Kaelan exchanged a quick glance with Bria.
“What sort of spell?” Bria asked gently.
Henry’s large hands twisted together nervously. “If Grammy go too far from cottage. Grammy die.”
Bria’s heart continued to ache for him. “Did Ogga tell you that?”
Henry nodded quickly.
A sudden wind whipped around them carrying the sharp bite of autumn with it and Bria shivered. Kaelan’s arms wrapped around her like a warm cloak, and he drew her back against him, tucking her close.
Before any more could be said, a familiar streak of gold shot through the trees.
Henry swung at it instinctively and missed.
The golden light darted easily past his hand and came to an abrupt stop in front of Bria.
Fiora hovered there, her delicate wings beating so rapidly they blurred.
“You must come with me. Now. Right now!”
The urgency in the fairy’s voice instantly caught Bria’s attention and Kaelan’s as well, feeling his body stiffen against hers.
“What’s wrong?” Bria asked.
“You will find out soon enough,” Fiora said in a tone that meant she would say no more.
Bria glanced at Henry. The troll stood nearby, worry etched across his broad face.
She shook her head. “Not before we help Henry.”
That perturbed Fiona and she snapped, “What’s the problem?”
Bria quickly explained and afterward Fiora quickly disappeared without a word and reappeared moments later.
This time she was not alone. Two men emerged from the trees behind her, both wrapped in heavy cloaks against the morning chill.
Fiora pointed dramatically at them. “They came with me. The council thought I might need help with you both.”
Bria’s gaze shifted between them.
The older looking of the two stepped forward. “We can secure Henry’s grammy.”
Henry’s frown spoke louder than words, not sure of the two men.
“Before you begin to worry senselessly, you should know that Ogga cannot possibly have cast a spell on your grammy,” Bria said.
Henry looked unconvinced. “Ogga said?—”
“Ogga lies,” Fiora snapped impatiently. “The council stripped her powers years ago. Fear is often more useful to her than magic.”
Henry fell silent, though his frown remained.
Bria could not blame him for not trusting what he was being told. But there was one way to be sure.
She stepped forward and reached her hand out to the older looking man, “May I?”
The man didn’t hesitate. He held his arm out.
