared down at him.

The old man held his gaze without fear. “A king who rules with no heart is no king.”

For a moment, the world around Dravic faded away.

He was no longer standing in Driochmor. He was once again a young prince standing in his grandfather’s hall, hearing those very words spoken to King Halric.

He remembered the anger that followed, the accusation of betrayal, and the following day an order issued by the king for Ernach be hunted down and killed.

Dravic looked at the old man before him. The years had taken their toll, but the voice, the words…

“Ernach,” Dravic said.

“Aye, it is I, and has the king come to finish what his grandfather started and take my life?”

Chapter Fifteen

Driochmor Village

Danger Unseen

“We will talk. Now!” Dravic commanded.

Adira felt the force of his demand in the muscles that grew taut in his arm around her waist and the way his chest expanded. He intended to have his way. Whatever that may be.

“As you wish, my king,” Ernach said with a slight bob of his head.

Dravic ignored the whispering chatter going on around him, though he did not ignore the fact that Ernach referred to him as my king. If he had betrayed the crown, why would he remain respectful to it?

He spread his cloak open, off Adira, to fall only on his shoulders, then he pointed to the ground to let her know he was going to dismount.

She nodded, her hand quickly leaving his arm where it rested, knowing she was not permitted to touch him in public.

After he dismounted, Dravic reached for Adira. His hands settled around her waist and lifted her gently from the saddle. Once her feet touched the snow-covered ground, he took her hand and held it firmly in his own.

There was a time she was frightened when he would take her hand and now, she looked forward to it, forward to feeling that connection, to not feeling alone.

She looked up at him and saw tension in his face. As king, she had come to learn he carried many burdens, but this tension she saw and felt in him was heavier than she had ever felt in him. And she wondered and worried over it.

Dravic looked to Ernach. “Do not keep me waiting.”

Ernach studied the king for a moment before turning toward the path that wound its way through the village.

Dravic walked beside him, Adira at his side, his hand never leaving hers.