Page 130 of First Light

“I saved his daughter from a kelpie,” Carys said, “like on the first day I got here.”

“You have seen many dangers in your short time here,” Dafydd said. “I truly wish you would come with us to Caernarfon. You would be protected there.”

“Robb will not let her leave.” Eamer looked at Carys. “He may not be probing you for answers yet, but that is only because Lachlan restrains his curiosity and he fears offending Cadell. Plus he knows the servants are watching and giving reports to Elanor.”

Carys blinked. “They are?”

Eamer gave her a withering look. “Always, Carys.Always.”

Dafydd looked at his wife. “Robb is convinced he’ll find answersabout Carys’s magic if she stays in Alba, but her mother’s Shadowkinmustbe in Caernarfon. Any answers that might be found would be in Cymru, not here.”

“That may be, my king, but she wouldn’t be able to find Seren’s killer if she leaves Alba.” Eamer put her hand on Dafydd’s arm. “And I am beginning to think we were mistaken in letting that offense pass.” She looked at Carys. “I have heard from sources in Anglia. There are rumors swirling about Lachlan’s future and about the balance of powers now that the throne of Cymru has no heir.”

Carys remembered Duncan’s words on the hill.

Robb isn’t going to leave that political opportunity in the dirt. Lachlan will take another bride, and it’s not going to be you.

Carys shook off the troubling thought. This wasn’t about Lachlan and her—it was about Seren and her death. “Have they heard about me yet?”

Eamer nodded. “Yes, and word has spread that you have bonded with Seren’s dragon, but many do not believe it.”

She looked at Dafydd. “I need to stay.”

“Carys, it’s too?—”

“You deserve answers, Uncle. And Cymru needs answers too.”

“Agreed,” Eamer said. “I should return to Caernarfon to see to matters in the court, but Dafydd will stay here. I will tell his lords that he stays to visit his daughter’s Brightkin. No one will question it.”

Dafydd nodded. “And I will take my leave of Robb’s castle with Eamer, but Mared and I will stay close. Cadell will be able to call for us if you need our help.”

“A good plan, my king.” Eamer turned to Dafydd and nodded. “Cymru will have the answers it deserves.”

Carys had the urge to hug Eamer before the woman turned away, but she pushed back that instinct and nodded respectfully at the woman in the dark fur cloak. “I won’t forget what you’ve told me.”

Eamer opened her mouth, then closed it again. She nodded once before turning back to the castle, and the flame-colored dragon transformed and walked behind her.

The cross humanknocked on Carys’s door later that night.

She opened the door, saw him, and closed it immediately.

“Carys, please.” He kept his voice soft.

Cadell was resting on the roof overhead.He is still your ally. If he comes to make peace, you must hear him.

She hadn’t told Cadell about Duncan’s kiss on the fairy hill or the tangle of emotions that was wreaking havoc in her heart.

You don’t love that one. Not really.

Why were the words of a grumpy goat-man pinging around in her brain on a loop? She knew her feelings for Lachlan were complicated, and they had been ever since she’d discovered who his wife had been.

But to say she didn’t love him?

Hell, maybe she didn’t love him. Maybe she loved the memory of him. How he’d made her feel and the way that he’d charmed her back to life. The way he’d pursued her and the way he loved her friends and her simple life.

Everything about her life had seemed to delight the man, from her cozy house in the forest to her books and the paintings on her walls.

Was her life a quaint novelty to the prince?