Page 79 of First Light
Carys wasn’t quite ready for that yet.
“I should not go with you.” Cadell paced along the boundary of the forest path. “I will attract more attention than if I remained here. Within the gate, attention is perilous.”
He clearly wasn’t very pleased about the situation.
“I’ll be fine, Cadell.” Carys stared into the darkness between the trees. “What’s in there? Really?”
“Dark fae,” Duncan said quietly, wrapping clothes around his hands. “And their creatures. The wisps you know. Pixies, which are not as nice as their name. Trolls, of course, they’re the hungriest. And sluagh.” He spat out the last word.
“Slow-uh what?”
Cadell answered, “The sluagh are the souls of the angry dead. Most of the wild souls who don’t become Shadowkin turn into wisps.” His voice was as gentle as she’d heard it. “They’ll trick you, lead you away from the path, but they’re not dangerous in themselves.”
“The sluagh are different,” Duncan said. “They’re furious they were never given life. Full of spite. Do you remember Dru’s face after we walked through the first time?”
Carys nodded.
“That’s the sluagh.”
Cadell took a deep breath. The light behind him was pearl grey and luminous, but his face was dark. “Perhaps it’s a mistake to let Carys go through without me.”
“No, you were right the first time,” Duncan said. “I’ve walked this path more times than I can count. Now they know her footsteps too.” He looked at Carys. “You’ll be fine with me. Just don’t stray.”
Carys nodded and looked at Cadell. “Your magic won’t work here, right?”
“No.” He glared at the trees. “The dark fae wards sap my power.”
“Then it’s better to leave me with Duncan, right? Like you said, a dragon in the gate will attract attention.”
With an angry huff, he stepped back over whatever barrier he’d crossed, stretched his body into his dragon form, and crouched in a nearby clearing, his wings folded back and steam escaping from the sides of his massive jaws.
“And that’s what a dragon looks like when he has a tantrum,” Duncan whispered. “Come on then. Do you have your gloves?”
“I grabbed my wool ones from your cottage when we stopped.” She pulled them on, covering her skin. “So the sluagh will ignore me? Is that what tried to grab me before?”
“I don’t fully know, but stay with me and you’ll be fine.” He held out his hand. “And just maybe I can convince you to stay in our world.”
“Nope.” She looked over her shoulder. “Besides, do you really want to deal with Cadell if you came back without me?”
The big man glanced at the dragon, who let out a rumble like low thunder.
“I’ll bring her back.” Duncan grabbed Carys’s hand. “Probably.”
They started into the forest, and Carys kept her hand tightly gripping Duncan’s.
Whispers came to her ears, the fluttering, clicking sounds of winged insects she couldn’t see. The sound of pebbles dropping on dusty ground. Invisible creatures that fluttered past her ears and face, snagging her hair and laughing before they flicked away.
She kept her eyes on Duncan’s back as he forged his way through the forest, stepping where he stepped, walking as close to him as she could without tripping. At one point Duncan took her hand, wove their fingers together, and wrapped her arm around his waist, drawing Carys close so her body was pressed against his and their joined hands were firm on his abdomen.
They walked deliberately through the underbrush, Carys matching Duncan’s steps.
She felt her body react. It was impossible not to. He smelled like a campfire and whatever fragrant oil they’d used on his skin when they trimmed his hair that morning. Spicy and intoxicating. His clothes were rough when her cheek pressed against them, and the wool scratched against her skin, relieving some of the pressure that seemed to build the farther they walked.
Duncan didn’t speak, but after interminable minutes of primeval clicks, menacing laughter, and distant music that tempted them off the path, she heard him speak softly.
“Nearly there.”
The light grew, and Carys could see blue between the trees.