Page 19 of Broken Veil
“Thanks—I found some mushrooms.” Naida smiled. “They are like medicine for my kind.”
Cadell stared into the trees. “There is a gate in this place.”
“Yes, we’re on the light side of the Great Bern Wood,” Naida said. “I was just telling Carys and Laura that there is a fae gate nearby. We could go through it if you want. It’s very well-traveled.”
Walking through fae gates was never Carys’s favorite thing. It was as if the fae portals knew she wasn’t truly a creature of either world. They always tried to grab her and hold on even when she was with Cadell.
Duncan was watching her. “It’s up to you, Professor.”
“Maybe we should,” Carys said. “Naida, I’m sure you’d feel better.”
“It’s not about me,” Naida said. “But things might be happening on that side of the gate too. We don’t know if the Morrígan’s power might be felt in both the shadow and the light.
“It might be advantageous to go even if it was only for a few hours,” Cadell said. “We could send a message to your uncle and to King Harold, Nêrys. Let them know what is going on this side of the gates.”
“It’s the middle of the night there,” Duncan said, “but Cadell, you can still speak to any dragon who might be around, right?”
Dragons had a kind of mental communication that stretched across large distances. While Cadell could speak to Carys in his mind, he could also call out to any of his clan who were within range.
“I can,” Cadell said. “And it would be wise to let Mared and Demelza know what we think the Morrígan might be plotting.”
“Fine.” Carys nodded. “We’ll go.”
Without another word, Naida turned and started walking farther into the forest, not looking back once as the trees grew thicker.
Carys tucked the envelope that Godrik had given her into her pocket and followed Godrik, Laura, and Cadell. A moment later, Duncan took her hand in his.
“Did you leave your phone back in the van?”
He nodded. “I did.”
“Okay, good.”
He squeezed her fingers. “Are you nervous?”
“I’m nervous at every gate,” she said. “They always feel… sticky.”
“Sticky?”
She nodded. “Like they’re trying to grab me and keep me.”
“Oh, but I can’t blame them for that, lass.” His brogue grew thicker. “You’re a tasty morsel.”
She smiled. “Are you trying to distract me?” She could feel the gate nearby. The trees grew dense, and the light above them dimmed as the sky disappeared.
“I am—is it working?” Duncan pulled her closer.
The first branch reached out for her ankle and slapped it.
Carys sucked in a breath. “Uh-huh.”
“You’re lying.”
When Carys looked down, the moss was up to her ankles, and a whooshing blue light darted between her legs.
“Keep walking,” Duncan whispered. “Keep your eyes on Naida.”
Between Godrik’s and Cadell’s massive shoulders, Carys could see the small fae woman tripping along the path, clearly delighted to be heading back to her native realm. Unlike the vines and branches that reached out to clutch and grab at Carys’s ankles, the thick vegetation seemed to bend toward the tiny fae as if waving and welcoming her home.
