The Duke and the Dryad (Elemental Series) Read Free

inner circle, and immediately the druids all knelt – but not in homage or fear of him. Instead, their attention was on the odd girl they’d called Rae-Nyst.
    “ Guardian of the forest and of all nature, come to our aid and protect us from the blades of the soldiers,” cried out the chief druid.
    Wolfe was confused, as they seemed to be talking to the odd girl, instead of one of their pagan gods.
    Before he had a chance to tell his men to do anything, the girl named Rae-Nyst dropped the hatchet and raised her hands in the air. She closed her eyes and threw her head back to let the full moon bathe her face.
    Wolf e hesitated, mesmerized by her exotic beauty. The moonlight illuminated her skin, her delicate features taking on a sense of power and strength. He felt so awed by the girl that he didn’t know what was happening until he heard the shouts of his men and also felt something winding around his ankle. He looked down to see vines of the forest creeping along the ground and wrapping around each of his men, tightening and bringing them to their knees. The vines moved upwards, wrapping around their hands and bodies next, so they couldn’t move. He took his sword and severed the vine, but two more sprung from the cut end instead.
    “What is happening, Lord Wolf e?” shouted Sir Braden, finding the same thing happening to him, though he was yet to be immobilized by the vines.
    “I don’t know,” he answered, baffled by the whole situation. He had never seen anything like this in his life.
    “’Tis the girl,” shouted another of his men , struggling on the ground as a vine wrapped around his neck. “She is bewitched and commanding this to happen. She is using magick. She means to kill us, the witch!”
    “Nonsense,” he replied, not wanting to believe any of this was real. But his men were falling fast, and his sword was useless against these woody warriors. Then he looked to his other hand, having an idea of something that may just stop it after all. He took his torch and moved it toward the attacking vine. The greenery almost seemed to back away from the fire. He could have sworn he heard a scream as he touched the flame to it, causing a small sizzling puff of smoke to waft up into the air. Immediately, the earthen soldier pulled away, releasing him from its grip.
    “Use your torches,” he called out to his men. “Use the fire to burn it.”
    “Nay!” came the girl’s voice as she rushed forward. “Do not harm the vines with fire.”
    He turned abruptly, his torch coming near her in the process. Her eyes opened wide and she backed away. She was obviously afraid of fire, same as the vines at his legs.
    “What’s the matter?” he asked. “Afraid of a little fire, but not afraid of slaughtering a defenseless creature with a blade?”
    She held one hand up to block her face from the flame. He could have been mistaken, but he thought he saw her body tremble.
    “Put out the torch,” she said in a shaky, soft voice. “And don’t use it on the vines anymore, please.”
    “ You give me one reason to adhere to your wishes after you just killed my best bull.”
     
    Rae-Nyst hadn’t killed the bull, Humphrey had. She’d grabbed the blade from the druid’s hand when she’d heard the forest crying out to her for help, warning her that Duke the Destroyer had come. His name as well as his hardened reputation was known throughout the lands of Manterra and even neighboring lands such as Thorndale and Lornoon – the villages by the sea. He had on more than one occasion burned towns to the ground in the rage of battle, for reasons no one could quite understand. He had the means to destroy all right, and no morals or qualms about doing it either. He’d take a life without blinking and think naught of it. But now, one bull was sacrificed and he acted like ’twas a catalyst of an all-out war.
    She had to be careful not to anger him further. She knew that with one spark of his torch her whole forest could go