I put down my fork.
Arran’s mouth was back at my ear.
Ancestors, have you paused to eat anything tonight?
A low growl caressed me from the inside.I’d much rather feast on you.
“Shall I take you here, before our subjects?”
Yes.
But before he could make good on that promise, we both turned.
The exultant fervor had shifted. Panic—those were cries of panic and fear.
Arran stood with me, a solid wall at my side. I rose to my toes, trying to see into the crowd. It was hard to make out anything in the frenzy of movement.
But then the scent hit me. Stronger than the thick clouds of arousal and aromas of sizzling meat. Putrid, decaying, death.
They’re here.
97
CYARA
She counted, and then counted again. Eight monoliths, arranged in a near perfect circle around the clearing, each towering several feet above the top of their heads. Even Arran would have to lean back to see to the top of them. And seeing the top would be essential, because every inch of the inner face of the standing stones was engraved.
“What now?” Lyrena asked, walking the perimeter for at least the third time in as many minutes. “They are similar to the one outside the faerie caves,” she observed.
“Yes,” Cyara agreed.
On the other side of the clearing, Diana sat cross-legged in front of one of the stones, sipping water from a canteen and peering at the inscriptions. Percival was sour faced but silent beside her.
Cyara moved slowly in their direction, steps steady and unthreatening. Diana had made great strides in her self-confidence, but the monoliths were enough to set anyone on edge. Only her decades of training in the elemental court were keeping Cyara’s pulse steady.
“Have you ever seen anything like this, in Avalon, or elsewhere in the human realm?”
Diana tilted her head to the side, then the other way, but finally, she shook her head.
For a moment, Cyara considered pulling the small knife from her belt. Something about Diana’s answer felt… insufficient. But only with her blade pressed to some vital organ would she truly know if the human spoke the truth.
“There are carvings in Avalon,” Percival said. He pushed to his feet, stepping slightly in front of Diana. “But they are not like this. The carvings there tell the legend of the sacred trinity.”
“You did not tell Veyka.”
“You piece of shit,” Lyrena seethed, sword already in her hand.
“I agreed with her that it was worth investigating more,” he bit back. “But you all told her it was not.”
Lyrena gnashed her teeth, golden tooth glinting with menace. “She will flay you while your sister—”
“I think these carvings tell the story of your Accolon and Nimue,” Diana said softly. Even just above a whisper, her words cut through everything else. “And I do not think it is the one you are accustomed to hearing.”
Lyrena’s sword dropped a fraction.
“The Queen commanded that we all return in one piece,” Cyara reminded them. She ignored the sound in Lyrena’s throat at the reminder. “Spread out. This is going to take us a while.”
98
