Gwynith shifted on the bench. “I don’t understand.”

“Don’t you? Then the Fae have stayed away too long and forgotten too much. Come. First we will enjoy the midday meal and take a walk in the gardens. And then I will tell you a story.”

Chapter 20

waxing moon

“I can’t travel any more today,” Dianna said, slumping in the saddle as if exhausted. She peeked through her lashes at Connor, her Clan’s Lord of the Deer and her senior escort on this twice-cursed journey, and felt uneasy when his expression became grimmer, harder. It was bad enough that she’d lost her place as the Lady of the Moon to that half-breed bitch and was savagely injured in the bargain, but her escorts’ lack of sympathy on the way back to Brightwood hurt as much as her physical pain.

Connor waved on the other three escorts, who rode a few more lengths before reining in. Then he looked her over, his grim expression never changing. “There’s still plenty of day left to travel, and the bridge to the next Clan’s territory is a short one. We can stop there until morning.”

True enough, but going on to the next Clan meant they were a hard day’s ride from Brightwood—and she didn’t want to get back to Brightwood until she figured out how to get someone else to act as the anchor for the Old Place’s magic. “I tell you I can’t travel any more today. I need rest if my arm is ever going to heal.”

“You traveled well enough while we were still in the midlands,” Connor said suspiciously. “You had no complaints about a full day’s travel then. You didn’t start whining about your arm until we reached the southern Clans and were closer to home.”

“I endured the pain because I felt it was important to leave the midlands,” Dianna replied coldly, pride making her sit up straight in the saddle. “It would have been awkward if she showed up at a Clan house where I was staying. No Clan is going to accept her as the Lady of the Moon while I’m present.”

Connor let out a short, harsh laugh. “It’s time you looked at the world as it is and not how you want it to be. No Fae is going to defy the new Huntress. No one, Dianna, is going to want to face her wrath because of some foolish show of defiance.”

“She’s a half-breed witch who shouldn’t have been there in the first place,” Dianna snapped.

“Since she was drawn to the place where the Ladies of the Moon were gathered, I’d say she was meant to be there.”

“Meant? Meant?” Dianna’s voice rose to a shriek. “She knows nothing about the Fae.”