Haven 3 Shadow Magic (Haven Series 3) by B. V. Larson

daggers.
    “And so we lose sight of the sun again,” said Gudrin.
    Brand looked at the others. Modi gaped upward and frowned. Telyn clapped her hands and laughed. Corbin sought for fruit amongst the brush near the entrance. Already he had an armload of what looked like peaches.
    “Peaches in winter!” cried Brand. Corbin walked up to him with a grin and tossed him one. Brand caught it and bit into it. It was delicious. Both of them grinned at one another and the miracle that grew around them.
    “So what if they can fly?” cried Corbin, gesturing at the dome overhead that now closed itself completely. They were enclosed in a cool green gloom. The plants continued to rustle and twist.
    “So what?” echoed Brand. He laughed aloud and ate the rest of his peach. Corbin handed him a second.
    “It’s good to have you back again,” Corbin said.
    Brand looked at him. He nodded and sighed. “You too,” he said.
    Corbin nodded and ate yet another peach. He moved around to the others, handing out fruit. It was good to have clean, fresh food in this place. Everyone’s spirits ran high.
    Finally, when it seemed that the wall of greenery would swallow them whole, Myrrdin stopped his magic. He lowered his staff and stepped back. He turned to them, disheveled and bathed in sweat from his labors. His grin was wide and his eyes alight. “I’ve done it!” he cried. “I’ve not conjured such a thing since the dead kingdoms lived!”
    “It’s beautiful!” gasped Telyn. She rushed up to the leafy walls and ran her hands over the woven vines and thorns. She plucked a flower from a bed of ferns and held it out to Brand. He took it, smiling. Just to look at her radiant face seemed to lift more of his burden from his shoulders.
    Myrrdin was eyeing them while he brewed a pot of tea over the breakfast fire. “It seems clear that you have two seconds, Brand,” he said. “Such a thing isn’t unprecedented.”
    “Will it last, Myrrdin?” asked Telyn. “Is it truly alive? Will it fade soon?”
    “It is a living wall,” said Myrrdin. “The best that I could make it. The wall will live, yes. A very long time I should think. Especially if it is cared for and provided sufficient water.”
    “Brand!” said Telyn, whirling on him. “If we survive this, we should make this all part of the Haven! People should live here again and see this wonder!”
    “Ha! Next, you’ll be planning to raise these old walls again!” said Gudrin.
    “And why not?” asked Telyn. “The old pact is finished, anything is possible. Who knows what new provisions the next pact will hold?”
    Telyn turned a sly glance to Brand then, and gave him a sidelong smile. Brand stiffened, suddenly wondering if she had overheard some of last night’s talk with the Wee Folk.
    “Um,” said Brand. He cleared his throat. “I have some news in that area.”
    Everyone turned to him.
    “I spoke with Tomkin and another of his kind, Piskin. We came to an agreement of sorts.”
    “What!” shouted Gudrin. “You’ve been negotiating with the enemy without our knowledge? First, I hear that the walls of Castle Rabing are being raised again, and now this!”
    “I – I didn’t plan it that way,” said Brand. He looked to Myrrdin from support, but he seemed more interested in his tea than the conversation. “They just came to me and wanted to talk.”
    “I see,” said Modi coming forward for the first time. “Now that the Kindred have given over the axe to the River Folk, no one is concerned with their fate. Their opinions amount to nothing.”
    “No, no,” said Brand, “it’s nothing like that. They just woke me up and we decided that it would be in both our interests if neither the axe nor Lavatis fell into Herla’s hands.”
    The two Battleaxe Folk grumbled something to one another and crossed their arms.
    “Continue,” said Gudrin.
    “That was it, really. That’s all I committed to, mutual defense in this place.”
    Nodding, the two Kindred stumped