Chapter 19

CHAPTER NINETEEN

T he welcome banquet that night would be held in the grand hall of the castle, the guests a mix of local lords, light fae, unicorn guests, and visiting dignitaries both from the north of Anglia and the southern part of Alba. Over two hundred people would be in attendance to greet the Cymric king and queen according to Bonnie.

Duncan and Cadell waited outside her door while Bonnie and the lady's maid finished preparing her hair. It might not have been as long as most of the women's in the castle, but the maid had managed to make her dark waves look magical, twisting them up and into an elaborate knot on her head, threaded with ribbons and flowers.

She was wearing a green-and-red velvet gown in honor of King Dafydd, and a gold dragon pin with green eyes had been delivered to her door by one of Dafydd's men. Bonnie pinned it to her shoulder, securing the warm, fur-lined cape in place.

"I'm guessing that hall is going to be freezing cold, isn't it?" Carys asked.

Bonnie nodded. "The great rooms are very difficult to heat. There will be fires, but keep your cape on and drink some wine to warm up. Try to dance if you can figure out the steps. Duncan has a fine step, so I'm sure he'll lead you."

"Duncan?"

"Oh yes, he's a wonderful dancer." Bonnie nodded curtly. "Does that surprise you?"

"Yes." She glanced at the tray of bread and cheese he'd had delivered to her room an hour before. "How about the food? What kind of food will be there?"

The lady's maid asked Bonnie something in Gaelic, Bonnie responded, and then the girl left the room.

"I've heard from the cooks that there will be roast boar and venison that the hunters shot this morning. Breads and cakes. Pies aplenty. I promise you won't go hungry, but try not to eat too much so you can dance."

"So eat, but drink too, and keep your cloak on, but dance if you can figure out how to dance, but don't eat too much," Carys muttered to herself. "I'm going to do something horribly embarrassing, aren't I?"

"You'll be one of many humans there, my lady. You're not the guest of honor."

"Thank God." That was her nightmare. "How did Seren do these things?"

"Your Shadowkin was raised in a royal court, Lady Carys." Bonnie smiled a little. "Formal banquets would have felt as natural to her as breathing." The maid stepped back and looked at Carys in the rippled mirror. "There. You're beautiful, but I dressed you in a very different style to Seren. You'll want to distinguish yourself, I think."

"Good idea. And thanks." The last thing Carys wanted was people screaming, thinking she was her dead sister come back to life.

Then again, that could reveal some secrets.

"I'll call the dragon and the man." Bonnie patted her shoulder. "Don't forget, if you get a bout of nerves, Cadell is always there."

She was trying not to cling to her dragon too tightly, but she had to admit she'd have run screaming from the Shadowlands by now if Cadell hadn't come along .

"It's time." Bonnie walked to the door and opened it. "She's ready, my boys. Take care of her tonight or you'll hear it from me."

Carys stood and suddenly realized why dancing might be an issue. The velvet dress was heavy, and the boning around the bodice was stiff. How did anyone dance in dresses like these?

She glanced at the mirror and marveled. The velvet bodice might have been stiff, but her posture was a thing of beauty. "My mother would be thrilled."

"You look very appropriate." Cadell walked into the room, his leather armor the same as it always was, though his hair was perhaps a bit more tame and he wore a green-and-red cloak that matched Carys's colors. "Colors of Cymru. And King Dafydd has given you the brooch of the nêr ddraig to wear." He nodded. "Well done, Bonnie."

The maid nodded. "My lord."

"Nêrys, we should go."

Duncan looked her up and down. "You look bonny. Let's go before the dragons eat all the roast venison."

Cadell cast him an irritated look. "We already hunted today."

"Will the other dragons be there?" Carys's heart jumped. "The three from Wales?"

"Yes, of course." Cadell took her arm and ushered her down the hallway with Duncan bringing up the rear. "Many of the unicorns from the Moray blessing will also be there, along with a party of light fae and a few local fae who were invited by Darius and Yasmin. I'll warn you that a few wolves from the Borderlands are accompanying the Anglian lords."

"Wolves?" She tried not to shudder.

"They'll be in human form for the banquet," Duncan said. "You won't mistake them for anything but what they are."

"Nothing will happen to you at the banquet," Cadell said. "It is the safest place to encounter a wolf."

"But two hundred people?" She was never going to remember any names .

"Not counting the fae," Duncan said. "Because there's no telling how many will show up."

"The fair folk love parties and will often come to human gatherings even if they're not invited," Cadell said. "Keep in mind who you are dancing with, because they are attracted to anything or anyone who is a novelty. Do not go anywhere with anyone but me or Duncan."

She glanced over her shoulder at Duncan. "Are we sitting together?"

"I imagine so," Duncan said. "Elanor would have put you near people you know. Your uncle will be at the high table with Robb, Elanor, and Lachlan, but Aisling will probably be seated with us."

"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 tapers were 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 their eyes. 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."

Musicians filled the room with the sound of pipes, harps, flutes, and drums. Dancers were already spinning in front of the head table where a wide floor had been cleared so the king and his guests could watch as the dancers reached the front, bowing to the royal table before they parted and moved to the back.

Robb sat at an elevated table at the front of the room, King Dafydd beside him, their queens on each side. And next to Queen Elanor, his face glowing and his burnished hair falling in glorious waves to his shoulders, was Lachlan.

By the time her eyes found him, he was already watching her.

"Lachlan saw me." She gripped Cadell's arm.

"He sees no one else." Cadell urged her to the left. "We'll be sitting at the front, near your uncle. "

She couldn't take her eyes off Lachlan. He was dressed in a dark-blue-and-green tartan thrown over his shoulder, and his cape was made of black fur. His reddish-brown hair gleamed in the candlelight, his jaw was clean-shaven, and his lips were full as he reached for a goblet of wine.

He watched her as he drank, and Carys could feel the memory of his lips brushing over her breast. His skin would be warm at her neck, and her body ready for him.

Carys . Cadell squeezed her arm and spoke in her mind.

"Sorry."

You love him. She did too.

It was a harsh slap in the face that reminded Carys what she was doing at the banquet that night and why she'd decided to stay. Yes, she needed to sort out her feelings for Lachlan, but she needed to solve the mystery of Seren's death too, and this was the perfect place to people-watch.

She turned to Duncan. "Did you ask Lachlan about the journals?"

"I did. He claims that Aisling has them. She packed up all of Seren's books and put them in storage. He says the journals were among them, but she didn't put personal information in them. It was a schedule of her work more than a confessional."

"So he says." Carys glanced at Lachlan and saw him watching her and Duncan. "Aisling may not have realized that Seren's journals were mixed in with her books."

"That was my thought as well." Duncan glanced up at his brother. "Do you want to make him jealous?"

Carys blinked. "What? No, that's not what I was thinking at all. I just wanted to?—"

"Dance, I think." Duncan slid his fingers between her hand and Cadell's arm. "Dragon, I will dance with the lady while you find our seats."

"Happy to avoid the dance floor." Cadell disappeared into the crowd .

Carys found herself pressed to Duncan's side. "I wasn't even thinking about dancing. I'd rather?—"

"It's a banquet." His voice was uncharacteristically playful. "You have to dance. It's expected."

"I don't know how to do any of this."

She hung back as they approached the whirling, spinning dancers on the floor, weaving in and out in lines and circles that made her dizzy. The music had changed from a slower, lilting melody to a raucous reel.

"Duncan, I don't know?—"

"Oh lass" —he linked her hand with his— "you've got to be the bravest woman I know. Don't be afraid of a little bit of dancing now. Just follow my lead."

And with that, Duncan hooked her arm in his and spun her around, holding her at the waist before he whirled her out and back again, their bodies touching only briefly before he spun her around again.

"What are we doing?" She couldn't keep the smile from her face.

"Haven't ye ever been to a ceilidh?"

Carys shook her head. "No!"

The music was loud enough to drown out everything but the stomping of boots on the ground, the slapping of hands, and the laughter from the humans, fae, and unicorns around them.

She spun from Duncan's arms and into the arms of a man standing next to him, a grey-headed man with twinkling blue eyes and a long beard.

He whooped out loud, turned her around, and sent her right back to Duncan, who grasped her around the waist and turned them in circles.

"Go with me now." He bent down and his mouth was at her ear.

A column formed, two rows of dancers standing across from each other, clapping in rhythm as couples bowed and danced between them.

Duncan took her hand, knit his right with her left, and put his other at the small of her back as the clapping company raised their arms up and she tripped and skipped between them, trying to follow Duncan's lead, his pleasure like a great warm cloak thrown over her. Her heart felt light in a way that it hadn't since she'd crossed into the Shadowlands.

This was magic. This was fun .

As they reached the end of the column, Duncan spun her away, landing her in the line across from him and next to the grey-haired man. He stomped and whistled as the next couple came through the line, roaring with laughter as the man stole a kiss from the blushing woman before he came to stand beside Carys, throwing her a wink before he shouted something in Gaelic to his lady.

"Are you having fun?" Duncan shouted.

Carys grinned. "I didn't know I could dance!"

"You can with me." He grinned at her and looked back at the dancers, singing along when the men's voices rose and joined the instruments.

She could hear voices all around the hall as the song got louder, celebratory clapping and hearty shouts as joy filled the dark night and cold room, and Carys felt—for the first time—her blood stir as if the song meant something to her. Not as a curiosity. Not as an observer.

She felt a part of the music, a part of the magic of the dance, and felt the lure of this mysterious place. It was light and joy stolen in the middle of darkness, a shining star glistening in a velvet black night.

Just then a hand landed on the small of her back and an arm slipped around her waist. She gasped for a moment until she smelled his familiar scent.

Lachlan.

She turned and saw the set of his jaw and the furious expression in his vivid green eyes.

"You're trying to make me jealous." He stole her away from the dance floor, rushing her toward a curtain on the far side of the banquet hall. "He's trying to make me jealous, and it worked."