The Blood Forest (Tree of Ages #3)(5)

With only the light streaming in from above deck to see by, he couldn’t make out all of the creature’s details, but he noted a sharp beak, large, round eyes, likely lavender or blue in color, and a sparse sprinkling of glossy white feathers, densest around the edges of the creature’s wings. It was making a soft purring noise deep in its throat as its beak rubbed against Finn’s face.

At Kai and Iseult’s appearance, Finn bundled the creature into her arms and stood, disregarding the sharp talons resting perilously close to her throat. Iseult would have liked to tell her bringing a dragon on their travels was not a wise idea, but her glowing smile forced him to silence. He hadn’t seen her smile like that since before he’d told her she was responsible for stealing his people’s souls.

“Let’s check the city for supplies,” he muttered instead, “then we’ll move on.”

He turned and led the way back out of the cabin, as Kai whispered, “A man of few words, eh?” to Finn behind his back.

Their footsteps followed his a moment later, and soon they were all on the dock, along with Anna and her three crewmen, including the massive one with curly hair he’d heard referred to as Sativola.

They met Maarav, his men, and Ealasaid further down the walkway. Maarav now held the reins of both his and Iseult’s horses, brought down from the ship. Once everyone was gathered together, Iseult repeated his plan.

“What about the ships?” one of Anna’s men, with deeply tanned skin and short yellow, hair argued. “We can’t leave them behind.”

Iseult sighed. He didn’t have time for these men. Greenswallow was a long way off, and they needed to arrive there before anyone else discovered the location of the Faie Queen’s shroud, buried where Finn once stood as a tree.

“I had hoped to leave my ship in a safe harbor as well,” Maarav cut in smoothly. He raked his fingers through his black hair, peppered with a few strands of white, just like Iseult’s. “But we must adapt to the current situation. Many of us have places to be inland, and those left can hardly manage to sail two ships on their own. We’ll have to leave them, and hope for the best.”

“Or someone can stay to guard them,” the yellow-haired man spat.

“Are you volunteering?” Kai questioned. “I’m sure a brawny man like yourself can hold off an entire army of Faie on your own. We’d be much obliged if you’d watch the ships for us.”

The yellow-haired man snarled his dry lips, but didn’t speak again.

Iseult took a step closer to Finn, still holding the dragon in her arms with its limbs curled around her. Tavish, Rae, and Ealasaid were all staring at the creature, but said nothing.

“We’ll divide into two groups, search for supplies, then meet at the front gates,” Iseult instructed.

No one argued. Instead, all glanced warily at the smoldering city, wondering what dangers might still lurk within its walls.



Finn straightened her satchel strap across her chest, trying to balance its weight with the awkward addition of Naoki on her shoulders. It seemed the dragon had grown a bit in their time apart, but still insisted on her chosen perch.

Finn suppressed a grunt of effort. Her legs already felt like pottage transitioning from the ship to dry land, and the added weight made her feel even more off balance. It would not do to topple over and land on one of the corpses, visible now that they’d entered the city.

Iseult prowled at her side, his eyes keen on the surrounding buildings, all showing signs of being touched by fire. At their backs walked Ealasaid, Maarav, Tavish, and Rae. Maarav still held the reins to his and Iseult’s horses. The animals remained eerily quiet, as if sensing the ghosts of the dead. Kai, Anna, and Anna’s crewmen had taken another route. They would all search for supplies, then reconvene at the city gates to begin their journey.

They now walked in the direction of Maarav’s inn, since he’d insisted they check in on the establishment. Finn didn’t know what he was hoping to find, it seemed most everything had been destroyed, but she supposed if he had a cellar some goods might remain.

She quickly averted her eyes from the ground as she stepped around another charred corpse. It wasn’t the first body they’d come across, and it surely would not be the last. Many had been killed.

She hurried forward, only to have Iseult reach out a hand to stop her. “Don’t look down,” he instructed, but the warning came too late. At their feet lay a child, badly burned like many of the other bodies.

She raised a hand to her mouth, afraid she might be sick.

Seconds later, from behind her, Ealasaid gasped. Naoki hissed at the noise, prompting Ealasaid to then let out a surprised yip.

Iseult put an arm around Finn and led her forward. Surprisingly, Naoki did not seem to mind his presence, or else found him more frightening than Kai, and so refrained from hissing at him.

“Are you sure you want to walk all the way to your inn?” Iseult grumbled, looking over his shoulder toward Maarav.

“We need supplies,” Maarav replied simply, “and our best chance of finding them is my inn. With any luck, the cellar will be intact.”

“I think I’m going to be ill,” Ealasaid muttered as they passed another body. “This is far worse than Uí Néid.”

“The dead there were freshly killed,” Maarav explained. “It’s different once they’ve been lying around for a while, but you’ll get used to it.”