Page 131 of The Shadow Path
Lachlan shook his head. “They’ll avoid Kernow. They don’t want to antagonize the dragons any further, and they think thedragons won’t strike at them when Cian has proven his people can take dragon young.”
“But the dragons got those children back.” Carys stood up and walked to pour herself a mug of beer. “And now we’re pissed.”
Lachlan raised an eyebrow. “We?”
“You know what I mean.”
“If they avoid Kernow,” Cadell said, “Cian will take boats up to Hampton.”
Lachlan nodded. “And from there the unicorns think Cian’s army will march to Saris Plain.”
The dragon frowned. “Why Saris?”
Naida said quietly, “Old Saris.”
Lachlan nodded. “That’s what the unicorns say. Cian wants to take Old Saris and rebuild it as a fae stronghold in Southern Anglia.”
Laura leaned toward Carys. “Where is Saris?”
“It’s Salisbury in the Brightlands,” Duncan said. “That’s where Stonehenge is in our world.”
“It’s where it is in every world,” Naida said quietly.
Every eye turned toward her.
“For the fae—particularly the light fae of Temris—Old Saris is kind of this mythical place of power,” Naida said, “even though the chalk underneath it is resistant to fae magic.”
“So why would Cian want to rebuild Old Saris?” Duncan said. “If the land resists magic?—”
“Because anyone strong enough to hold the Saris Plain must be the chosen of the gods,” Naida said. “It’s a place of power in every world. A place of worship, offering, and sacrifice.”
“So if Cian wants to reassert fae power over Briton,” Carys said, “making a big show of defeating Harold on Saris Plain would be one way to do it.”
“It’s theater,” Naida said. “But it’s theater that would impress every magical creature in Briton.”
“She’s right,” Cadell said. “Even the dragons would be impressed. We’d still do our best to kill every fae in sight after what they did to our young, but it would be impressive.”
Carys didn’t know what it said about her that Cadell’s bloodthirsty proclamation was intensely satisfying.
Lachlan continued, “The plain is huge, which will give Harold the advantage because he has numbers, but Cian’s army will be traveling up from the ocean along the Yuten Woods, and that’s dark fae territory.” He rubbed a hand over his eyes. “The fae-thanes there are not friendly to humans. They’ll probably lend Cian more people before he meets Harold.”
“Unless Dru gets there first,” Duncan said. “Have you and Harold told Dru about any of this?”
“He probably already knows,” Lachlan said.
“Maybe.” Cadell lounged at the end of the table, his legs stretched out toward the fire. “Or maybe not. He might not have made the connection between his brother and the dark fae of Yuten Woods. He’s still gathering his people and breaking all the wards Cian put in place around the fae forts holding the children.”
“He’s playing catch-up,” Laura said. “But if he’s going to claim fae leadership in Briton, he’s going to have to visit these dark Yuten fae himself, right?”
Lachlan nodded. “They’re powerful, and they control the southern gates to the Brightlands. They have extensive magic in the rivers there. It wouldn’t be a bad idea for Dru to go first.”
They all looked at Naida.
“What?” The ellyllon narrowed her eyes. “I’m not your fae emissary. I’m not one of them.”
“But you are,” Laura said. “Way more than any of us.”
“He’ll listen to you,” Carys said.
