Page 123 of The Shadow Path
He might have said he was pleased, but the dark-eyed fae looked anything but happy.
Dru stared at the fae fort, whispering as it slowly receded into the ground.
“Duncan.” Godrik turned to the blacksmith. “Can I speak to you for a moment?”
“Of course.” Duncan cast one more angry look at Dru, then walked away.
Dru watched them. “The wolf wants to know where Duncan obtained his weapon.”
Carys sat next to him and put her hands into the soil, feeling the pulse and life of the earth beneath them. “I’m sure he does.”
Duncan wouldn’t tell him. He’d never endanger Cadell or the dragons that way.
“Can you feel it?” Dru asked, his hands still pressed to the earth.
“I feel something. Nothing like what you and Naida feel, I’m sure. Nothing like Laura.”
“Your friend is a very skilled mage for a mundane human.” Dru’s eyebrows went up. “It’s no wonder your mother chose a place such as the Bay-wood. A place where the earth meets the sea. A place where light and darkness sit next to each other like friends.”
Carys smiled. “I don’t remember telling you where I was from.”
Dru smiled. “I imagine she felt right at home there.”
“You called me Carys Morgan, daughter of two worlds.”
“Did I?” Dru watched the children waking and the crying adults who wrapped them in blankets and tried to feed them.
“I met my mother’s Brightkin when I was in London.”
“Did you go to visit Macha?”
“Is that her name?”
Dru leaned back on the grass. “It’s one of her names.” He looked at the forest behind them. “I feel her. She’s not that far from here, is she? Just on the other side of the shadow.” He looked off into the distance, his eyes cast over the dense forest. “I’d say about three miles as one of her crows would fly.”
“What is she doing there?”
“Reliving her days of glory perhaps?” Dru sat up and brushed his hands. “Reveling in memories of battles she fed from and blood spilled in her name? I should go before thanks turns to blame.”
Carys reached out and grabbed his hand before he walked away.
Dru froze, looking at her hand on his wrist. “Be careful. You may be Epona’s daughter, but I’m the blood of Lir.”
“Diarmuid mac Lir,” Carys said. “That is your name. Your proper name.”
Dru’s easy brown eyes turned sharp. “What will you do with it now that you have it, Carys Morgan?”
“This world is suffering because you chose a path that took you to the Brightlands.”
“I had my reasons.”
“You could be king of the fae.”
Dru’s eyes flashed. “I don’twantto be king of the fae. I only ever wanted Naida, and they will never accept her as my queen.”
“So you just opt out?” Carys shrugged. “See ya? Not my problem anymore?”
He narrowed his eyes. “You say you’re not asking me for a favor, but you are.”
