I studied the markers on the map. “So, it’s not actually spreading. It’s jumping around almost. Scattering. How does that make sense?”
“It doesn’t,” Drake said. “And people are terrified.”
“Can’t say I’m feeling too brave either.” I tapped the section of the map that marked the Darkside. “There’s a sinkhole in this direction, I think. Líle and Grim have both seen it. If that happens under this castle, then we’re all screwed. And another could occur anywhere. I mean, we had no warning.”
“That would be a disaster,” Drake said. “We’ve already lost plenty of fertile land to this darkness in my territory.”
The randomness was what I couldn’t figure out. There were gaps between the marked areas. “It’s like a disease, but the spread isn’t natural. Maybe it was before, but I’ve heard about the way Sadler worked. When he needed to get someone out of the way, their land miraculously succumbed to the blight almost overnight.”
“But Sadler’s dead,” Brendan said.
“His god isn’t.” I sighed. “And I ruined that god's deal with Sadler. Maybe this is his vengeance.”
“It’s a possibility,” Brendan said. “But the fact is we played with nature when I escaped from the Fade. It’s likely we stretched the rift and caused more problems.”
“But if a god is interfering, we need to find out how to stop him. In the meantime, we must find a way to seal the rift and then find a way to remove the blight,” I said slowly. “And there might be a tree that could cleanse the land.”
“A tree that might no longer exist,” Drake reminded me.
“The Guardian of the Forest should know,” I said. “We have to do something. And the Watcher could help us with the rift. He knew more than we thought he did, I think.”
“Agreed,” Drake said. “So, which problem is more urgent?”
“We can’t waste time,” I said. “We could split up and deal with both matters separately, but one could lead us to the other.”
“What do you mean?” Brendan asked.
“Maybe this is exactly what happened before. Why else would a tree be capable of cleaning up this mess? Whatever the Watcher tells us could lead us back to the Guardian and vice versa.”
“The Watcher is closest,” Brendan said. “At the very least, we could send a party to search for the tree. Best-case scenario is that the tree is already cleansing the earth by the time we fix the rift, and that we’re wrong about a god’s interference. If we’re lucky, the blight was caused by the rift rather than a god.”
He and I exchanged a knowing glance. We had never been that lucky.
“Can any of us afford to leave our lands while we go on what could be a wild goose chase?” Drake asked.
I looked at him. “Do we have any choice? We won’t have any land left if we let this go on for much longer.” And I needed a solution before someone figured out exactly what Scarlet was capable of and decided to sacrifice her to some god in an attempt to clean the land. “I’m going. With or without you both.”
“She’s right,” Brendan said. “And perhaps Cara is safer away from the courts.”
“Why?” I demanded. “My court isn’t dangerous.”
“Somebody tried to harm you last night. Drake and I are agreed on that. Perhaps ‘harm’ is a strong word, but you were certainly sabotaged. You weren’t in control of yourself, and the instability of your emotions affected all of us.”
“I just drank too much wine.”
He looked as though he might explode. “Anyone could have hurt you last night. Would you even remember now? Emotional instability is dangerous for anyone, but more so for someone in your position. And as we don’t know where the perpetrator came from, you might be safer on a journey through the realm.”
“And while we’re gone?” Drake asked. “Who will control in our stead? Who will make sure our people are fed?”
Brendan nodded at me. “How are yours surviving?”
“We’ve been using the human realm,” I admitted. “We’ve bought some farmland and sent farmers to take care of it.”
“Bought it with what?” Drake asked.
“Anything that has value in the human realm. We’ve used gold and gems and managed to exchange them”—I shrugged—“with the help of a little magic. In a year, we might have some results. We’ve brought soil across, too, in case we can do something with it here. We haven’t found a way to make it work yet, but we’re not giving up.”
“What about short-term options?” Brendan asked.
“We’re buying food, too. It’s been tougher than you’d expect actually. But if you need to trade, our doors are open.”
“I’m impressed,” Brendan said.
I tried not to look as pleased as I felt. “I have enough advisers running around this court that they won’t even miss me here. My problem is Scarlet.”
“Take her with you,” Brendan said immediately. “If we succeed, she’ll always be remembered for taking part.”
“And if I put her in danger?”
“Then we send her back to the human realm for a time.” He looked at Drake. “What do you think?”
“I think the Darksiders won’t be pleased to lose their heir, but they may understand how necessary it is to keep mother with daughter. I think the child should travel with us.” He gave me an odd look. “It may be more distracting to constantly wonder if she’s safe at home.”
“I’m not sure I want her so close to the Fade. Or here, if there could be blight-related disasters. At least, if anything happens to me, there’s still Scarlet as long as she's safe. Can I name someone as her guardian in case of my death?”
Drake and Brendan exchanged a glance.
“It’s an option,” Brendan said.
“Then I choose Bekind and Grim,” I said, and they both looked surprised.
“You’ll need to make some kind of official document,” Drake said abruptly. “If we’re done with the preliminary discussion, I’ll go fetch the others. Who do you want here?”
Brendan and I gave him some names, and then he was gone.
“Bekind’s an immortal relative, so I understand that, but why Grim?” Brendan asked when we were alone.
“Because I trust him.”
“Can I ask you a question?”
I swallowed hard. “Yes.”
“Do you feel safe around me?”
I frowned. “Of course I do.”
“You trust me with your life but not your heart.”
And that heart stammered in my chest. “What do you mean?”
He stretched out in the chair. “Scarlet. You don’t trust me with her.”
Oh. “Maybe I chose Grim because if I’m dead on this trip, it probably means you are, too.”
“Clever answer,” he said with a grin.
“Me, clever? I’m just a human. Listen, I’m sorry about last night. How I behaved and… you having to take care of me… again.”
“It wasn’t your fault. It was a devious twist of magic that affected you badly. No need for apologies.”
I moved into the seat next to him and faced him. “I’m still not sure what was real.”
He patted my hand. “Then don’t think about it. Nobody else batted an eyelid.”
“You had to keep everyone away from me.”
“Just in case. It was merely a precaution.”
I looked away, mortified. “Realtín reckons there are rumours about what happened. Why all the royals vanished and stuff.”
His laugh was warm and reassuring. “Oh, Cara. There have always been rumours about us three. I don’t worry about it, so why should you? The fae will be speaking about this celebration for years because they had a great time. The gossip is just an added bonus.”
“You didn’t have a great time. You had to babysit the idiot again.”
He laughed. “I had an interesting evening. I always think I know what you’re capable of, and then you go and surprise me again.”
“Speaking of last
night, have you seen my bodyguard anywhere? I didn’t get him killed or anything, right?”
“The one you call Rumble.” He grinned. “According to you, he’s a strong candidate for your future marriage.”
I covered my face with my hands. “Oh, God. What have I done?”
“Don’t worry. You didn’t embarrass him to his face. He was concerned, so he stayed away from you. Which is good because he might have taken Drake’s head if he had been present. Nobody’s as tolerant as me anymore.”
“Stop joking about last night.”
He wrapped his arm around me and squeezed, a delighted look on his face. “You look so uncomfortable. It’s highly amusing.”
I moved out of his reach. “And you look entirely too comfortable with the situation. Anyway, Rumble’s not like everyone else. When Sadler almost killed my baby, Rumble was able to hold me when nobody else could stand up straight. He was fine.”
Brendan leaned toward me, finally getting serious. “This was different, which is why I’m concerned. And I am concerned, Cara. If someone in this court is trying to destroy you, you have to find out who before it’s too late.”
“I don’t think it’s someone from this court.”
He frowned. “Why do I sense that I’m about to hear information I won’t like?”
“Because I’m about to tell you information you won’t like?” I grinned at his pissed-off expression. “It’s not that big of a deal. There was an attempt on my life outside the castle. We dealt with it, but nobody present was familiar with any of the attackers. They were warriors, though.”
His jaw clenched. “Was anyone hurt?”
“I lost a scout. We got all of the attackers.”
“We?”
I kept my expression blank.
“This isn’t good.” He ran his hands across his face. “At least this Rumble person seems to be a decent soldier—a decent man, even. I believe he would never harm you, nor even give himself a chance to do it unwillingly.”
I felt sad. “I haven’t seen him all day.”
“He’s watching at a distance,” he said matter-of-factly. “Just in case.”
“Are you kidding me?”
“No. He’s lingering somewhere outside as we speak.” He grinned. “Your face has gotten quite red. It’s annoying being disobeyed, isn’t it?”
I made a face at him then skipped out of the room and shouted Rumble’s name as loudly as I could. He came around the corner, looking sheepish even with the helmet on.
I met him halfway and hugged him. “I’m sorry I scared you, but you don’t have to avoid me.”
He cleared his throat, clearly uncomfortable. I let him go and tutted.
“There are lines that can’t be crossed. Last night threatened to overcome me.”
“It won’t happen again,” I said.
“Next time I’ll be more vigilant.”
“It was an accident. With everything that was going on, something messed up the air. That’s all. Maybe it was the music or the dancing.” I smiled. “Or a bad glass of wine.”
“That’s the problem. There were so many opportunities for people to interfere. We forget how vulnerable you are because you're strong. Next time, I’ll be more aware. But I do remember it was Bart who handed you that glass of wine.”
Fear curled in my gut. “He wouldn’t hurt me. He helped me.”
“I don’t trust him.”
“I’ll confront him about the wine. Come on then. We’re still having a meeting.”
“I’ll wait outside.”
I knew he didn’t want to get close to me, so I let it go. “I’ll talk to you soon.”
I rejoined Brendan.
“You found him?” he said, looking up from the book he was reading.
I flopped into the chair next to him. “He’s totally scared of me now.”
“It’s understandable. You were particularly… influential last night.” He smiled. “How is your ankle?”
“Sore. What did I do to it?”
“Fell over.” He raised his brows. “Did you really forget so much?”
“It’s a blur.” I peeked at him shyly. “Most of it is a blur. I remember you helping me, and I should probably apologise for being, um, pushy.”
He threw back his head and laughed. “She calls it pushy. Ah, Cara, I had forgotten how much I—”
The door opened, and he stopped abruptly as the others filed in. Vix handed Scarlet to me, looking distasteful. “She doesn’t like me. She keeps crying.”
I looked at Scarlet in surprise. She snuggled against my chest, avoiding looking at anyone else in the room. That wasn’t like her.
“It’s just her age,” I said at last. “She’s making strange with people. That’s normal.”
The room was soon full of people trying really hard not to look me in the eye or make any reference to the night before.
“All right, enough,” I said at last. “Yes, last night some kind of magic screwed up my brain and everything else, and yes, the rest of you bore the brunt of it. Can we please get past that now and move on to what’s important?”
Brendan rose to his feet. “We’re going to need to leave soon, and arrangements will have to be made.”
He and Drake quickly explained what we had agreed on.
“Why not send a delegation?” Fiadh asked. “Why do you all need to travel together?”
“The realm needs to act as one,” I said. “And we don’t know what we’ll be facing. This could take a few weeks or even months. But if we don’t act, we’ll be ruined. We’ve had enough bad luck. It’s time to deal with the Darkside problem. It’s time to heal the rift and cleanse the land.”
And when I said those words, far too many people in the room looked to my daughter.
Chapter Thirteen
My advisers were not happy with me. We sat around the meeting table, going over the same points again and again.
I rubbed my temples. “I’m going to the Great Forest, not another planet. I won’t be long.” The sullen expressions didn’t change. “For the love of—would you rather I let you die?”
“And what happens to us if you die?” Rafe asked.
“Then Grim and Bekind will become Scarlet’s guardians and help you all take care of the Darkside until Scarlet is old enough.”
“The brownie?” Vix sounded horrified.
“Yes. I’m the human. He’s the brownie. Have we all caught up?”
“What if it’s a trap of some kind?” Fiadh asked. “A way for the other kings to come and take Scarlet or the throne while you’re not around to stop them.”
“That’s the last thing on anyone’s minds right now,” I said. “The land is dying. Rapidly. We have a chance to stop it. Coveting each other’s crowns won’t mean much when there’s no realm.”
Rumble agreed. “The blight affects the Silver and Green courts, too. It’s not just our problem anymore. The rulers must be seen to take charge and do something to stop the spread.”
“Finally, somebody gets it,” I said.
“Perhaps we should be appeasing the gods,” Thistle said.
“What, with sacrifices or deals that raise the dead?” I shook my head. “We can’t afford the price tag. This is our best option. I can outrun anything on Dubh, and do you really doubt Rumble's abilities?”
“No, but—”
I held up my hand to stop Vix. “This has to be done. We have to find a way to stop the spread of the blight.”
“But why should you be the one to go?” Fiadh asked. “It’s dangerous out there.”
“Because I might have caused it. And I’m the only one who’s seen the Guardian of the Forest. I have to go. Besides, it’s not so dangerous anymore.”
“There are still enemies out there,” Fiadh said. “Nature is against us, for one. You could fall into a sinkhole yourself. And there will always be people who want you dead. Sadler’s death didn’t stop that. You know this. You barely escaped an attack already.”
??
?I wasn’t in that much danger,” I said lightly.
“But there are obviously those who want what you have, and what the kings have, too. There are those creatures who are so twisted and demented that they don’t even know what they fight for. And there is old magic that doesn’t obey what a ruler might say. Don’t fool yourself into thinking that it’s safe out there.”
I tried not to shiver. “There’ll be six of us. That’s not enough to draw attention to ourselves, but it’s enough to defend ourselves if we do get into trouble. I’m not as helpless as everyone likes to imagine, you know.” I hesitated. “But I’m worried that something will happen while I’m gone—something that will damage the integrity of the castle. In light of that, I propose we send Scarlet and the other children to the human realm for a while.”
“Nobody’s going to agree to that,” Vix scoffed.
“I will,” Fiadh said. “If something should befall the adults, at least the children will be saved.”
“But the human realm?” Thistle said doubtfully.
“We can do what Brendan did,” I said. “Take over an empty house and cover it with protective magic. We can do that, right?”
“A glamour?” Fiadh nodded. “That would do.”
“All right, then. Most of the children will be taken to homes in the human realm. Half of the court is in and out of the human realm as it is. It won’t be hard to have everyone else ready to move if disaster strikes.” I looked at Fiadh. “I’m sending Scarlet back to my grandparents. It’s easy to secure the way there if someone goes after her. Dymphna’s already agreed to send Eithne. There’s not much room, but Setanta can go with them, too, if you want.”
“I’m happy with that plan,” Fiadh said.
“Vix, Orlaith, Líle, and Bekind will be with them.”
“Me?” Vix complained. “I should be coming with you.”
“I need you with Scarlet.” I gave her a meaningful look.
“Conn can accompany them,” Fiadh said.
I shook my head. “You’ll need him. Be prepared to evacuate if anything does go wrong. I need you all to take care of things while I’m gone. And if something happens to me, look to Bekind. She’ll know what to do next. But I’m coming back. As soon as we figure out the next step to make, I’ll be here. In the meantime, just lock down everything and try to keep things going.” I tried to smile. “And be prepared to celebrate when I get back.”