Page 98 of First Light
“They might have been surprised you ran out, but they were more surprised you came at all, being a foreigner.”
“Foreigner from the Brightlands or from America?”
“Both. Most of them have heard of America, but they’ve never met anyone from there. Even people from the continent are rare. Unless you command a flying creature like a dragon, it’s a rare human in this realm who crosses the ocean.”
“Right.” She shook her head. “Sea monsters.”
“Sea monsters.”
They turned left at the end of the road, then right at the ribboned oak tree that led into the forest. Carys followed Duncan this time, knowing it was easy to get lost.
She thought back to the first time she’d run from the castle and the wrong turn she’d taken in the forest that led her to the loch and the unicorns. She must have walked far longer than she knew to get that far away from the village and human habitation.
“Why did you run?”
She blinked. “What?”
Duncan frowned. “Why did you leave the banquet so early? Avoiding another dance?”
Hardly. Her dance with Duncan had been the highlight of the party. She hadn’t known he could be charming because he rarely was, but his playful demeanor on the dance floor and his light step had made her feel at ease.
She usually felt at ease with Duncan.
“Not the dancing.” She looked at her feet. “You’re a good dancer.”
He grunted. “I’ll let my mother know the mandatory classes paid off.”
Carys couldn’t help but smile. “Did she really?”
“Oh yes. Three days a week for several years before I went to school.”
“Like, boarding school?”
Duncan nodded. “A grand old place where princes were educated, and my father was disappointed in me. I hated school.”
“Did you?”
He glanced over his shoulder. “The only thing that saved me was rugby and rock climbing. And sneaking away when I could to watch the smiths near the stables.”
“Is that when you got interested in blacksmithing?”
He handed the horse’s lead to Carys and walked to the back to heave the cart over a rock in the middle of the path. “I’d always been interested in it, but yes. Here, of course, what I can do is very limited because of fae rules.”
They had walked through the edge of the forest and to the other side where Duncan’s cottage was hidden in a stand of ash trees. The moment she crossed the garden gate, her shoulders relaxed.
“So do you have a smithy here?”
The corner of his mouth turned up. “Of a sort.”
“How do you work without iron?”
“More magic.” He looked over his shoulder. “You can visit if you want. Meet Angus. He’ll love you.”
“Angus?”
“He’s a…” Duncan frowned. “Better to meet him than to explain. Auld Mags is at the house, but unless you’re there at night, you won’t see her.”
Carys stopped in the middle of the path. “I forgot you had a brownie. Brownies are powerful, you know. Way more powerful than people expect.”