Lupi 04 - Night Season

couldn’t blame all the delay on the sidhe love of indirection. It had taken him two days to set up the location spell, using that hair as a focus. And they had cooperated, giving him whatever ingredients he needed. Theera had even made a useful suggestion or two…probably laughing behind her beautiful gray eyes all the while. His spell must have seemed very crude to them.
    Actually, they’d offered to locate Cynna themselves, using their doubtless more sophisticated spells. He’d politely refused. If he gave up the hair and let them find her, why should they take him along?
    He didn’t think Theil was behind the murder attempt on the barge, but he didn’t know, not with certainty. He’d held on to Cynna’s hair, and of course they’d made no attempt to take it from him. That would have violated the laws of hospitality—which were indeed laws among the sidhe.
    Oh, he’d been treated well. Theera might have lied about the function of the charm she gave him—and it turned out that translocation charms were very few in number, but not as singular as Bilbo believed—but once he used it, he became an honored guest. He could have left at any time.
    They’d known he wouldn’t, of course. Not while they could dangle the possibility of help for Cynna in front of him. Finally he’d become convinced that was all they meant to do—tease him with possible aid, keeping him away from her.
    He’d requested a horse so he could leave. They’d promptly agreed, asking only that he take leave of their liege first. Courtesy being almost as important as beauty to the sidhe, he’d known that would be necessary. When he did, she’d expressed her sorrow at losing his company, mentioning that she had hoped to see him dance before they parted…that had led somehow to the comment about his shields, and an agreement. He would dance for her court; she would ride with twenty of her people to the aid of his lady.
    Nothing was said or even implied about Cynna Finding the medallion for them. But she wouldn’t be a guest on their land the way Cullen had been. No laws bound them once they left Rohen, and Theil’s word bound her only to rescue Cynna. Cullen was grimly aware of that.
    He’d worry about what to do next after they found Cynna. Which—please, Lady!—had better be soon. Or he was going to blow whatever reputation for courtesy he’d established. The urge to burn something, anything, was growing.
    His horse stamped. He shifted his weight. Who would have thought he’d ever long for a mate bond? With such a bond, he’d know, dammit. Know where Cynna was. Know she was alive.
    She had to be alive.
    Cullen’s crude little location spell had worked until Cynna left the mountains and entered Leerahan. Leerahan’s liege had smeared something like a “don’t see me” over his entire land—or that’s what it felt like, as if he had spread a muffling blanket over the area, one that smothered Cullen’s location spell.
    But it wasn’t hard to follow the tracks left by thirty horses. They’d done just that, trailing the Ahk, until they reached this spot. Where the Ahk had been attacked.
    Finally the hand-holding twins opened their eyes. “We are sorry, liege Theil,” said the female. “But—”
    â€œâ€”we can pick up only snatches of what happened,” the male continued. “Leerahan oduelo lies thickly here. But we did see who attacked the Ahk.”
    â€œLeerahan, of course,” his sister said. “Two sleeps ago. They cloaked their arrival and slit several throats before the Ahk were aware of their presence. Very odd for an Ahk war party to enter Leerahan, but perhaps—”
    â€œâ€”they thought they would go unnoticed. There are traces of a masking spell, not of sidhe crafting, as you no doubt are aware. Leerahan, of course, prevailed. The images are patchy after that—”
    â€œâ€”but we concentrated, as you asked, on the human woman. She left here alive—”
    â€œâ€”and willingly, riding with Leerahan’s liege, he who is sometimes called Aduello.”
    â€œBut we cannot mark their path in any way. That is too well hidden by the oduelo .”
    Theil looked at Cullen, a trace of sympathy in her cool blue eyes. “Cynna Weaver is under a glamour, of course. Aduello casts a most lovely glamour, beautifully crafted. A