Age of Druids Read Online Free PDF

their Hall and for goods, carts, and larger contingents to move through. For now, Joy was glad she wouldn’t have to ask one of the druids to set the Mistgate to her destination and schedule when she was going to be able to come back through the rotating gate. She and her attendant Jalail took the short walk to the Caledonian Hall and were greeted by the Watchers on guard there.
     
    Within moments, Jalail led her through and they stood in a small garden just outside Canton Dreich, Queen Eilidh’s main residence. Jalail wasn’t as adept a translator and guide as Cen, whom she sorely missed. He was conducting important research at the library, though, so she didn’t feel she should insist he lead her around. Besides, as her English improved, she could hardly demand help from a scholar as gifted as Cen. Although he swore helping her wasn’t beneath his skills, Joy disagreed.
     
    Joy heard the Caledonian Watcher salute her arrival. “Lady Joy,” he said. “Welcome to Caledonia. Is the queen expecting you?” The last note was politely quizzical, as though he knew for a fact Queen Eilidh wasn’t.
     
    “No,” she said. “I’m here to check on Jago for his grandmother.” She smiled through the lie.
     
    “Of course,” he said. “I’ll call for an escort, if you like.”
     
    She’d travelled once again without even one Mistwatcher to accompany her as an honour guard. Noblewomen rarely journeyed alone, and many saw Joy as being more defenceless than most. She waved his concern aside. A few months ago, she worried every day about having enough food to eat and how to avoid the dangers on the streets of Tafgul. No, she could handle walking barely a half hour through the beautiful and secure countryside between Canton Dreich and her destination. “The nursery isn’t far. I am looking forward to a moment of solitude. Thank you though.”
     
    She tapped Jalail’s arm, indicating they should be on their way. She felt the slight motion as he nodded to the Watcher. Together, she and her attendant walked down the familiar path. She’d come many times before, always with the same goal in mind, and she’d memorised nearly every step.
     
    As was typical for him, her attendant stayed silent unless she spoke directly to him. Aaron liked that trait, but sometimes Joy missed the running commentary Cen provided when he guided her. The young scholar seemed to understand instinctively how to be her eyes, showing her the world through his words. She could have asked for someone else, but only recently having achieved her rank, she didn’t feel comfortable using it when she could make do with what she had.
     
    Within a half hour, they neared the nursery. Even from a distance, Joy recognised the sounds of children’s voices, the bustle of nurses, and the hum of lively activity. With her spirit vision, she made out the bright, clear auras of the young faeries, but none shone as vividly as that of Princess Maiya. Jago’s aura was nearly as complex, but not as lively or far-reaching.
     
    When she told the Watcher she planned to visit Jago, that much was true. But his grandmother had no idea she was coming or that Joy had come several times in the last months since Jago was moved here.
     
    Red Mother. The words rang in Joy’s mind. Maiya must have sensed her approach. Joy could see the evidence of the girl’s complex magic, but the spirit faerie was no closer to being able to predict what Maiya would become than anyone.
     
    A bright aura approached. “Lady Joy,” a female faerie said.
     
    Joy recognised the nurse’s voice and smiled in greeting. “Muime. How fare Jago and Maiya?”
     
    “They are well,” she said. Joy sensed her staring. Although the worst of Joy’s scars had been healed by Jago’s emerging blood talents, she suspected she must still look strange to them. She was short for a faerie with crimson skin. Until three months ago, she’d been completely bald, having come from Zalia where, at the time,