Total pages in book: 31
Estimated words: 30228 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 151(@200wpm)___ 121(@250wpm)___ 101(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 30228 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 151(@200wpm)___ 121(@250wpm)___ 101(@300wpm)
“Maybe she heard something about being sent to the convent,” Royden suggested.
“That would anger her and she’d fight with Da. It has to be something—”
“That she feels would leave her no choice. Something she has no control over,” Royden finished.
They both hurried into the keep in search of their sister.
“Enter,” Parlan called out when a knock sounded on his solar door. His eyes shot up when he saw his daughter. She never knocked. She simply burst into the room.
“I know I’m supposed to be in my bedchamber but I need to talk with you,” Raven said, fighting the tears that she’d only been able to stop from falling.
Parlan’s heart slammed in his chest when he saw that his daughter had been crying. She never cried. He hurried to her and took her in his arms. “What’s wrong? Have you been hurt? Did someone hurt you?”
She shook her head against her father’s firm chest, relishing the sense of safety she felt with his strong arms snug around her.
Royden and Arran burst into the room. “We can’t find—”
They stopped shocked at seeing their sister crying in their da’s arms.
“What’s wrong? Tell me. I’ll kill whoever hurt her,” Arran demanded, clenching his hands, ready to fight.
“And I’ll kill him again,” Royden said, fury raging in his eyes.
Hearing her brothers, having her da’s arms around her, and recalling what the witch had said—nothing will be as it once was and it will take years before those torn apart are reunited—kept her tears falling. She couldn’t bear the thought of her family being torn apart and that it would be years before she would see them again. She never felt such pain and at that moment she knew how it must feel to have one’s heart break.
“Raven,” her da said gently. “You must tell us why you’re crying.” He nodded toward Royden. “Get her some wine.”
Royden went to the round table and grabbed one of the decanters of wine in the middle and filled a goblet halfway.
Her da walked her past the round table to a chair close to the hearth and eased her down to sit. He took the goblet that Royden handed him and placed it in his daughter’s hand. “Drink some. It will calm you.”
Raven took a sip, sniffed back her tears, then took another sip. She wiped at her wet cheeks and looked to each of them. “I don’t want to lose any of you.”
“Why do you think you’ll lose anyone of us?” Arran asked.
She whispered softly, “The witch.”
“You went to see the witch?” Royden asked.
“I warned you against seeking her out,” her da said, though with worry, not anger.
“She sought me out,” Raven defended.
“She came to you?” Arran asked, bewildered. “She’s rarely seen. She mostly keeps to herself.”
“She was at the edge of the woods and beckoned me to her,” Raven explained.
“And you went to her?” Royden shook his head. “Of course, you would. You’re curious.”
“That doesn’t matter at the moment,” their da said. “What did she say to you that upset you?”
“Maybe the witch put a curse on her,” Arran chimed in.
Raven was quick to deny she’d been cursed. “She blessed me and told me to stay strong.”
“Then what upset you?” her da asked.
Raven repeated the words the witch had spoken. “Her words were… ‘a terrible storm brews and when it finishes thrashing this land and people, nothing will be as it once was and it will take years before those torn apart are reunited.’”
Silence so heavy filled the room that the crackle of the flames in the hearth sounded deafening.
“She speaks nonsense,” her da finally said, quieting the sound of the flames.
“Does she?” Raven asked. “I hear your worry when you talk about what happened to the Clan MacDonnegal. Or when you discuss what is happening with Chieftain William or Chieftain Galvin and Bayne. The witch is right about one thing. A terrible storm brews in the Highlands and I fear its approach.”
“We have taken precautions,” Royden said, attempting to reassure her.
“I know. I just hope it’s enough,” she said.
“We won’t let anything happen to you, Raven,” her da said as if it was a command.
“Da is right, Raven,” Arran said. “We’ll protect you.”
“We’ll keep you safe,” Royden added.
“I want to believe that, truly I do.” A single tear slipped down her cheek. “But what if what comes is far worse than what we’ve prepared for? What if we can’t stop it?”
Chapter 7
Raven was already on the practice field when Arran arrived the next morning, shortly after dawn. Arran had taken Raven aside last night after supper and told her to meet him there after the sun had risen and he would teach her how to protect and defend herself.
She had pestered him about teaching her over a year now and he was sorry he hadn’t. By now she would have been well-schooled in how to defend herself. He would teach her what he could from this day on and hope it was enough to help her if the time should ever come that she needed it.