Caledonia Fae 04- Druid Lords Read Free

you.”
    With a barely perceptible sigh, Yurnme stood. “Where can I find the head keeper?” he asked with just enough respect to save himself from chastisement.
    “Below,” Munro replied. The lower part of the library housed only one chamber , and that room held one object: the Source Stone, the most sacred and mystical object in the faerie realm. Munro had discovered a few months before that the artefact had been made by human druids, a revelation that changed the way faerie society regarded him and his brother druids.
    Yurnme’s lazy attitude annoyed him . At one time, Munro wouldn’t have detected the subtle insult in the faerie’s expression. Now Munro recognised the minute gestures, the flickers of emotion that had once eluded him. To snap the faerie into action, he added, “The gates are shifting.”
    Every faerie in the large sitting area gave him their full attention. Faces turned, and a cold silence fell over the already quiet room. Then, just as abruptly, the faeries leapt into motion, whirring as they moved with super-human speed. One approached him. “Will you be summoning Queen Eilidh yourself, my lord druid?”
    “Yes,” Munro replied. He hadn’t considered doing so, but if something important was happening, she might want to hear the news from him.
    “Then I suggest you make haste,” the keeper said. “The queens must gather immediately.”
    Munro turned to go, urgency swirling around him. What did this mean? The Halls of Mist, which contained the Great Library, The Druid Hall, and halls for every one of the faerie kingdoms, connected to the kingdoms through a portal near the library entrance. The huge blue ball of light that allowed the kingdoms to connect in this strange, in-between place rested directly over the Source Stone. This, Munro had learned, was no coincidence.
    When he arrived at the portal, two queens were already there. He didn’t know either of them well, but then there were many faerie queens, all ruling independent nations, some small and some much larger. Eilidh’s kingdom was, in comparison to most, quite small, at least as represented by its connection to the human realm. Faerie kingdoms were anchored in what he still thought of as the real world by a series of gates. The more gates a queen controlled, the more political sway she had.
    He nodded to the two queens, and they inclined their heads, showing their respect. As he stepped into the dazzling blue light, he thought about how much things had changed. Not too long ago, faeries regarded humans with disgust, like some kind of talking animals. His discovery about the ancient artefact called the Killbourne Wall forced them all to reconsider those opinions, whether they wanted to or not. The runes on the wall told the faerie creation story and revealed that human druids were draoidh , sorcerers of ancient tales the fae revered above all others, even queens.
    The draoidh once wielded almost unlimited power in the faerie realm, and Munro had discovered why. They were creators. Not only of runes and artefacts, but possibly of the entire fae race. The druids now living in the Halls of Mist had nowhere near the level of knowledge required to create sentient, living creatures. So much had been lost over the thousands of years since the original draoidh disappeared. But these modern druids did have remarkable abilities, and he had hope they would someday restore what had died out.
    The moment Munro arrived on the other side of the portal, he felt a sense of belonging, of warmth and love. His bonded faerie, soon to be his wife, filled his mind. Something about the portal between Caledonia and the Halls of Mist dampened their connection, and her presence always relieved him.
    The round portal shimmered on an immense circular platform, surrounded by Watchers. He saw one he knew. “Bran,” he called and walked down the steps quickly.
    “Yes, my lord druid,” the Watcher said with a bow of his head.
    “I need the queen to come at