Page 21 of Mountain of Mirrors and Starlight
He stepped into the room.
No one was around. The windows were shut fast. He did a quick check of the room to see if there were any secret passageways—behind the chimney breast, the tapestries, the ancient old mirror in the corner.
Nothing.
No one was here.
No one at all.
Aislinnwasnostrangerto nightmares, so she didn’t bring up Caerwyn’s the next day over breakfast. In any case, he seemed to be avoiding her gaze, or avoiding her entirely, come to think of it. He dismissed himself as soon as he had eaten to go work in the forge, taking Magna with him.
Diana readied herself for an expedition into the forest. Aislinn asked if she could try and catch her a bird to enchant with a message.
“Crows or ravens are best,” Aislinn requested. “But any bird will do—”
“I’ll try,” Diana said, looking at Minerva for approval. “But I cannot promise anything.”
One by one, the rest of the dwarves left to begin their daily tasks. There was wood to be gathered and chopped, stables to be mucked, traps to be set, gardens to be tended. Only Aislinn had nothing to do, condemned once more to the house after her bandages were changed, with instructions not to move too much.
That was easier said than done. As much as it hurt to move, not doing anything was far, far worse.
She couldn’t believe she’d been gored by an undead stag.
She couldn’t believe there hadbeenan undead stag in the first place.
Or that no one else seemed concerned about it.
Luna had her helping out once more in the kitchen, but Aislinn made easy work of the few tasks she was able to accomplish—namely chopping and peeling vegetables.
“You’re good with a knife,” Luna remarked.
“I’m effective,” Aislinn said, slicing a potato into chunks and trying not to imagine destroying her enemies.
Luna shrugged. “I’m just nipping into the woods to fetch some herbs. I won’t be long.”
She took a basket with her and disappeared out the front door.
It took Aislinn all of five minutes to grow bored of the silence and to crawl to her feet, sucking in a sharp breath as her middle spiked. She didn’t care.
She stepped outside the cottage, determined to check on Snapdragon. There were several outbuildings surrounding the main cottage, and Aislinn’s first thought was how had they remained undetected for so long, until she realised that the grounds were surrounded by high, rocky walls, and that the main path down the slope was obscured by a sheet of water.
The waterfall. They were behind the waterfall.
Clever.
She located the stables easily enough and stepped inside, only to pause the second she entered.
Most of the stalls—save the last, where Snapdragon stood, and a few empty ones—were occupied by giant fluffy dogs in various shades of cream and honey.
She’d seen miniature versions of this breed in King Owen’s court. It was a small, stout-legged creature with a bushy tail and pointy ears.
It was definitelynotthe size of a small pony.
“Vines and spirits!” Aislinn gasped.
Caerwyn looked up from the first stall, where he’d been busily brushing a furry belly. “I know they’re—”
“Adorable!” Aislinn squealed, battling the urge to squeeze one of them, just in case they were more volatile than their appearances suggested. She turned to the first one, who wagged his tail at her expression. “Precious baby! Can I cuddle him?”
