Dragon's Reach: An epic fantasy adventure (The Keeper Origins Book 1) by JA Andrews

Author:JA Andrews [Andrews, JA]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2020-05-18T16:00:00+00:00

Around midday, they paused again to rest the horses.

Ryah hurried up to Sable. “Reese needs help foraging. I told him you’d be happy to.”

Sable cringed. “Is he still chatty?”

“No. The wartroot wore off and he’s back to grumpy.”

“Is that better or worse?”

Ryah thought a minute. “Well, it’s quieter.”

“Sable!” Andreese called, coming out from behind the wagon. He held the sword they’d taken from the Kalesh warrior and two bags. “Come help. Bending down kills me, and the nuts will all be on the ground.”

“This should be fun,” she muttered.

Andreese was quiet as she followed him into the woods. He cradled his ribs tightly with his right arm, holding the Kalesh sword in his left hand.

“Do you need to hold the sword?” she asked.

“Do you have a Kalesh scabbard?” he snapped

A jab of irritation went through her at his voice. But every breath he took was shallow, and her annoyance came with a touch of guilt. His steps were slow, and he watched the ground and the trees closely.

“Stop walking so close to me,” he grumbled.

“I’ve decided,” she said. “I prefer you on wartroot.”

“Let’s bruise your ribs and see how much you like walking around.”

Sable blew out a long breath, trying to dredge up some patience. He stumbled over a root and gasped in pain, his face pale.

“Is it worse today?”

“Yes, it’s worse,” he snapped. “Did I act like this yesterday?”

Sable raised an eyebrow. “Maybe you should have Serene look at it.”

“Maybe if you’d help me look for food instead of yammering, we’d get back to her sooner.”

Sable clenched her jaw against a sharp retort. “Right. Green pine nuts and berries.” She turned and started walking again, realizing she didn’t remember what a leafy pine looked like.

They walked in silence for a few minutes. “Ahead to the right,” he said between gritted teeth.

Now that he’d pointed it out, she recognized the wide, flat needles of the leafy pine, and hurried toward it. Andreese leaned against the tree trunk, breathing shallowly and gripping the bag, while Sable gathered handfuls of the nuts off the ground.

She turned, holding a small pile of the soft, green nuts to find him pushing himself off the trunk, his eyes scanning the trees. “Do you smell that?" he asked in a low voice.

Sable sniffed the air. “Smoke? Maybe Thulan started a fire.”

“To cook what? We have no food.”

Sable paused. “A homestead nearby?” She caught a sharper scent mixed with the smoke. “What are they burning?”

Andreese held the bag open for the nuts in her hand. “We need to get back. Now.”

She glanced down at the dozens of nuts still lying on the ground. “What about all these?”

“Leave them. I think there are more Kalesh—”

Merilee’s scream cut through the woods.

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