Chapter 18

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

A isling bustled toward them while Lachlan hung back. "Watch the floor just there. It's a mess."

Carys glanced at the spot where she was pointing and saw a steaming liquid spilled on the floor. It looked as if it was eating away at the stone.

"I dropped a bottle of acid when I was working earlier," Aisling said. "I was about to clean it up when Lachlan interrupted me." She tossed a handful of something that looked like grain over the steaming liquid. "You can go, Lachlan. Let me show Duncan and Carys my workroom."

Aisling's castle workroom looked like a wizard's laboratory, and Carys was more than a little jealous.

"This is so cool," Carys murmured.

"Cool is good, correct?" Aisling smiled as she worked. "I believe I have that right, that you're not speaking of temperature."

"Cool is very good."

There were long bookshelves all along the front wall where they'd walked through the arched doorway. The shelves were piled with various manuscripts, scrolls, and more than a few piles of loose papers. There were assorted specimens in jars, many of which Carys didn't want to examine too closely, and pots of trailing ivy cascaded from various nooks and crannies.

There was a row of sizable windows along the outer wall, pushed out from the chamber so shelves could be built into them to catch the cool light outside. They were lined with different potted plants, clippings in jars, and tubes holding roots and bulbs.

"I love your laboratory." Carys turned in circles, taking everything in.

"I'm glad you came to visit." Aisling had a smudge of dirt on her cheek, and she wiped her hands on her apron. "It's my favorite place."

Lachlan's eyes were fixed on Carys. "You're looking well this morning, Carys. How did you sleep after your meeting with Dafydd?"

She glanced at him. "I slept well." Her irritating heart raced to see his admiring stare.

"Will you be at the banquet tonight?" Lachlan's voice reminded her of lazy mornings in bed.

"Of course she will be." Aisling shooed him out the door. "Go. I imagine your father is already on his horse. Go put your arrows to good use, Lord Lachlan. Your guests will be hungry tonight."

Lachlan sent Carys one last look before he left the high-ceilinged room.

"He's going hunting with Lord Robb and King Dafydd." Aisling narrowed her eyes at Duncan. "Weren't you invited, Duncan?"

"I was, but I'm useless with a bow." Duncan wandered over to the wall of plants and looked into the courtyard. "Give me a shotgun and I'd be helpful."

"Ah, but the fae would have none of that." Aisling looked at Carys and winked. "We're limited on what metals we're allowed to mine and we have no access to gunpowder, though I have heard the Shadowlands in the Far Eastern world have it."

Carys looked at a row of jars, tubes, and simmering cauldrons on the worktable. "So you're a chemist?"

"Alchemist." Aisling called out, "Nate? "

A young man came from behind a set of bookshelves. "Yes, Lady Aisling?"

"I'd clean up that spill, but I have guests. Can you get it for me? I don't want any accidents."

The young man bowed. "Of course, my lady."

"Use the boar-leather gloves." She motioned Carys toward the windows where Duncan was standing. "It's my own space and I love it. I brew practical things for the castle and the town mostly. Potions, healing salves, teas, and tinctures, of course. But I do experiment with rarer ingredients when I can get them, and I practice my spells, of course. Regan will be with me later when she's rested."

"Where does your aunt live most of the time? Is she close by?"

Duncan muttered, "Thank God, no."

"Regan lives here and there." Aisling laughed a little. "She's not married, so she can do as she pleases."

"Regan travels with the fae," Duncan said. "Be careful talking with any of her companions. They'll be like Dru."

"Right."

Aisling waved a hand. "Duncan is suspicions of anything fae. I grew up with the Good People in my grandmother's court, so they don't bother me."

"Yet." Duncan surveyed her plants. "Your herbs are looking well. I'm impressed you can grow rosemary inside."

"It's always a challenge to get them enough light." Aisling pointed to a system of mirrors hanging along the walls. "I use those to amplify the natural light. We don't have a sun, so growing anything indoors is a challenge, particularly warm-weather plants."

Carys frowned. "With no sun, how do you grow anything at all?"

"We have light." Aisling pointed to the windows. "We have… I suppose it doesn't make much sense to you."

From the moment Carys had arrived in the Shadowlands, the lack of a sun had nagged at the back of her mind. The light grew brighter in the morning and the sky was illuminated by stars at night, but that was the only familiar light. It was as if the sky was constantly covered by a high fog that blocked the heavens.

"Magic," Duncan said. "There's no other explanation. It's not very satisfying for our scientific minds."

Someone spoke from the doorway. "Magic is its own kind of science."

Aisling turned, and the smile that spread across her face was slightly frantic. "Regan. I didn't expect you this early."

Carys turned and saw the raven-haired woman from the coracle walking into the room. She was dressed in severe clothing, wearing a long tunic, leggings, and a fur cape with a streak of red at the shoulder. A fox pelt.

It was impossible to say how old Aisling's aunt was. She could have been fifty or thirty. Her face carried a slight blur over it, as if it might change depending on the angle that you looked.

She stared at Carys and spoke to Aisling. "I wanted to start your lessons today, Niece."

"I'm ready." Aisling took off her apron and hung it on a standing rack by her worktable. "I have my most current spells worked out, and if you'd like to look over them before I add them to the grimoire, I can?—"

"You're Carys Morgan." Regan walked toward Carys, bright blue eyes fixed on her face. "You really are her twin."

Aisling's hands were gripped in her skirt. "She's Seren's Brightkin, Regan. Of course they look alike."

"How… alarming." Regan's eyes didn't blink.

"Not to me." Everything about Regan put Carys on alert. "You knew Seren?"

"Of course she did." Duncan angled his body so he was ever so slightly between Regan and Carys. "Lady Regan."

Regan looked up and smiled seductively. "Duncan Murray. Blacksmith of the Brightlands." Her tongue hissed on the last syllable. "You know I am no lady."

"In that we're in agreement. "

She cast a ravenous look from his boots to his beard. "Let me know when you've changed your mind, Brightkin."

"Not fucking likely."

Aisling tried to keep the mood light. "Let me introduce you properly. Regan, this is Carys, Seren's Brightkin. Carys, this is my aunt and teacher, Regan, Lady of Ulaid. She is the daughter of Queen Orla and a very talented mage."

The young one feels guilt. The older one feels nothing.

Carys spotted Cadell from the corner of her eye. He was standing in human form on the other side of the workroom windows. He wasn't looking at her but at Regan.

Carys turned to Aisling, startled by the mix of emotions playing across the woman's face. She was a bundle of nerves. Guilt or worry?

Why? From her aunt? From Carys and Duncan? From her aunt meeting Carys?

"We should go," Carys said. "I don't want to interrupt your time with your aunt, but we'll see you at the banquet tonight, right?"

"Of course." Aisling let out a quick breath. "And if there's anything you need before tonight?—"

"Seren's journals," Duncan said. "The record books she kept. Do you know where they are?"

"Oh goodness." Aisling looked down and blinked. "Uh, probably with Lachlan? I would think they'd be with Lachlan. Check with him."

"Are you okay?" Carys asked. "You seem…"

Guilty. Cadell was right. Aisling looked guilty.

"Perhaps it is the sight of your face, Carys Morgan."

Carys turned to Regan, who had perched herself on a stool near Aisling's worktable.

"Why?" Did Aisling have something to do with Seren's death? Was she feeling guilty about something Lachlan had asked her to do? What was she hiding?

Cadell's voice came to her mind again. She's hiding something.

"Don't be silly." Aisling shook her head. "Carys, of course it's not the sight of your face. It's still a bit startling to see you, but?—"

"She couldn't save her." Regan stared at Carys, and her voice was cold. "Can you imagine failing like that?"

Duncan sucked in a breath.

Regan continued to tear down her niece, piece by piece. "My niece trained her whole life to be a healer. She studied so hard, and yet she couldn't save her best friend."

Carys looked at Aisling, but the soft young woman was frozen. Her cheeks were red, and she stared at the ground in front of her feet.

"Does she have a lover? A family? Even a pet?" Regan continued. "Of course not. She sacrificed everything, and yet when her dearest friend was dying, she couldn't even save her." Regan offered Carys a smirk. "Makes one feel quite useless, doesn't it?"

Regan's voice dripped with cruelty, but Aisling was silent. She gripped her tunic in both hands, her body stiff and her shoulders tense.

Duncan was the one who broke the silence. "You tried, lass. Pay her no mind. Everyone in the castle knows how hard you tried."

"No, she's right." Aisling's voice was barely over a whisper. "Regan is right. I couldn't save my closest friend." She blinked hard, and her hands released her tunic. "Carys, Duncan, I'll see you tonight." She lifted her eyes, and her expression was carefully blank. "I should start my lessons now."

I hate her. Carys gritted her teeth as they walked out of the laboratory and into the courtyard to meet Cadell. She glanced at Duncan, then back at the windows into Aisling's laboratory. "She's cruel."

Duncan nodded. "Aye, she's that."

"Why does Aisling?—"

"We can't pick our family, can we?" He looked straight ahead. "There's no helping it, dove. The moment Aisling decided to study magic, Regan was her only option. The éiren queen wouldn't allow Aisling to be trained by anyone outside the family, and Regan is the most powerful mage in éire."

"So she has to just… deal with it?"

Duncan stopped when they reached Cadell's side. "We all have our burdens to bear."

Cadell spoke out loud. "Regan is a venomous snake, but she was far away in the Anglian court when Seren was killed. I checked."

Duncan lifted an eyebrow. "And does that make a difference when magic is involved?"

"She would have to be an extraordinarily powerful mage to kill someone from that distance, and I don't see that power in her," Cadell said.

"What if she hired someone to kill Seren?" Carys wasn't ready to eliminate Regan when the woman was so obviously evil.

"Then she would have killed that person to cover her tracks," Cadell said. "It's possible. I will ask Mared to look into it."

Duncan said, "Something tells me that if Regan wanted to kill someone, she'd do it with her bare hands. And she'd enjoy it."

"She makes no attempt to hide her malevolence." Cadell turned and walked toward the gates. "In that, at least, she wears an honest face. Nêrys, what are your wishes today?"

Carys fell into step beside him with Duncan bringing up the rear. "There's a banquet tonight, but I don't have to do anything for that. Aisling said Lachlan might have Seren's journals, but he's out hunting for tonight. So…" She looked over her shoulder. "Any ideas?"

"I have one." Duncan glanced at the dragon. "But you're not going to like it."

Cadell turned. "What?"

"Carys is determined to stay here and find out who killed Seren with your help." He looked at Carys. "That means she's here for more than a couple of days. More than a weekend camping trip." He raised an eyebrow.

Carys understood immediately. "I have to go through the horrible fairy murder forest again, don't I?"

The woods were just as dark as she remembered, but with more context, they seemed even more menacing. Carys and Duncan stood on the edge of the forest where Cadell waited.

They'd walked for an hour to get there, declining the dragon's offer to fly them in his massive claws.

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.

"Stars." She smiled. "I can see stars."

"Yes." His hand spread and pressed her palm to his abdomen. "We've crossed the threshold to home."

Duncan heaved a breath, and she felt his shoulders relax. The hand that pressed her palm to his body relaxed and he cleared his throat. He slowed and released her from his grip.

"Probably safe now." He didn't look at her but glanced back at the forest and the dancing blue lights that called to Carys. "Ready?"

She looked at the blue lights and found herself wanting to join them even though she knew the danger. "They make me sad."

His voice was soft. "I know."

Duncan and Carys walked down the path, and she could see Murrayshall House in the distance.

"I'm on sabbatical from my job," she said. "But what about you? Can you afford to take time off?"

The corner of his mouth turned up. "Sabbatical? Are you writing a book?"

"You didn't answer my question."

He sighed. "I'm disgustingly rich. It's the one thing my father actually gave me before he died. I don't really have to work. I just keep busy at the forge because I like it, and Andy keeps me busy here." He looked down. "But none of it will fall apart without me."

He kept looking at her, and Carys knew it was her turn.

"I'm not writing a book." She bit her lip. "I probably should after this, but I'm on medical leave."

Duncan frowned. "Medical what?" He froze. "Because you're sick? What are you doing here?" His voice rose. "Carys, do you need a doctor?"

"Not that kind of medical leave." She huffed a breath. "I've been depressed for the past two years. I think it was because of Seren's death."

"That shouldn't be debilitating." His forehead was creased with worry. "Why would that be so bad that?—"

"Maybe because she was poisoned, okay?" Carys threw out her hands. "I don't know. Maybe because magic was involved. But yes, maybe that's part of the reason I want to figure out what happened to her, all right? Maybe her soul can't rest. Maybe she's…" She pointed back to the forest. "One of the sluagh now."

"Don't even joke about that—it's a horrible fate." He stared at her. "For what it's worth, you don't seem depressed to me."

Huh.

Carys thought about how she was feeling.

Confused. Conflicted. She looked at Duncan's broad shoulders. Maybe very conflicted.

But she didn't feel depressed. Not at all. The exhaustion was gone. She was sleeping better. She was focused. Determined. The brain fog had lifted.

"Honestly?" She sighed. "It started getting better when I met Lachlan. I don't want to say that love heals depression or anything silly like that, but?—"

"Lachlan was tied to Seren." Duncan's voice was soft. "He's literally magical." He started walking down the path again. "It makes sense, Carys."

But it wasn't just Lachlan .

She glanced back at the dancing lights and realized that something that had felt missing in her life wasn't missing anymore.

Because she did believe in fairy tales, and now she knew why.

"I'm fine." She reassured Laura and Kiersten over the phone. "I promise, things are actually… well, it's complicated, but they're good."

"So you're talking to him?" Kiersten asked. "You two are figuring things out?"

"We are." She tried not to lie. "I've made some really good friends here, and I'm spending time with them too. I feel like… It's hard to explain, but I feel really at home."

"Well, it's close to where you were born, right?" Laura offered. "Maybe your genetic memory needed a refresher or something."

"I definitely felt something special when I visited Norway the first time," Kiersten said. "And I wasn't even born there."

Carys suddenly realized that both her best friends had Shadowkin hanging out somewhere in the woods of Northern California. Were they friends there?

It was such a weird thought.

"Okay, it's so late here," she whispered. "But I wanted to call so you didn't worry. I know it's been a while."

"So what's the plan?" Laura asked. "When are you coming home? Is Lachlan coming with you?"

"We're still working on that. About the future." She took a deep breath. "I'm probably going to be scarce for a while though. I'm trying to unplug a little bit."

That was an understatement.

"We're camping a lot around the estate. Talking and… stuff." She glanced at Duncan, who was standing at the door. "So I'll be here. It's Murrayshall House in Scone. If you can't get ahold of me, you can call Mary—she's the housekeeper here—and she can take a message. "

Duncan nodded solemnly and gave her a thumbs-up. Good idea , he mouthed.

"Are you still having to deal with the asshole twin brother?" Kiersten asked.

Carys cringed and glanced at Duncan from the corner of her eye. "So the thing is?—"

"I cannot believe that Lachlan didn't tell you he has a twin ," Laura said. "Is he really as hot as Lachlan? It's kind of mind-boggling to think there're two of them."

"I'd say you should share," Kiersten said. "But I've already had my share of hot assholes."

"Uh…" She glanced at Duncan again. "He's okay. A little rough around the edges is all."

Duncan raised an eyebrow and put a hand to his chest. Me?

She couldn't suppress her smile. "It's good. I don't want you guys to worry. Everything is good right now. Just leave a message with Mary if you can't get ahold of me. She'll know where I am. Cell phone connection is as bad here as it is at home."

"Got it," Laura said. "It's good to hear your voice."

"Good to hear yours too," Carys whispered. "I should go."

"I'm sure you're exhausted," Kiersten said. "Go to sleep. Love you, Carys."

"Love you girls too." She hung up and set down her phone. "That was weird."

"I'm sure it was, but we should get out of here. I already left a note for Mary and Andy." He nodded at her phone. "They'll keep an eye on your phone, carry it around a bit so it doesn't look suspicious to your friends."

"Sounds like a plan." She stood. "Let's get back to Cadell. We have a banquet to attend."