Page 53 of First Light
“Robb, please do not put Aisling on the spot,” Elanor said softly. “We were all devastated by Seren’s death, and sometimes when a young person dies, we look to blame. That does not mean blame is warranted.”
Elanor’s quiet words seemed to calm the tempers in the room.
“No matter what you believe happened to Seren, I am here now.” Cadell stepped forward. He spoke silently to Carys.I left Seren to tend tomy young, believing she could come to no harm in her home. If she was under threat, she didn’t tell me. I will never make that mistake again.
Cadell reached his hand out toward Carys. “No harm will come to my lady, and Carys will leave this place when she wishes to and no sooner.”
Robb’s eyes burned. “You dare question my authority, beast?”
Cadell narrowed his eyes. “I am not one of your tame unicorns, Robb of Moray.” The dragon stepped forward, and his figure grew taller before Carys’s eyes. His chest expanded, and she could see the red fire glowing at his throat. “My lady does not answer to your authority any more than the cross human does.”
Carys felt the situation escalating again. “Cadell, wait.” She put a hand on his arm.
“Nêrys, step back.”
“My love.” Lady Elanor spoke again. “My Lord Dragon. It would please the queen if you both gave me the courtesy of your attention.”
Cadell stepped back, still shielding Carys from Robb but calmed by Elanor’s voice. He stood at attention, hands clasped in front as he blocked Carys from Robb’s view. “Lady Elanor, you are wise. Speak.”
Robb sat down too. “My queen, the hall is yours.”
“Carys is Seren’s sister.” Elanor’s eyes turned to Carys, who stepped from behind Cadell’s back so she could see what was going on. “Seren’sBrightkin. To even see her face is a happiness I could not imagine in this life. Carys Morgan, you will always be welcome in my home. The circumstances of Seren’s death hang over us all, and we may never know the whole truth.Thatis a tragedy, but it is no one’s fault.”
Robb grunted, and Lachlan looked like he wanted to speak, but he kept silent as his mother continued.
“Cadell has said that King Dafydd is readying a party to come north.” Elanor looked at Robb, then Lachlan. “Carys is Dafydd’s niece. We should wait until he arrives before anything is decided.”
Robb took a deep breath, and while his eyes still bored into Carys,the expression in the cold blue had softened. “I do hear your words, my queen.”
Elanor said, “Of course, the final decision should remain with Carys alone. My dear, what do you want?”
It was the first time anyone had asked Carys that in days, and her heart immediately softened toward the regal woman. “I’m grateful, Queen Elanor. I would like to stay until my uncle arrives.”
“Very well.” Elanor smiled and turned to Robb. “My love?”
“She stays.” Robb glanced at Lachlan, then back to Carys. “Until we have some answers, she will stay.”
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Duncan caught her arm as she started walking out of the hall. “Carys?—”
Cadell turned on him, a throaty hiss vibrating through his body and shaking the air.
Duncan dropped his hand. “Carys, we should talk.”
“Why?” She kept walking, feeling Lachlan’s eyes on her back. She didn’t like being the center of attention, and that entire episode had given her the shakes. Now she was walking through a crowd of whispering courtiers who stared at her with questions she didn’t want to answer.
Added to that, she also had a nearly seven-foot-tall dragon at her back, glowering at everyone around her like he was seconds away from breathing fire on the lot.
“You know why!”
Carys stopped when she had passed the crowd of courtiers. This was Duncan. If there was anyone in this upside-down place that could relate to her, it was him. And she had questions.
She had alotof questions.
Carys looked at Cadell, then Duncan. “It’s fine. Duncan, follow us. Cadell needs fresh air.”
She had no idea how she knew that, but she did. The effort of keeping his human form when he was emotionally wrought was taking a toll. His shoulders were broader, and the fire didn’t calm in his chest. Even though he walked on two legs, he seemed far more animal than human to Carys.