Page 83 of First Light

“Unless her aunts want her at the Éiren table,” Cadell added.

“That’s possible too.”

They reached the top of the stairs, and the sound of voices mixed with the sound of music echoed through the castle. There was clanging and the clatter of crockery. Guards were stationed five deep at the doors, checking all the guests as they entered the castle and made their way around the massive statue of the two rearing unicorns that dominated the entryway.

The herald at the bottom of the stairs spotted them and called out: “The Lady Carys, Lord Dragon Cadell, and Lord Duncan of Moray.”

Multiple faces turned to them as they walked down the stairs and into the entry chamber; Carys clung to Cadell so she wouldn’t trip. Many of the faces wore curious expressions, but just as many glanced at her and Duncan, then turned back to whomever they were speaking with before or continued walking into the dining hall.

The crowd was a glittering mix of faces, voices, accents, and finery, a rainbow of styles and colors that filled the entryway and flowed into the hall.

They turned left at the foot of the stairs, and Carys got her first view of the great hall decked out for a formal dinner.

There were giant banners hung from the ceiling, blue and white on one side, red and green on the other. Thousands of blue-white taperswere glowing overhead, suspended by magic to illuminate the darkness while four hearths blazed with fire to warm the hall.

Blue lights danced overhead, and sparkling lights spun in the air like constant confetti.

There were tall, willowy fae men and women, their large eyes and long hair shining in the candlelight; pointed ears peeked from behind their shimmering hair, and rings decorated their ears, noses, and hands. They wore gold jewelry in abundance along with cloaks of glittering fabric adorned with jewels that winked as they moved.

“Beautiful.” She nearly lost her breath to see a group of them en masse.

“Dangerous,” Duncan murmured.

“Seductive by design,” Cadell added. “Some of it will be glamour. Much of it is real.”

The unicorns who greeted them as they walked through the crowd to find their table also towered over the human guests, their beauty as majestic but their faces warmer.

They were broad shouldered and strong, wearing flowing tunics with no apparent notice of the cold. Their long hair was a mix of soft waves, riotous curls, and every color in the rainbow.

Carys noticed that both the fae and the unicorns varied in their features more than the humans did, their features a mix of ethnicities from all around the world. Eyes of every shape and color, skin of every tone from deepest ebony to pale white ash.

The living tapestry moved in graceful dancing that dominated the center of the room while human and fae musicians played from a platform near the high table at the front of the room.

There were tall people with dark hair and weathered skin that Carys immediately identified as the wolves that Cadell and Duncan had spoken about. Stoic in expression, they stood along the borders of the room, speaking only with each other, their eyes and hair ranging from dark brown to pale grey.

“Wolves?” she murmured.

“Yes.” Cadell leaned down. “A wolf’s hair will always match theireyes. Grey and grey. Brown and brown. They mimic their animal form in this.”

“And dragon eyes are gold.”

Cadell nodded. “Yes, Nêrys.”

The wolves wore blue-and-red jackets and had the most military bearing of any of the magical creatures. Like the dragons, they appeared somewhat discomfited in human skin.

Cadell spoke to Carys quietly as they walked. “There might be unicorns seated with us, so be mindful of how much meat you eat,” he said. “They do not judge humans, but it’s rude to wave a dead creature in their face. That’s why dragons don’t eat at human banquets.”

“Because you consume entire deer in one swallow?” Duncan asked.

“Only in our natural form,” Cadell muttered. “Do you enjoy provoking me?”

Carys tried to distract them from the bickering. “Are all the wolves here men?”

“There are male and female wolves in attendance. They are sometimes hard to tell apart. They don’t differentiate gender in dress.”

“Neither do dragons,” Carys said. “You all wear the same armor, correct?”

“Correct.”