Heart of the Forest: A Darkwood Tale by Anthea Sharp

Author:Anthea Sharp [Sharp, Anthea]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Fiddlehead Press

Chapter 5

Kent lay beside Fanya, staring up at the unfamiliar stars spangling the deep violet-black of the sky. He was tired, his body heavy with exhaustion, but his clamoring thoughts would not still enough for him to find sleep.

His moonlit-haired companion slept—or at least he thought she did. After their meal, she’d walked a circle about their campsite, humming beneath her breath and pausing at what he guessed had been each of the four directions. Although he’d watched her closely, he could detect no signs of magic, but he trusted her word that she’d set protective enchantments around them.

The magic she’d performed on his eyes, however, was much more tangible. The soft radiance of her realm bathed his vision, and though it wasn’t like moving about in the sunlit world, he’d adjusted readily enough.

Her healing magic wasn’t as effective, unfortunately, although when she’d murmured the strange, liquid syllables over the injury one last time before they took their rest, he’d sighed with relief. The waves of pain receded like the tide pulling away from the shore. The discomfort would be back, he knew, but hopefully not soon.

He didn’t tell her that he felt hot and restless. Even if the wound was beginning to fester, there was nothing Fanya could do to aid him. Tomorrow they would reach the court she’d told him of. Nightshade.

It did not sound appealing. He imagined a dark and eerie place, filled with purple shadows and strange, pale beings who would not be pleased to see a human in their midst.

But they would heal him, and then Fanya would grant his heart’s desire.

Although…he had to admit that the burning devotion for Maired he carried like a coal in his chest had cooled, ever since he’d chased the White Hart into this strange realm. But surely, once he returned to Raine, the force of his yearning would again pierce him with every breath he drew.

And, even better, Maired would love him back as passionately as he loved her. He pulled the knowledge over him, as comforting as the wood-smoke smell of his cloak laid atop them. Finally, he slept.

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