Published via Ecency

Greetings Readers

I hope you all enjoy the update. I've been struggling to get my writing in, so sorry for the very, very late update. I hope you all enjoy it!

The news of what happened had spread quickly. All able-bodied people searched the river up and down in hopes of finding Kay. Worry soon turned to anger. How dare the king attack one of their own! The king quickly noticed that the villagers were coordinating with each other and ignoring him and his seasoned hunters. They were out of their depth here, and he had done an unforgivable act.

The unfortunate hunt had been almost three days ago, and he played it repeatedly in his head. The wolf had been large and glowing white. He should have known that it was energy. He chided himself as he and his huntsmen scoured the riverbank for signs that Kay had come up from the water. There had been no clues, and the river was so swollen that it was impossible to cross.

One of his huntsmen had climbed high into the trees only to launch himself onto branches that overhung the river. A dangerous move, but it had gotten the huntsman over the river, so he could continue the search. Now everyone else needed to find a way across if he found anything.

Venator, a young huntsman who had joined the newly crowned king about a year ago, was brave albeit foolhardy with his actions. He had seen only one way across the river, and he had taken it.

He made his way down the river, looking for any sign, be it a bloated corpse or a sign that someone had dragged themselves from the water. He wasn’t hopeful, but his loyalty to the king prevented him from doing a half-assed job.

He placed himself halfway between the riverbank and the edge of the forest, and then slowly made his way downriver. He was looking for anything that could have been a clue. It was several hours before he noticed something odd on the riverbank side.

He slowly made his way to the edge and squatted. Chunks of moss had been ripped away. He looked around him for similar damage but saw nothing. Someone came up here. He then looked for signs of injury but wasn’t surprised when he found none. It had rained almost continuously for two nights. Any blood present would have been washed away, if there was any to begin with.

He scanned the distance between the moss and the forest edge. The mud was soft, but he could just see the outline of something that had been dragged. He felt a pit grow in his stomach. Drag marks meant that a predator took some sort of prey.

He followed the drag marks and then paused when a familiar sickly-sweet smell hit him. He knew that smell and the pit widened. There was no use rushing now, not with that scent in the air.

He walked to the edge of the forest and then looked up. If she had been taken by a forest cat, she would likely be up in a tree, away from other smaller predators. But there was nothing. Frowning, he cast his eyes around in the general area. That was when he noticed the fallen tree. A glimmer of hope was starting to fight the pit of dread, but he kept his feelings in check.

Instead, he took the time to try to remember the description of the one the villagers had called Kay. Small, only about as tall as a young teen. A horrific scar on her face, leaving only a single ice-blue eye. Blonde hair and lithe, no tail.

He took a deep breath, savouring the decay in the air. There was rot, yes, but it was a hint; this was more like a sour wound. He slowly made his way to the tree trunk. Along the way, he found a rock with a piece of material tied to it. There was some blood on it, but not much. He steeled himself for what he was about to see.

But it wasn’t his sight that clued him in on her location. It was the sounds. The first was buzzing; the second was the low groans. Once he saw the injury, he was amazed that there were any groans at all.

He squatted down to watch the injured woman with a half-opened, glassy eye staring past him. He wasn’t sure if she was seeing anything in her fevered state. Her face was deathly white, while her cheeks flared red. He reached out and touched a cheek; it was cold and clammy. She tried to shy away from him, but her movements were sluggish and had no real strength to them.

For now, Kay has been rescued. Now she needs to survive.

For those of you who have never heard of Fell Dragon you can find Book 1 here, Book 2 here, Book 3 here, and Book 4 here, Book 5 here, Book 6 here, Book 7 here, and Book 8 here
If you have any questions, feel free to ask me. I love discussing my books!
As the series continues, it will combine with another book series I wrote. To avoid confusion about what is happening, introductory chapters will be introduced separately so that you don't have to be lost. However, these chapters will contain spoilers. You can find these chapters here:
Races Explained
Banishment
Royal Guard
Saasha’s Direct Family
Saith Characters Recap
Human Characters Recap
Alternate Timeline Brucel
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