Page 98 of Broken Veil
Duncan parked himself by the side of the hedge and watched the apiary.
“Does that ever drive you crazy when they talk in pieces like that?” Laura whispered.
“I’m kind of used to it now.”
And it made her a little bit jealous.
“We’re sisters. Sisters may fight, but they stick together.”
What would Carys’s life had been like if she’d grown up in Wales? Would her mother have taken her across a fae gate when she was young? Would she have grown up knowing Seren?
Don’t be silly. She was a princess.
Right.
Lachlan had disappeared around the hedge, and the night birds fell silent as something crunched on the ground.
“That was not a human footstep,” Laura whispered. “If I didn’t know better…” She eased off the log and stepped lightly toward Duncan, who had already poked his head around the bushes.
Carys stood and looked for Naida, but the fae woman was already gone, halfway under the hedge and moving silently, as stealthy as a mouse avoiding an owl.
Carys peeked from behind Duncan’s back and saw a dim figure moving in the shadows where the bees were now zooming and angry as an intruder violated their peaceful sleep.
There was an unmistakable huffing sound, and then the massive creature moved farther into the clearing and moonlight fell on the dark brown fur that covered his massive back.
Carys’s breath left her body.
Laura said, “Weird. I thought you didn’t have bears in England.”
“We don’t,” Duncan said. “At least not in the Brightlands.”
“You mean?—”
“I recognize that bear,” Duncan muttered. “He has one ear that’s very noticeably cut. Right side, about a third of it taken clean off.”
Laura squinted. “Good eyes.”
“Easy to recognize because I’m the one who cut it.” Duncan looked at Carys. “That’s the Morrígan’s bear. The one from the Crow Mother’s mountain, remember?”
“I’m not likely to forget.”
Lachlan appeared in the shadows, then slipped behind the trees and returned to their hiding place behind the hedge. “It’sjust the one bear, but he’s not from this world. Somehow an enchanted bear is loose in the Brightlands.”
“What do you want to do?” Laura said.
Lachlan shook his head. “I don’t think a cricket bat and a short sword are going to do much against an animal that size other than make it mad.”
Carys turned to Duncan. “We have to get him back to the Shadowlands.”
Duncan crossed his arms over his chest. “Excellent idea. And how do you propose we do that?”
“Fire.”Cadell nodded decisively.
Jack frowned. “We’re not setting Wyre Forest on fire, dragon.”
“Fire will work,” Cadell grumbled. “Bears hate fire.”
Carys was back in Jibril’s cozy sitting room with Duncan, Cadell, Angus, and Jack. Laura had remained in the forest with Lachlan and Naida, keeping an eye on the bear while Carys and Duncan had a short consult with Jibril and Jack.
