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find the strength.
     

Chapter Seven – Tara
    His appearance here in the forest puzzled her. He could have walked, or flown, away. Turned dragon and then made a run for it. Instead, he had come here after her. Could she let herself believe it was because he genuinely cared for her?
    No. Don’t go there . Not when so much was at stake. For all they knew, the forest could be swarming with danger when night fell. That might be the reason they had been sent here, so that they could both be killed in a place where their bodies would never be found. After all, you couldn’t very well go around pointing a finger at the dryads for the Dragon Lord’s disappearance, when there is no proof. It could just as well be argued that Tara, as his true mate, had become so fed up of waiting for him to make her a gift of his heart stone that she took it and killed him in the process. Then she disappeared into the night and was never heard of again.
    “Will they look for you?” she asked.
    “Who? The other dragons?” He seemed uncertain.
    “Yes. They knew where you were going, so surely when you don’t return tonight, they will go looking for you.” Although she knew that instead of looking for their dragon lord, they might choose a new one instead. One easier to deal with, perhaps Marcas. No, surely they would be loyal to Dòmhnall; they had all sworn a blood oath to him. They would find the dryads and force their lord’s whereabouts from the tree spirits.
    “They knew I was going to see the dryads, and where. But the dryads move, never in one place. Never anywhere unless they want to be found.” Dòmhnall shook his head. “I doubt they could find us, even if they wanted to.”
    “So we need to come up with a plan to survive the night.” Her mouth was so dry now; she was beginning to become obsessed by the thought of a nice, cool drink of water. “Water is our first priority. I know we shouldn’t stray from the course we are on, but we need water. If we don’t drink we won’t be able to walk.”
    “Damn, I hate not being able to fly. If I had wings, I could soar up above the trees and spot a river or stream in no time.”
    “If I had my magic, you wouldn’t have to. I could draw it from the ground. There is water all around if you know how to name it.”
    “But neither of us have these powers. So we will have to find the way normal people do.”
    “Which is?” she asked.
    “I have no idea.”
    “We are useless, aren’t we?” She looked around, but there was nothing but trees, so close together that they could only see around twenty feet on either side of them. After that, it was a maze of tree trunks. “I don’t know.”
    Feeling defeated, while the thought of water gradually becoming all-consuming, they walked for another hour. Only when she was about to tell him it was time they took a rest, did she look deep into the trees and see the cabin.
    At first, it seemed like a mirage in the desert, only there because she wanted it to be there. “Do you see that?” she asked, unsure whether it was only her imagination playing tricks on her.
    He looked to where she was pointing. “It’s a cabin of some kind.”
    She started heading towards it, but he put his hand on her arm and held her back. “You have no idea who or what is in there. For all we know this is the reason we were brought here, and there is a powerful witch or wizard who has captured our power.”
    “Then I am going to go and get it back,” she said, shrugging him off her and walking straight for the cabin nestled in the trees.
    “Tara. Think this through.” He took hold of her again, this time more forcefully.
    “Think what through? Either we can keep walking, or we can go and see if there is anyone over there. They might have some idea as to what is going on and they might have food and water they are willing to share.”
    “If we are going, then I am going first.”
    She looked up into his face and realised two things. That Dòmhnall was