Free Bound by J. Elizabeth Hill Page B

Faylanna."
    "Who can’t have me? What are you talking about?"
    His smile was full of satisfaction. "Yes, keep thinking that way. There can be only you and I, my sweet. Never forget that, even if all else fades."
    Everything around her was growing dark and she could feel herself drifting into a deeper sleep, but his words seemed to echo around her.
     

Chapter 6
     
     
    It took them another day to reach the wide dirt road that lead to Harkol. Bathed in the afternoon sun, Fay stared at the sign that pointed the way. She sighed, and turned to Tavis. "I guess this is where we part company."
    He looked at her, biting his lower lip slightly, thinking. "I- Could I come with you, Fay?" He hesitated, then his words rushed ahead. "I just don't feel right, letting you go off alone. I've heard the kinds of thing that can happen to a young woman alone."
    She was amused by the implication that she needed his protection. But his question had been a strange echo of her own feelings. She was enjoying his company, and didn't want to watch him ride away. After the previous night's revelation, she thought this was partly her magic prompting her about a potential partner, but she wondered if there could be more to it. Her desire for him to continue with her felt genuine. She thought he might be experiencing the same subtle push from within, though it occurred to her that he might not recognize it as she had. She thought about explaining the things he was likely feeling, only to find she couldn't, not if that might lead him to leave. "What about finding your mother? I don't know how long I'll be, or where I'll be going afterward."
    He opened his mouth, and closed it again, frowning. He looked up the highway in the direction of Rianza, then shrugged, turning back to her. "She can wait. I don't even know if she really wants to see me. She never came back, after all."
    "Well, you can come with me at least as far as Harkol. I don't know exactly where this Eliar lives, and I was hoping that someone in the village could tell me. Beyond that, we'll work it out later. I don't want to keep you from the academy for too long." She turned Rain off the highway. As she did, she thought she heard him mutter something about being too old for the academy. Fay decided in that moment that she would take him there herself and refuse to let them deny him a place. The vehemence of her determination startled her.
    She wasn't entirely sure when the sensation began but it was fairly strong when she finally became fully aware of it. The feeling was like riding through spider webs that became stronger the further they went. She pulled on the reins to halt the stallion. Tavis, not expecting the sudden stop, rode several paces beyond her, then turned the mare, who he had introduced to her as Swift, and rode back to her.
    "What's wrong?"
    She shuddered. Now that she was standing still, she could feel something different, more unnerving, like a warping around the edge of her senses. Her hearing and vision were amplified already by her magic, searching out any sign that someone was following or about to attack them. The thought had been in the back of her mind since that morning that Neoro and his guards had probably reached Rianza already. How long would it take them to discover she wasn't there and turn back, she had wondered. The thought made her nervous, though being off the highway had helped some. She was sure that this had nothing to do with them though. She could almost taste magic in the air as she nudged Rain around in a circle. Shifting her perceptions, she gasped. The woods and road were crisscrossed with traces. The trail wasn't from one person either. She could see traces of different colors and thicknesses. Though this made her more nervous still, it wasn't the worst part. For no reason she could explain, the sickly yellow trace that ran back and forth across the forest and pulsed in front of her eyes made her afraid.
    "Fay?" Tavis tried again, his voice edged