Page 6 of The Shadow Path
“Are they the same here?” Duncan asked softly.
Carys nodded.
The Shadowlands was a mirror world. Every person in the Brightlands had a twin in the Shadows, but not every twin was allowed to live and grow.
A lucky number were given to humans on the other side of the gates to raise as their own children. But some were taken by magical creatures, and the rest only existed as these bright lights, wandering between the worlds until their Brightkin died.
It was a sad existence for the wisps, but even though some of their light seemed to flicker, others glowed and raced, as if they were eager to lead Brightkin into the other world.
“Almost there.” Laura shrugged, and Chuck lifted from her shoulder, angling his wings to dive toward a fallen log before he rose into the air and disappeared between the trees.
Laura walked to the side of the massive log and turned. “The village is right on the other side of the gate,” she said. “If Kere is awake, it won’t take long.”
Nightfall in the Brightlands meant dawn in the Shadows.
Carys braced her foot against a rock and hooked her thumbs in her pockets. “Did you see Cadell today?”
“No.” Laura stared into the green veil of the forest, her eyes fixed on the place where Chuck had flown. “I was working.”
“He was asking about you the other day.”
Laura rolled her eyes. “He asks about everything,” she said. “That dragon is the most curious creature I’ve ever met in my life. I can barely give him an answer before he’s asking another question. He’s like a child.”
Carys narrowed her eyes. “Is he though?”
“Cadell?” Duncan asked. “You’re talking about Cadell of Eryri? The dragon Cadell?”
Laura shrugged. “I guess.”
“Duncan has known Cadell for years.” Carys turned to Duncan. “He’s a little more… talkative with Laura than he is with other people.”
Duncan’s eyebrows went up again. “Is this the whiskey conversation?”
“It is.”
A loud caw sounded from the forest.
“That’s Chuck.” Laura pushed away from the log. “And the two of you don’t need to be gossiping about me when your whole” —she waved her hand toward them— “situation is complicated enough.”
“Pfft.” Carys frowned. “I don’t… We’re not?—”
“Together,” Duncan said. “Yet. But you’re right.” He walked past Carys, shooting her a smile before he followed Laura toward the clump of bushes where Chuck was waiting. “And it’s only complicated because Carys needs time.”
Carys shot the back of Laura’s head a dirty look before she followed both of them down the slope, across a creek, and toward a stand of blooming dogwood where a woman was waiting. She turned to face them, and Carys was struck again byhow startling it was to see her old friend’s exact face in another person.
“Well.” Duncan halted. “Is that what it’s like when people see Lachlan and me together?”
“Yes.” Carys nodded. “Exactly.”
Kere was Laura’s twin, and the only difference between them was that Kere wore three delicately tattooed lines down her chin.
“Carys.” She held out her arms, walked to Carys, and pressed her forehead to Carys’s. “Good to see you.” Then she turned to Duncan and waved him down to her level before she pressed her forehead to his. “It’s good to meet you. Any friend of Carys’s is welcome here.”
“Thank you.”
“Sister.” Kere walked to her Brightkin and repeated the greeting. Then she turned to face them. “Okay, follow me and stay close.”
Kere walked around the clump of trees, and the three of them followed her.
