Reece tossed the arm back to Darius. "These things didn't kill the people of this city, because they are the people from this city. All that remains of them, anyway."
Eva sucked in a breath, her gaze returning to the smaller woodlings. Her earlier guess had been correct. They were children.
Caden's expression froze, his head shifting slightly as he took in the small bodies. They would have been toddlers, or not much older.
Devastation rolled off him. His eyes shut, pain and regret reflecting in his expression before everything shut down. All emotion was wiped away as if it had never been.
His eyes when he opened them were dead, his body stiff as he withdrew.
He seemed so alone, just then. Eva couldn’t stand the loneliness rolling off him, not when he’d done what he’d done to protect her. She slipped a hand into his.
His hand closed hard around hers. She caught the bleak look in his eyes when he glanced at her, the self-recrimination. Seconds later, his mask slapped back into place, but his hand remained in hers.
He'd defended them. If he hadn't, she and Jason might have died. She tried to communicate that to him but didn't know how successful she was when his hand gave hers one last squeeze before withdrawing.
Reece ran his hand through his hair looking more rattled than she’d ever seen him. "They weren't on the boards because they're not supposed to exist. We thought they were eradicated."
"Like the mythologicals were eradicated?" Caden rumbled.
Reece shook his head. "No, the mythologicals were sleeping. They faded from memory. The woodlings have long been a problem, but we thought we eliminated the last carrier."
"What are they?" Eva asked.
"A plague," he said baldly. "Carriers seed their plants in others—humans, beast. Anything living. It's a compulsion. Once they start, they can't stop. They do this." Reece gestured at the city. "They remake every living thing. When they're done, they move on to the next place and start again."
"They're human?" Eva asked.
Reece shrugged. "Maybe once, but I'm not even sure of that. We don't know how carriers are made except by other carriers. This should be impossible. Lainie hunted every last one down while Shea and I were infants. It's how our grandparents died and how my father died. It cost us quite a bit to stamp them out, and the Highlanders don't even realize how safe they are now that they're gone."
There was bitterness in his voice, behind his eyes.
"Obviously one of them slipped through," Darius drawled.
Reece shook his head. "But they shouldn't have."
He waved a hand. "Every living thing would have been turned even if they only meant to turn one or two. It's how they work. They can't stop once they start."
"You're saying it’s impossible for them to hide," Eva guessed, finally seeing where he was going with this.
His nod was weary.
"Somehow, one did," Caden said.
Reece spread his hands, looking as lost as any of them.
Eva glanced around feeling a shiver work its way down her back despite the bright sun shining overhead.
Darius let out a heavy sound as he reached up and rubbed his forehead. "Do I need to worry about my warriors turning into these things?"
Eva felt her heart jolt at that possibility.
Reece shook his head. "It's not airborne. They have bugs about this big." He held his thumb and forefinger apart. "They act like scorpions but they look like flowers with legs. Their stingers insert the seed. Five days later, you get this."
"So, don't get stung by a flower," Ghost said with an unhappy frown.
The Trateri around them shuffled further away from the flower beds. Eva caught more than one checking to make sure their weapons were in place.
"There's a poultice that has been known to draw the seed out as long as the wound is treated within a few hours," Reece admitted. "I can gather some of the herbs and work with your healer to see if we can create enough in case the carrier has lingered."
