Page 122 of The Shadow Path
“The fae.” Godrik growled. “He dares show his face?—”
“Quiet.” Dru raised his hand, palm up, and the wolf disappeared in a shower of silver and gold sparks until there was no man and a massive wolf crouched near Godrik’s horse.
The gelding reared and Godrik let out a nasty growl, but Dru continued to walk forward, kneeling before the green earthen mound.
“Duncan,” Dru said quietly. “Take your sword from the earth. You’ve upset its magic.”
Duncan pulled up the sword, and the soil spit it out with a stretch and a settling rumble.
Then Dru put his hands deep into the earth, lifted his voice in a new song, and the side of the green, flowering mound crumbled away.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
There were ten children hidden in the fae mound—two wolves and eight humans. The wolf pups immediately shifted to their animals forms, running toward the adults, who circled them with wagging tails and excited yips.
Minutes after the shifter children ran away with half the pack, the villagers sitting around the green seemed to wake out of their trance and called for their missing children.
“Alfred?” A woman ran to the mound, hesitating only a second before she ran into the gaping cave. “Alfred!”
“Sara?”
“Is Hilda inside?”
Moments later, the humans of the village had crowded into the open fae mound, lifting children from the cave, most of them rubbing their eyes.
They had dirty faces and blinking eyes, but none of them seemed to be harmed.
Carys watched the commotion from the edge of the green, standing next to Dru, who was sitting on the ground with hollow eyes, watching the humans rescue the children.
Carys crouched down next to him. “Your brother did this.”
“I know.”
Duncan walked over, his eyes shooting daggers at Dru. “Children, Dru. Hundreds of children are still missing.”
He turned dark eyes up to meet Duncan’s glare. “Are you asking me for a favor, Duncan Murray?”
“Fuck your favors and your tricks.” The angry Scotsman pointed his sword at Dru. “Fuck all your magic and machinations. Do the right thing, Diarmuid.”
“The right thing?” Dru dug his fingers into the ground. “It’s quite a thing to think you know what that is, Duncan Murray.”
“You could free all of them. You could?—”
“The children of Briton are sleeping.” Dru looked at Carys. “They might be the safest ones on the island right now. War with my brother means human blood spilled. The earth will drink the life of this island, and more children than just these missing ones will be harmed.”
Something tickled the back of Carys’s mind, but just then Godrik stormed over to them, halting when he came close to the fae prince.
“My people are grateful that the children are safe,” he said carefully.
Dru nodded. “I wish that this had never happened.”
“But it did,” Godrik said. “And you freed them.”
Dru shrugged. “They were not in any danger. The magic they used put those within the wards in stasis. They would have come to no harm. No hunger or thirst would have touched them.”
“But they were away from their families. Their clans.” Godrik nodded. “We are grateful.”
“I am pleased that your children are returned to you,” Dru said.
