Page 130 of The Shadow Path
Carys and Duncan started to walk toward the edge of the river to wait for Cadell. “Any sign of the Great Serpent today?”
“Not that I’ve heard.”
She looked over the slow-moving stretch of the Tamis where otters still played and frogs croaked in a happy chorus.
A few children were fishing in the long grass, and Carys felt her heart clutch, worrying that they might disappear until she saw a few water sprites dancing in the grass, their wings flashing between the reeds as they watched over the little fishers on the banks.
“There’s still so much good here,” Carys said. “But it’s going to get worse before it gets better, isn’t it?”
“Tell me when you want to leave.” Duncan kept his voice low. “You say the word, and I’ll get you to the gate.”
“And leave Cadell here?” Her eyes searched for her dragon. “Or take him away when his world is at risk?”
“This isn’t our fight,” Duncan said. “And you’re my priority, Carys Morgan. Not any throne or dragon.”
She slipped her hand into his. “Right now we need to be here. Right now I think this is the right thing to do.”
Lachlan’s facewas grim when he joined Carys, Duncan, Naida, and Laura in the hall. Godrik and Winnie had just left to return to Harold, and the household staff had served them a simple dinner before they returned to their own quarters.
The house was quiet when the Alban prince walked in, slumping into a seat as Carys jumped up to get him a plate from the sideboard in the dining hall.
“Sit,” she barked. “You look exhausted. Have you eaten?”
“Not all day.” Lachlan’s face was pale. “We’ve had word from the unicorns in the Kingswood.”
Duncan frowned. “Finally. What did they say?”
Lachlan had been in Harold’s camp for days, coordinating the security of the city while also organizing troops that were coming in from the countryside.
“They are still maintaining their neutrality” —he raised a hand when he saw Duncan’s mouth open— “and I understand why. But their ears are everywhere, and theyaresharing information.”
Duncan sat back and crossed his arms over his chest. “What kind of information?”
Carys set a plate in front of Lachlan. “Eat.”
“Whatever Dru’s magic is doing to block the fae gates, it’s working.” Lachlan sat up and took a bite of the stew Carys had served him. “According to the unicorns, the fae were planning to invade Anglia via the gates, but something is stopping them.”
Carys looked at Naida, but the ellyllon was staring into the fire and listening intently without saying a word.
The “something” that was stopping Cian from using the gates was probably Dru, who had systematically taken control of the fae gates, forts, and barrows across Southern Anglia with the help of the wild and solitary fae who had gathered to him.
They were a hodgepodge of characters and outcasts, and nothing that looked anything like an army, but Dru’s people were connected to the wild earth of Anglia and moved effortlessly through the wards that Cian had wrought.
“What’s their next step?” Carys asked. “Unless they’re giving up?”
Lachlan grimaced and took a drink of beer. “Not likely, though the unicorns also say that this isn’t a popular move in Éire. Crown Princess Finola is very against Prince Cian’s plans. Behind the scenes, there is a lot of disagreement about this.”
“Will that stop Cian?” Duncan asked. “What if Finola just won’t break the Queens’ Pact?”
Lachlan shook his head. “In the end, Finola is Orla’s daughter and heir. She’s in charge of the army, but she’ll do what her mother commands.” He started eating again, ravenously tearing into the bowl of venison stew.
“Do we know what Cian has planned next?” Carys looked at Duncan. “It’s been days, and no more children have been taken since King Harold spread the word about working with household fae.”
Lachlan swallowed a gulp of beer. “The rumors are that Cian will come via boats from the south.”
“Boats from the south.” Cadell pushed away from the wall. “Into Kernow?”
The jut of land that was called Cornwall in the Brightlands was Kernow in the Shadowlands, and it was a wild place that was teeming with dragons.
