Page 115 of The Shadow Path
Both the little ones who took her hands started speaking in rapid Cymric, far too fast for Carys to understand, but within moments, a dozen dragon riders had run over and picked up the children, explaining where they were.
They spoke hurriedly, cuddling the children against their leather armor and wiping their tears. There were cries and sniffles, but none of the children appeared harmed.
Carys waited for Cadell to reach her in human form before she went to the open, earthen mouth of the fae fort. She took a deep breath before she walked inside, bracing herself to find… whatever it was they might find.
“Are you ready?”
Cadell nodded, and Carys nocked an arrow.
“Let’s go.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
“There was nothing,” Carys said. “From what I could see, I’d guess the human children had been glamoured. There were sleeping mats but no food. No signs that the kids had even been awake.”
“But the dragon children had been conscious the entire time,” Cadell told the group of allies as they sat in the library. “Demelza’s daughter was able to call to us when we got close enough. That’s how we were able to locate the fort.”
They were sitting in the library with Godrik, Winnie, Duncan, Lachlan, and Laura. It was nearly midnight by the time Carys and Cadell were able to return to Dafydd’s house.
Dafydd remained in Cymru with his people while Anwyn and Demelza guarded the children. That left Carys and Cadell as the only nêr ddraig in London to coordinate with Harold and his forces.
“How?” Duncan sat next to Carys, rubbing salve on her fingers, which were bloody from shooting. “Harold’s sorcerers and mages have been looking for ways to break through the fae wards, but nothing so far has worked.”
Cadell shot Carys a dark look and shook his head. “Dragon children have their own magic,” he said vaguely. “That’s all you need to know.”
They had both seen it. Carys and Cadell had seen the blood on the walls and the sharp rocks scattered on the ground that the small dragons had used to cut themselves and bleed into the soil that bound them. It was that dragon blood that had allowed the children to fracture the fae spells keeping them imprisoned and call out for help.
Fae didn’t realize how much iron was in dragon blood, and no dragon in the world wanted them to know. It made the creatures’ blood oxygen rich and helped their massive bodies to fly.
That iron also meant that dragon blood could break fae wards. At least enough for two small dragons to send out a distress call.
“What other news do you have?” Carys looked at Winnie and Godrik. “Are there any signs of the wolf children or the missing Anglian kids?”
“Nothing so far,” Winnie said.
Lachlan was staring at the fire. “At last count, there were forty human children missing in Alba and five wolves. No unicorns. Not a single one.”
Laura was sitting next to Lachlan. “You don’t think that the unicorns?—”
“No!” Lachlan shook his head. “I don’t think anyone suspects that they’re working with Cian and Orla, but it’s… odd.”
“Unicorn magic is elemental,” Carys offered. “It might be similar enough to fae magic that hiding their children wouldn’t be effective.”
Duncan added, “Or maybe they just didn’t want to piss the unicorns off.”
“But they were willing to piss off dragons?” Winnie shook her head. “I don’t buy it.”
“Maybe the faewantto keep the unicorns neutral.” Carys thought about the fae family in the forest who said they would try to seek shelter with the local blessing. “Unicorn blessings are powerful; no one wants to threaten them.”
Duncan glanced at Carys. “If the unicorns are neutral, they can be a safe haven for fleeing fae who had nothing to do with Cian’s plans.”
“So even the fae don’t want to provoke them?” Lachlan shrugged. “It’s as good a theory as any, I suppose.” Alba had the greatest concentration of unicorns in Briton. They were loyal to the Alban chiefs, but they were also aloof. Them being neutral wasn’t exactly a surprise.
Godrik was staring at Carys. “You did something. I heard the soldiers talking in the courtyard. They said you did something to break open the wards.”
Carys shook her head. “I didn’t do anything. I was on the ground, and I noticed this little tiny tree sprite that was hiding in a bush.” She looked around the room. “She was terrified. I mean, we have to assume that none of the wild fae like the sprites or the pixies or the brownies have anything to do with this.”
Godrik muttered, “I will admit that it’s highly unlikely that wild fae and minor fae were in on Cian’s plans, but they’re also not powerful compared to the high fae of Temris. Do these wild fae even matter?”
