《Exiles of Eire》 Prologue Steam and the stink of battery acid clogged Jen¡¯s nose. She opened her eyes but the exhaust stung them to tears. Everything blurred. Manny? Where¡¯s Manny? Jen¡¯s vision spun worse than her head. She managed to glance toward the driver¡¯s side, barely registering the full moon outside the window or the crumpled metal and broken glass that used to be the front of the car. She found Manny. Her boyfriend lay limp against the steering wheel. The last minute, toilet-paper bandages of his mummy costume hung listlessly from his arms. He smelled like one too many beers and bright blood leaked from the crack in his head. Black clumps of hair made cowlicks around the wound. His dark eyes stared right through her, unblinking. Jen reached over to shake Manny. A stabbing pain between her shoulder and neck stopped her halfway. Her collarbone hadn¡¯t held up under the strain of the impact between her body and her seat belt. The massive airbag sagging over the dashboard must have prevented her from the same fate as her boyfriend. She used her other hand to feel around for the seat-belt latch. She had to find a nearby house or gas station with a phone so she could dial 9-1-1. Another sharp pain stopped her, this one from her swollen stomach. The baby! Only seven or eight months along, she counted in her head, still too early. Her heart beat in her ears as she clawed for that latch. The plastic black wig that had come with her Cleopatra costume fell away from her sandy blonde hair and into her eyes. She tried using her other hand to help tug the thing off. Another sharp spasm from her collarbone made her see flashing white spots. Trapped under that seat belt, her breathing picked up near the point of hyperventilation. Gruesome pictures of Manny¡¯s empty face flashed in her mind, then more of a bloodied fetus slipping down between her legs, a red stain blossoming around the lifeless lump. ¡°Quite a grim situation you have here,¡± a stranger said with an odd accent that echoed two languages at once. The woman¡¯s hair flowed down her back in waves and its color matched the fresh blood running across Manny¡¯s face. She wore a sheer white dress that draped over every slender curve of her body, its train pooling around her bare feet. A dark chain bracelet dangled from each of her wrists. Jen hugged her stomach as her panic settled some. ¡°Thank God. I-I need a hospital. Please go find a payphone or¡­or something.¡± ¡°I doubt the girl will be alive for much longer if I do that. I wonder what she would have looked like.¡± The tall woman bent over to peek through the shattered windshield. She focused on Jen¡¯s stomach, her ethereal gray and silver eyes turning down and her slitted pupils widening with interest. ¡°How¡¯d you know it was a girl?¡± Jen froze and only then noticed the way the woman¡¯s skin glowed. It illuminated the space around them as it accentuated her creamy complexion and narrow features. The stranger¡¯s full mouth turned up in a knowing smile. If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Jen gave her savior a second once over. Everything about her seemed to fit together without a single flaw and she¡¯d appeared in the nick of time. ¡°Are you an angel?¡± ¡°In a manner of speaking.¡± Her smile tightened to a line. The skin at the corners of her lips didn¡¯t wrinkle like it should. ¡°Am I dead?¡± New tears prickled in Jen¡¯s eyes. ¡°I am not here to deliver you to any afterlife. My purpose is to grant your requests, your heart¡¯s desires.¡± She tapped her nail on Jen¡¯s stomach. ¡°Perform any special favors you might need.¡± ¡°Manny and the baby,¡± Jen begged. ¡°Save them, please.¡± ¡°It is a little too late for him, dearie.¡± The woman waved toward Manny¡¯s body. His arms still dangled from the steering wheel and red drenched his white t-shirt. ¡°I am afraid you should have acted sooner for him. Any more puttering around and the child will share his fate.¡± Another contraction tore through Jen. ¡°No, help her,¡± Jen cried. ¡°I¡¯ll do anything!¡± ¡°Anything? I can work with that.¡± She set her palm on Jen¡¯s belly. An eerie calm settled over the teenager. ¡°Your name, girl?¡± ¡°Jennifer Diaz.¡± The pain dulled to a tolerable ache and Jen¡¯s mind cleared. ¡°What do I have to do?¡± ¡°I am Riona of Bri Leith,¡± the woman said, her tone losing all sarcasm or sweetness. ¡°In exchange for making your child well, you must promise me something in return.¡± ¡°Of course. Anything.¡± ¡°I seek you and your daughter coming home with me.¡± Jen flinched back into her seat. Her collarbone throbbed, but not enough for her to notice under the angel¡¯s strange touch. She shook her head. ¡°This is not a dire punishment, but a blessing,¡± Riona said. ¡°I would take you and the child to my homeland, let you raise her. Where I come from is a beautiful place with every pleasure you can imagine and more. Both of you would live forever in rolling green hills among lords and ladies, palaces and grand courts. She could learn the ways of magic, of the earth and its children.¡± ¡°But I don¡¯t even know you.¡± Jen thought of all the homes she had seen since her single mother¡¯s arrest. She¡¯d always had a packed suitcase under her bed, just in case. ¡°Manny¡¯s mom let me live with them. She¡¯s supposed to help with the baby. Why do we have to go with you?¡± ¡°It is the way of these things,¡± Riona said. ¡°To get something of this value, you must give up something equivalent in return.¡± ¡°No. I¡¯m staying here and so is she.¡± ¡°Fine. You have made it clear you want to stay in this world and rot. What about your daughter? You still want her to live, do you not?¡± Riona narrowed her steely eyes and lifted her hand away from Jen for a second. ¡°You said you would grant me anything.¡± Another contraction shot through the teenager. Needles upon needles stabbed into her stomach. An invisible vice squeezed her middle until she wanted to pop like a piece of ripe fruit. Nothing existed but that pain and she would have done anything to end it. Jen whimpered and ground her teeth together. ¡°So, do we have a deal?¡± She nodded. ¡°I, Riona of Bri Leith, hereby heal this babe and her mother of any infirmities or ill effects this untimely tragedy has rent upon them. In exchange, you, Jennifer Diaz, will surrender your daughter into my care when I come to collect her.¡± A blinding white light trailed down Riona¡¯s arm and engulfed Jen. Jen¡¯s skin buzzed like an electric current ran through her veins. The two parts of her collarbone crawled into place, two halves of a worm fusing back together. Her stomach bulged even more as the growing baby girl kicked and swiveled around in the confined womb. Jen clutched the edges of the passenger seat as she cried and squirmed against all of it. The radiance faded to nothing and the sensations eased with it. ¡°It is done.¡± The ¡°angel¡± stepped back from the window. ¡°Be sure you are ready when I return. I would hate for all of my hard work to undo itself over a broken bargain.¡± The instant Riona moved away, the contractions returned with a vengeance. Jen screamed with the suddenness of it and squeezed her eyes shut. When the spasm settled, she looked around, only to find that Riona of Bri Leith had vanished without a trace. Chapter 1 - Maya I came home from my graveyard shift to the smell of burned butter left frying too long and a woman¡¯s sultry voice crooning Spanish on the TV. Abuela must have gotten sucked up in her telenovelas again while cooking breakfast. My ankles throbbed, my feet ached, and I couldn¡¯t wait to plop down on the futon and wait with Mom for food. Instead I found her huddled in the corner of our tiny living room with her knees tucked to her chest. ¡°I¡¯m home.¡± I locked the door behind me and set my keys in the small bowl nearby. ¡°Is everything okay? Where¡¯s Abuela?¡± ¡°They took her.¡± Mom¡¯s blonde hair was a mess of tangles and her entire body shivered. She stared ahead, fixed on a certain point. Had I interrupted a panic attack or a delusional episode? I followed her line of sight. There was my grandmother sprawled across the kitchen floor. I ran over and fell on my knees beside her. An open bag of flour had fallen from the counter and splattered her with white. Thick smoke floated up from the sizzling pan on the stove. Abuela hadn¡¯t even taken off her salon apron or let her hair down from its messy work bun. ¡°?Despierta!¡± Wake up! I grabbed her shoulders and shook. Nothing. I whipped around. ¡°What happened? How long has she been like this?¡± Mom flinched and buried her face into her knees. The TV drowned out her panting whimpers. I scrambled for my phone. My eyes burned, but I reigned in the urge to curl up in the fetal position and make a lake-sized puddle of tears. The only person I trusted to take care of Mom still needed my help. I unlocked the phone and keyed in 9-1-1. It rang once, twice, three times. ¡°911, what¡¯s your emergency?¡± a woman¡¯s voice answered. ¡°My grandmother¡¯s on the floor and she isn¡¯t waking up. I don¡¯t have a car. I need an ambulance now.¡± ¡°Of course ma¡¯am. Where are you?¡± I rattled off my address and my phone number. The clacking of a keyboard and the operator¡¯s calm breathing came from the other line. ¡°When did she fall?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. I just walked in. My mom was with her.¡± ¡°Is she there? Can I talk to her?¡± ¡°She¡¯s not talking.¡± ¡°Then I need you to stay on the line with me, ma¡¯am.¡± The operator asked if Abuela was breathing, if I felt any pulse under her neck or on her wrist, if I knew how to perform CPR. Each one I answered ¡°no¡± as I squeezed my eyes shut to keep everything from getting too blurry. She took me through the first steps of CPR as I put my cell phone on speaker and set it on the floor so my hands were free. I placed both my hands in the middle of Abuela¡¯s chest. Right as the operator explained how I should push, the door rattled. Mom tugged and turned the knob. It didn¡¯t budge. She reached for the key bowl, but slipped and knocked it on the floor. The clay dish shattered into chunky shards. Her shaking fingers closed over the deadbolt. What would happen to Mom if she ran away? Could she help the doctors save Abuela if she stayed? I left my grandmother and charged for the front door. Before Mom could turn the lock, I grabbed her wrists and shoved myself in front of her. ¡°Move!¡± Mom said, jerking away from me. ¡°I have to leave.¡± ¡°No, you have to stay.¡± I struggled to sound calm and gentle. ¡°Somebody¡¯s coming to help her, but we have to go with them. You have to answer their questions. You¡¯re the only one who saw what happened.¡± ¡°No! They¡¯ll come for you next.¡± My attention flicked to Abuela lying there. The operator¡¯s digitized voice asked ¡°Ma¡¯am? Are you still there?¡± over and over again. If I tried the CPR, would Abuela miraculously cough and start breathing again? But that left Mom alone. There¡¯d been other times she¡¯d spiraled. She¡¯d run away and hid out until my grandmother or I found her. I had to keep her inside until she calmed down. I had to do so many things but I didn¡¯t enough hands to juggle them all. The only two I had were holding on to Mom. ¡°We have to stay.¡± ¡°I have to get away!¡± Mom slapped my arm. ¡°Don¡¯t you get it? The angels are punishing me again. First they took Manny, now Mercedes. I messed up again. But they haven¡¯t noticed you. If I stay, they will.¡± ¡°I¡¯m safe, I swear. I¡¯m not going anywhere. You need to stay and tell the paramedics what happened so they can help.¡± My voice cracked. ¡°Please, Mom. I need your help. Please stay.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t. I can¡¯t.¡± Mom shook her head. ¡°It¡¯s my fault. She¡¯s gone because of me.¡± ¡°She¡¯s right there! She¡¯s not gone. Nothing¡¯s taking me, I promise. Just wait with me. That¡¯s all you have to do. Hold my hand. Don¡¯t let go. You can do that right?¡± Mom paused, still breathing too fast. She let go of the deadbolt and grabbed my hand so tight it hurt. I kept eye contact with her, not daring to glance over at Abuela. We sat back on the futon and waited until sirens screamed into the parking lot. * * * It took awhile for Mom and I to adjust during the couple of weeks after Abuela¡¯s heart attack. Once Mom¡¯s Baker Act ran out, she left the hospital¡¯s psych ward, then I was a roadrunner and she was a zombie. I left her sandwiches between calling around to funeral homes. A couple hours later I reminded her to eat them. Dealing with my grandmother¡¯s death meant scheduling constant appointments with government agencies, my mother¡¯s social worker, and low-income lawyers. At first Mom wanted to stay home alone while I went out to handle stuff. That went okay until she called me and said the angels were sending her messages again. I called my aunt on the other side of the country to finish handling the funeral arrangements. From there I tracked down Mom¡¯s psychiatrist and found out the clinic had fired him. During the first appointment, the new doctor remarked how the last guy¡¯s willingness to prescribe drugs¡ªwithout reevaluating his patients periodically¡ªbordered on malpractice. That was the reason Abuela had picked the last guy. ¡°Dios y la familia arreglan todo,¡± she¡¯d told me. God and family fix everything. That left room for church and me, not pushy doctors. This psychiatrist talked to us instead of a clipboard though, and eagerly handed Mom some literature about her schizophrenia she said could help. I was lost in a daze while Mom obsessed over those papers on the bus ride home. After her medications were adjusted, she laid in bed all day with my laptop, typing things into search engines instead of sleeping. The new pills seemed to balance her out more quickly than the old ones. We didn¡¯t look for someone else. My half of Abuela¡¯s assets made up for the shifts I¡¯d missed up to that point, but bills sucked them dry. I had to dive into work to make up the difference. The funeral came and went. Mom and I fell into a loose routine. Quiet moments crept up on me¡ªwhile Mom slept, whenever I didn¡¯t have a shift, after I finished scrubbing the apartment sterile every day. As soon as my racing thoughts settled, I plopped into our futon and waited for someone else to come home. It took a solid minute of staring at the front door before I remembered everyone was already there. * * * I stood in front of Mom in the living room and marked routine questions off on my fingers. ¡°Emergency numbers?¡± ¡°By the landline in the kitchen.¡± Mom rolled her eyes. That morning had left them puffy. ¡°Did you take your medication?¡± I tapped my pinky, the last one on the list. Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. ¡°You saw me swallow them at breakfast.¡± She maintained eye contact the whole time. Her hands rested at her sides and there was a relaxed ease in her posture. No subtle tics. If she was trying to lie, she shoved her hair behind her ear or tugged on the bottom of her shirt. ¡°Just part of the routine.¡± I tugged her into a bear hug and kissed her cheek. ¡°We¡¯re still on for Movie Morning, right?¡± ¡°Wake me up when you get home.¡± She stood a good couple inches shorter than me and had to reach her skinny arms around my ribs instead of my shoulders when she hugged back. ¡°Have a good night at the bar. And tell Nico he needs to get his big self over here for some Rummy.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll pass the message along. You sure you don¡¯t need Nate and I to pick something up?¡± ¡°Maya Alvarez-Diaz, stop fussing over me and get your butt to the parking lot before I kick you out myself.¡± She shoved me away and her face lit up some. I stuck my tongue out while grabbing my wallet and keys from their home in our new plastic bowl. On my way out, I tripped over the suitcase Mom had started unpacking earlier. Its cloth guts hung over its edges: more of her pastel v-necks and a formal black dress. I started to ask when she would finish putting her stuff away. That dress made the question catch. The deadbolt clicked as Mom turned it behind me. So far, so good. An older pea-green Prius slid into an empty parking space by my apartment. I trotted down the stairs, over to the passenger side, and ducked in. The driver¡ªmy twenty-something co-boss, fry cook, and best friend Nate¡ªlooked like one of those macho, Fabio types. He had dark features, towering height, and a gym-hardened physique. But behind the wheel of that tiny tree-mobile, the mystique vanished. ¡°Dressed to the nines as always,¡± I commented when I noticed his suspenders and creased khakis. ¡°I take pride in my appearance,¡± Nate replied with only a hint of his Mediterranean accent. ¡°A pair of jeans wouldn¡¯t kill you. Customers don¡¯t see you in the kitchen.¡± ¡°Yes, but the cucina, she has eyes, and she¡¯s always watching.¡± Nate became a bad stereotype as his hands made exaggerated kissing gestures. ¡°She deserves my respect, my love, my best foot forward.¡± ¡°Did I miss a pair of eyes in all those inanimate grills and counters?¡± ¡°My dear Maya, you lack imagination.¡± ¡°You keep that up, I¡¯m taking the wheel and leaving your ass to walk.¡± He shifted from park to reverse with a subtle smirk. ¡°Do I need to fix any of Cindy¡¯s disasters when I clock in?¡± I asked, buckling my seat belt. ¡°Not tonight.¡± He tilted his head over his shoulder as he pulled out, even though the car¡¯s backup camera had popped on the dash screen. It beeped until he shifted to drive. ¡°Nico had Freckles clean it up.¡± ¡°You mean David?¡± ¡°Yeah that¡¯s who I said. Freckles.¡± ¡°Nico¡¯s going to kill you if he runs off because of that nickname.¡± ¡°Better than Greasy or Droopy.¡± We came to the stop sign at the entrance of the complex, nobody behind us. Nate turned his attention from the road to me. ¡°He hasn¡¯t tried bothering you about a date again, has he?¡± ¡°No, I think you played Papa Bear enough last time.¡± ¡°Good. He¡¯s a bum. Michelle was better, but she bad-mouthed everybody.¡± ¡°You get I can chase off people looking for dates by myself, right?¡± I finger brushed my purple pixie-cut and swiped my bangs out of my face. ¡°If saying I¡¯m not interested doesn¡¯t work, ignoring them usually does the trick. I¡¯ve tried it on both boys and girls with good results.¡± ¡°So you want me to stop driving away the losers?¡± ¡°I want you to do it to the drunks.¡± I suppressed a shudder. ¡°Nothing but bad pickup lines and Spanglish for idiots.¡± Nate cocked his eyebrow. ¡°You know the type.¡± I deepened my voice to the most college jock it could go. ¡°Hey chicka, mi casa, su casa. Let¡¯s go there and I¡¯ll make you a princess.¡± Nate laughed so hard his shoulders jiggled. A horn blast behind us shifted his focus back to driving and he turned out onto the main road. The other car whizzed ahead as soon as the opposite lane cleared. A pregnant, waiting silence filled the Prius. When I first got the job, my apartment was closer to South Tampa, by Nico¡¯s Tavern right along the bay. Then we had to move to a cheaper neighborhood that was right before the rural edge of Pasco County. We had about a thirty minute drive to fill. ¡°Out with it, Nate.¡± I crossed my arms. ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± ¡°Nothing¡¯s up.¡± He idly tapped his thumbs on the steering wheel. ¡°Just wondering how your trip went.¡± ¡°Fine.¡± ¡°Is your aunt well?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t know. Didn¡¯t get to talk to her much. She was dealing with squealing cousins half the time and ignoring me the other half,¡± I said with a stiff shrug. The upholstery on the side of the door got fascinating all of the sudden. ¡°The usual.¡± ¡°How much family came up?¡± ¡°How much would you expect if none of them can afford the trip?¡± I narrowed my eyes at the cloth lining. ¡°Was it a good service, at least?¡± ¡°It was dandy.¡± ¡°You know what I mean.¡± ¡°What am I supposed to say?¡± I ignored my inner Abuela¡¯s voice telling me to have patience and turned my glare on my friend. ¡°Yeah, Nate, I enjoyed seeing some stick-up-his-ass priest talk Latin over my Protestant grandmother¡¯s ashes because my uncle decided that she needed a traditional Catholic service. And they paid for it all, so nobody listened to the family who actually lived with her for the last eighteen years. It was fantastic!¡± ¡°I get the picture, Maya.¡± Nate tightened his fingers on the steering wheel. ¡°You don¡¯t have to yell.¡± ¡°You wanted to hear about it, didn¡¯t you? I had to talk Mom down three different times during the plane trip. Top that off with only getting a couple hours of sleep on an air mattress because the horde of little cousins wouldn¡¯t shut up. It was like Disney World.¡± ¡°Excuse me for worrying.¡± Nate took a deep breath, let it out slow. His fingers eased on the steering wheel, one by one, but the cover had already cracked under the pressure. ¡°It was a damned funeral, Nate. How did you expect me to answer?¡± My fingernails dug crescent trenches into my forearms. If only the person we¡¯d been talking about was in that car. She¡¯d close me in a tight hug and call me ¡°Silly mija,¡± then everything would be okay. * * * Midnight on the dot and a large bachelor party was still in full swing at Nico¡¯s Tavern. Half the guys grumbled about the lack of strippers while the other half made the groom feel like a rock star while he sang karaoke. Both groups wanted the liquor flowing. All insisted on sitting around the stage at the other end of the room. Nico worked like wildfire, pouring drinks while I walked them across the main dining area. I should have been too busy to worry about Nate nursing one of his hard ciders at the bar counter, but my conscience found the time. He leaned over his half-empty bottle with his long bangs hanging in his face, staring into the spout. I caught a break after I refilled the wedding party¡¯s tumblers and they all got distracted watching the groom slaughter AC/DC. Then I snuck back to the bar and collapsed into a stool across from Nico. The burly bartender finished wiping up the drips from his most recent cocktail. While Nate looked like he should star in a trashy romance novel, his older brother resembled the models on a lumberjack magazine. He was built like a linebacker and had hair everywhere but his head. But the practiced way he made drinks and easy rapport he had with customers put him more at home in a Prohibition-era speakeasy. It didn¡¯t matter if he wore a suit or a plaid shirt, bartending was in Nico¡¯s blood. ¡°Take a rest,¡± I said. ¡°Watching you is making me tired.¡± ¡°You know what they say about idle hands.¡± Nico tossed his damp rag back into the small sink nearby. He propped his elbows on the counter. ¡°What¡¯s up with you?¡± ¡°Guess.¡± I studied a gray vein in the counter¡¯s black, faux marble covering. ¡°You know, when somebody dies, a little part of them always lives on in the people they leave behind.¡± I couldn¡¯t muster the fire to tell him to knock it off. Instead, I folded my arms to a pillow and rested my head in them. ¡°Either way, she¡¯s not here to help out anymore.¡± ¡°I guess you¡¯re right there.¡± The vibrations from Nico¡¯s fingers tapping on the counter boomed beside my ear. ¡°How¡¯s Jen doing?¡± ¡°Better, I guess. She¡¯s not sleeping all day anymore, but she cried every night of the trip.¡± ¡°What about you? Those circles under your eyes are so dark, I¡¯d say some bastard gave you two shiners.¡± ¡°That¡¯s natural.¡± I rubbed said circles on reflex. ¡°How long has it been since you got six solid hours?¡± ¡°Four or five¡¯s plenty.¡± ¡°If you need a break, bring Jenny over some time.¡± Nico gestured to the door, toward his and Nate¡¯s house a few blocks from the bar. ¡°We¡¯ll stay busy with some Canasta while you nap.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t need a nap.¡± I flipped my head so he couldn¡¯t pick apart my face anymore. On cue, my traitorous mouth yawned. Nico sighed and took the rag back up. A mother hen, just like Nate. Since I¡¯d known them, the two brothers had done everything together: running the business, sharing a place, bickering over who won at cards. The decade and a half age gap between them never made a difference. I peeked over at Nate as he sipped at his cider. Abuela¡¯s favorite Bible verse played its way through my head, the one that said to treat others like you¡¯d want to be treated. I half-baked a plan to slide into the stool next to Nate¡¯s and ask if he wanted to come over for coffee on our next day off. Then I¡¯d slip in the apology and we could hash out the rest. My pocket vibrated. When I pulled out my phone, Mom¡¯s cell number lit up the screen. I jabbed the green accept button. ¡°Mom? What¡¯s going on?¡± ¡°Maya, get home now!¡± she said between shallow breaths. ¡°I¡¯m packing your stuff. We have to get out of here before she comes back.¡± ¡°She? What are you talking about?¡± Blood pounded in my ears as my heart picked up. Had her body built a tolerance to the new medication already? ¡°Can¡¯t explain. Have to pack. Have to hurry.¡± ¡°I¡¯m on my way right now. Nate¡¯s getting in his car.¡± I waved at him. He beat me to the door in a few big steps. ¡°Deep breaths, Mom. You can pack while you talk, right? Tell me what happened.¡± ¡°I¡¯m so sorry, baby.¡± Mom sniffled, her voice thick like she had a bad cold. ¡°I thought you were safe. She wasn¡¯t supposed to be real. Everyone said I was just traumatized by the accident.¡± ¡°Who¡¯s not real?¡± I climbed into the Prius and slammed the car door behind me. Instinct made me buckle the seat belt. Nate pressed the ignition button and the dash display lit up. ¡°The angel that made you healthy. She was in the mirror. I don¡¯t know where she came from. I was good today,¡± Mom choked out. ¡°She said she was coming for you. Don¡¯t let her take you away. I can¡¯t lose you too.¡± ¡°I¡¯m right here, Mom. Just keep talking.¡± I mouthed faster at Nate. ¡°I covered the mirror up, but she could still be in there. She could be listening.¡± Mom paused and a door slammed. ¡°I need to break it or something. I need to keep you safe.¡± The Prius¡¯ engine revved and we took off. Chapter 2 - Daire I knelt at the edge of the cobbled path in the gardens of my father¡¯s estate in a plain tunic, trousers, and boots. They were more appropriate for outside work than my usual gold-embroidered garb¡ªand helped to vex my father, who loved commenting how unbecoming they were for Bri Leith¡¯s heir and a prince of Tir Na Nog. Clustered flowers and cherry trees in full bloom surrounded me, their sweet scents complimenting the vibrant rainbow of colors I¡¯d planted in the spring section. However, a patch of blue and purple irises in front of me had a skewed arrangement that demanded my attention. I hummed as I kneaded the soil under them, and my personal magic flowed into their stems. ¡°Hurry, brother!¡± sang the deceptively bell-like voice of my half-sister, Riona. The jingle of the dark iron chains she wore on both her wrists sent anxious shudders through my shoulders. I looked up to find her skipping toward me. Her blood-red hair and sheer white gown kicked up like a swan¡¯s wings, exhibiting a beauty and grace that belied her sinister nature. ¡°Our esteemed High King has granted me another visit to the mortal realm.¡± ¡°Again?¡± I asked, incredulous. The High King, our eldest uncle Bodb, had a favorite personal proverb: ¡°The best aid humans ever gave the Aos Si was to leave us alone.¡± I had to badger him for weeks at a time to be allowed a glimpse of the humans, and that was only because my body housed the Key, the power that bridged Tir Na Nog and Earth¡ªI had also honed pleading to an artform over the years. He never granted another being the privilege of interacting with mortals until recently with Riona. What leverage did she have over him? ¡°Very well. I¡¯ll meet you at my scrying pool after I finish with these stubborn flowers.¡± ¡°No, I won¡¯t wait, little Daire.¡± One of Riona¡¯s abominable chains whipped around my left side and captured my waist. My sister yanked back as smoke rose from my tunic. Patches of brown spread across the green fabric where the links touched. Soon enough the iron would burn through my clothes and the smoke would rise from my flesh instead. ¡°You will come with me now.¡± ¡°Release me!¡± I summoned the thick roots of the garden¡¯s plants, thrusting my power into the ground. They broke free of the earth and wrapped about my calves, anchoring me at the ankles. ¡°Or I shan¡¯t be coming anywhere.¡± ¡°Why must you always whine?¡± Her chain loosened and fell around my feet. ¡°Cease assaulting me with your corrosive metals and I won¡¯t whine.¡± I swiped at the rotted portions of my tunic as my glamour restored the material to its rightful emerald hue. ¡°What¡¯s the purpose of this visit?¡± ¡°The same. I must find someone.¡± Riona turned on her heel and strode toward the small courtyard at the center of this part of the gardens. ¡°Father¡¯s guard isn¡¯t about, I trust?¡± ¡°Right. Fergal slithers by later in the day.¡± I asked as I kept pace behind her. ¡°Who are you seeking?¡± ¡°You¡¯ll see when we get there.¡± Suppressing a sigh at her stubbornness, I plodded forward. We passed too many errors for my liking, like trees whose branches did not shade the path, a shrub growing away from its fellows, and a nasty spot of green hellebore growing among buttercups. If not for the threat of her iron, I would have stayed to rectify the blemishes. We came to our destination, a courtyard framed by violet delphiniums. Rough stones surrounded a modest water basin at its center. Riona had a discernible bounce in her step before she fluttered to her knees in front of the pool. I slumped beside my sister and took her hand to establish a magical connection with her. The edge of her bracelet brushing my wrist stung, but I held on. ¡°Where and when are they?¡± ¡°In their present, the same city as before.¡± ¡°The same descendant, I take it?¡± ¡°If you know what I want, then do it.¡± ¡°As you wish.¡± I reached out my senses to her, seeking the subtle signature of the High King¡¯s favor. Once I found it hanging over her, the Key¡¯s power swelled in my chest. I touched the scrying pool¡¯s surface and the power tingled down my arm. My blood raced when our reflection turned to a blur of colors, and then came the familiar twinge of glee at glimpsing the mortal world. After so many years spying on the humans¡¯ progress and beholding the miracles they produced without a speck of magic in their blood, I figured that feeling would grow stale. It never faded, though, each experience was as delightful as the last. Different events passed before our eyes as I traced through the generations. The ancestor Riona wanted to trace from, a wise-woman named Saoirse, lay bloodied in her hovel. Her daughter, Diedre, grew to marry a farmer and birth three sons. One of those sons had a daughter of his own, and so on. Saoirse¡¯s line moved from Eire across the Great Western Ocean, to one of Hispania¡¯s island settlements in the New World, until it stopped in a large city on the edge of La Florida. The image in the water cleared to show a woman in the middle of changing clothes in a modest bedroom. She was pretty enough and still in the prime of her adult life. Her long hair shimmered gold in the light cast by the lamp embedded in the ceiling, and her serene honey-brown eyes clashed with the worn line across her brow. Her only flaws came from her sunken cheeks, how her ribs and hips jutted from under her flesh. ¡°Catch her attention.¡± Riona squeezed my hand tighter, as if that would strengthen her link to the vision. ¡°Do it yourself.¡± I traced little ripples in the pool. ¡°Besides, I¡¯m only here to watch.¡± ¡°Curses on our uncles for making you the only one who can do this.¡± Riona leaned closer to the water¡¯s surface. ¡°Jennifer Diaz!¡± The woman jumped and dropped the white tunic she had pulled from her top dresser drawer. She swiveled toward the bedroom door and hurried to cover herself with the fallen shirt. ¡°Who¡¯s there?¡± Jennifer Diaz gawked at the entryway and addressed it instead. ¡°Look at the mirror.¡± Riona¡¯s voice hummed as the English interpretation spell I¡¯d made for her triggered. I rearranged my sister¡¯s hand to my wrist and, with both palms free, covered my ears. Jennifer Diaz swiveled around. Her eyes became so wide that their whites occupied more space than their irises. She screamed shrill and full, with enough breath behind it to make any singer jealous. Riona¡¯s wince gave me a good chuckle, but she squeezed my wrist hard enough for her nails to draw blood. ¡°Mind your oaths,¡± I hissed through gritted teeth as I pried at her fingers. ¡°I am,¡± Riona whispered. ¡°If I wasn¡¯t, your arm would snap.¡± ¡°What? How?¡± Jennifer Diaz stammered, trembling like an autumn leaf caught in a breeze. ¡°Your years are up,¡± Riona said. ¡°I¡¯m coming to collect the prize you promised.¡± Jennifer bit her lower lip in a delicate show of defiance. ¡°Where¡¯s the girl?¡± Riona¡¯s nose pricked the water¡¯s surface as she scanned the other side of the scry. I flicked a few drops at her cheek and her nostrils flared. ¡°Where have you hidden her?¡± Jennifer Diaz edged away from her mirror, and us. Riona lifted her face away from the pool and her pupils narrowed, assessing. No doubt the human¡¯s finite signs of maturity had only just penetrated her thick skull. ¡°How long has it been since you last saw me?¡± ¡°Not real.¡± Jennifer Diaz breathed in short gasps as she squeezed her eyes shut. ¡°She¡¯s not real.¡± ¡°Answer me!¡± Jennifer Diaz backed away until her leg bumped the bed¡¯s frame, and risked squinting down at the crumpled blanket atop the mattress. She snatched the cover and tossed it over her mirror. It reduced my scry to a fabric backing and the sound of pattering footsteps. Riona grimaced and thrust her arm into the pool as if to grab her quarry. But that outstretched hand slipped through the surface, disturbing the vision with lapping waves. ¡°You actually seek a human changeling? How?¡± I peeled my sister¡¯s hand off my wrist and the reflection in the water faded back to the blue, cloudless sky over our heads. ¡°The only thing that matters to you, little Daire, is that I have the permission.¡± Riona shook the water droplets off her arm, the chain around that wrist jingling with the motion. ¡°Focus on performing your duties and leave the details to the actual Aos Si, half-breed.¡± ¡°At least I have duties.¡± I stood and massaged my thigh until feeling came back to it. ¡°I do love being useful. I would hate to be a burdensome spinster with only a scrap of her father¡¯s land to her name.¡± ¡°Speaking of our father, he wanted to see you in his library immediately.¡± ¡°And he stooped to using you as his messenger?¡± ¡°I overheard him ordering one of the wall-folk to tell you.¡± ¡°When?¡± ¡°Shortly before this lengthy scry.¡± A traitorous smile curved her lips. ¡°I wonder if the carving gave up searching for you by now.¡± ¡°If it was important, Father would have fetched me himself.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure he would have if he wasn¡¯t entertaining company.¡± Riona fiddled with a link in her bracelet. ¡°I believe our entire family is here, every son of the legendary Dagda¡¯s Brood. And for some reason they need you there.¡± That meant Father, Uncle Aengus, and Uncle Bodb were holding one of our regular family meetings. But they typically told me about them beforehand. And this wouldn¡¯t be the first time my half-sister had twisted the truth in order to lead me astray. ¡°Just because you believe they¡¯re with Father, doesn¡¯t make it true.¡± ¡°I did spy Bodb with my own eyes. He was quite cross.¡± She wiggled her fingers at me in a paltry goodbye. ¡°I imagine all of them have taken offense at your absence by now. You should run.¡± My insides froze. A promise of future vengeance hovered on the tip of my tongue, but I fled past her toward home. To reach Bri Leith¡¯s main fortress, I ran down the main path that cut through the gardens. As much as I preferred walking through the quilts of flowers and intertwined trees, taking my time would leave more than Father waiting. A stroll was not worth being late for a meeting when the High King was there. * * * Bri Leith¡¯s fortress was concealed within the gardens and resembled a series of grassy knolls. The only visible signs of its existence were the circular courtyards carved into the tops of the hills. The path I ran on ended at a large, round gate set into the side of the highest of the mounds. I slowed to a stop in front of the two enormous wall-folk constructs carved into the double doors. Father had shaped them to be warriors: bearded, brawny, and dressed in their finest leathers. ¡°Who calls?¡± The stone giant on the left hefted his club in welcome, while the right one lifted a sword. ¡°Lord Daire of the Ivy, heir to Bri Leith, Key Bearer. I come with no ill intent. Allow me entrance,¡± I rattled off, taking the moment to wipe my sweaty palms on my tunic. A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. ¡°Your father awaits you in his library,¡± said the left guardian. ¡°He demands you get down there before he changes his mind about not punishing you for your mother¡¯s sake.¡± The other warden imitated my father¡¯s piercing glare. ¡°Then open the bloody doors so I can enter.¡± Without fanfare, the wall-folk separated. I squeezed through the moment the space between them opened. The left giant vanished from his post upon that door and knelt on one of the inner walls. He muttered a message to a carving of a page boy. Inside laid a wide central hall leading to the throne room, with connected passages branching out to its other sections. Its paved stone walls rose into an arched ceiling, held up by winding roots. I raced along, keeping pace with the page. One moment it minded a mounted torch, the next it darted away behind one of my mother¡¯s tapestries. While I wanted to check if Mother had added any of her recent projects, my haste made them blur together as I passed. A last minute twist of my heel brought me to the door of Father¡¯s library. I stopped outside it and braced my arms against my knees. My ribs ached as I panted worse than a hunting hound. Even if the carving had beaten me there, I would not give my father the pleasure of seeing me winded for his sake. Steeling myself for a tongue lashing, I edged through the entry to face my family. My father kept his library in the ancient style. Scrolls and tablets covered the walls, set into cylindrical alcoves and packed in wooden cases. Gold and jewels edged each nook, and a series of glowing white stones set into the domed ceiling cast a soft light over the room. Father sat at his desk, surrounded by two of my family¡¯s other elders. An empty chair awaited me. ¡°So you finally decided to grace us with your presence.¡± My father threw a set of marked pebbles across his desk and frowned, but not at me. His battle-hardened physique showcased his reputation as a warrior, while his golden mane had earned him many lovers in his youth. Yet his disposition had always been as callous as his hands toward me. ¡°We should count ourselves lucky, Midir. At least he showed up,¡± said the High King of the Aos Si, Uncle Bodb. He took the most after my legendary grandfather, with the same wild auburn beard and love of donning animal furs. Near as broad as he was tall, he had the most primal strength of his gathered siblings. ¡°I¡¯m sure he has a good tale to go with his absence, don¡¯t you m¡¯boy?¡± My final and favorite uncle, Aengus, winked my way as his childlike face lit up. His pale, whimsical hair stuck up in every direction and his lavender eyes twinkled with mischief. Although the youngest and shortest of his siblings, when it came to magic he excelled the most. Anyone who underestimated his silly demeanor and colorful attire would suffer a rude awakening. ¡°What does it matter?¡± Father interjected. ¡°The boy would much rather spy on lesser beings than cavort with the likes of us.¡± ¡°A correction, Father.¡± I raised a finger as I took the empty seat. ¡°I prefer not to cavort with the likes of you. The rest of the family is rather pleasant.¡± Father¡¯s nostrils flared as he glanced up. ¡°When was the last time you killed someone, oh soft son of mine?¡± ¡°Considering there are so few of the Aos Si left,¡± I countered, ¡°I think it¡¯s a good thing I haven¡¯t killed anyone.¡± Father sighed and picked up his pebbles for another roll. ¡°All that matters is that you¡¯re here,¡± Uncle Bodb huffed. ¡°We can finally begin the meeting.¡± We went through the cursory protocol of repeating vows of silence so the contents of the meeting would not spread to the public. Then Uncle Bodb followed the standard routine and updated us on Tir Na Nog¡¯s current events¡ªwhich amounted to him prattling on about the petty conflicts between the realm¡¯s various kings and queens. I was convinced they squabbled between each other so much because they were bored. My mother often told me stories of how much better it was before my family closed our world off from the mortal realm. Humans like her used to revere the Aos Si as old gods and local nature spirits. They left us tributes, became our lovers, and provided the entertainment that kept our ancient society from turning on itself. Then a new religion came whose priests wielded a toxic iron magic just like Riona¡¯s. Most of our kind were wiped out until my father and uncles created the Key to split Tir Na Nog from Earth, and encased that power within me as a babe. I would have loved a taste of the past harmony Mother spoke of, just once¡­ ¡°Daire.¡± Bodb¡¯s voice interrupted my daydreaming. ¡°Would you say the Aos Si have done well under our rule since Tir Na Nog closed?¡± ¡°Of course.¡± I rubbed my drooping eyes as I scooted upright. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Um, many reasons.¡± I marked them off on my fingers. ¡°You coordinated all of the surviving houses to submit to the preservation edicts that keep us from killing each other, for one. Without them, I doubt you could have enforced the peace we have without any bloodshed.¡± ¡°We only managed that because there were no humans interfering in all that time,¡± my father said as he tucked his game stones into his belt pouch. ¡°The Aos Si prospered plenty when the worlds were open to each other,¡± I shot back. ¡°Humanity even helped us.¡± ¡°Have you forgotten that they were the cause of us exiling ourselves here?¡± Father stood from his chair, his voice rising with him. ¡°And what of your mortal wife?¡± I folded my fingers leisurely in my lap. Exposing the flaws in his prejudice always lifted my mood. ¡°She had no part in slaughtering your older brothers and their households!¡± Father slammed his fist upon his desk. ¡°That¡¯s enough. Any talk of humans is irrelevant.¡± Bodb glowered at me and his energy reached between us to clamp my mouth shut. ¡°The point of this gathering is to announce that I¡¯m stepping down as High King.¡± A dead hush fell over the room. Aengus¡¯ brows furrowed together before he glanced aside to my father. Father bobbed his chin as he settled back into his chair, unsurprised at the news. ¡°All decorum aside, I have reigned for too long.¡± Bodb slouched against his knees. ¡°The Key sealing the walls of Tir Na Nog preserves us. We have peace, albeit an uneasy one. The time has come for new leadership, and it must be from within our family so the preservation edicts are upheld. If another house were to take over, they would gain command over the Key, and Daire would be helpless to defy them. I fear what our political rivals would do with that power. It could lead to a civil war, or worse. The Aos Si are too close to extinction to risk that.¡± ¡°Uncle Aengus would be more than capable of taking over for you.¡± A cold shiver raced up my spine. All my life, Uncle Bodb had been the only High King, and the sole being capable of activating the Key so I could wield it and watch the mortal world. If Uncle Aengus was elected to replace him, he would let me continue to indulge my obsession with humanity. But if Father was chosen as the preferred successor¡­ ¡°So I could spoil you with endless visions of the mortal world?¡± Aengus chuckled but his shoulders slumped. ¡°I¡¯m more than content sitting on the ruling council, the rest of whom I know wouldn¡¯t vote to elect me. Perhaps you should try running for the High King¡¯s seat, Daire. Being Key Bearer makes you popular with the other houses, and you are part of the family.¡± ¡°That¡¯s ridiculous,¡± Father said, snorting Aengus¡¯ way. ¡°Our entire civilization would descend into chaos as soon as he was crowned, all while he ignored his duties and used his newfound control over the Key to spy on mortals.¡± ¡°Perhaps I¡¯m unfit to rule, but I could certainly handle being able to use the Key without asking for permission,¡± I said, glaring across the room. ¡°Out of the question!¡± Bodb bellowed at me, cutting my fantasy short. He steepled his fingers in his lap as he turned back to addressing the room at large. ¡°I approached Midir first. He has already agreed. When the time is right, I will name him my uncontested heir, without holding an election. Under those conditions, our alliances guarantee no competition from the other houses or families, so he won¡¯t need to campaign for the ruling council members¡¯ votes.¡± A numb dread settled over me, making my skin tingle and the fine hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. I held my tongue for the moment, listening for any sign Father might let me continue enjoying my favorite escape. My ¡°obsession with mortals¡± was all I had to cope with being Key Bearer. My family only allowed me to leave the protection of Bri Leith for holiday feasts. With Mother¡¯s advanced age making her mind deteriorate year by year, I couldn¡¯t rely on her to be my constant companion anymore. Gardening was a cherished distraction, but it couldn¡¯t always fend off the loneliness of this place. Uncle Aengus had too many responsibilities to visit me as often as I needed. Riona only tormented me with glib insults and taunts. Even the guard Father assigned to watch me stayed too distant to make conversation. ¡°This idea defies millennia of tradition.¡± Aengus groaned and rubbed his temples. ¡°The rest of the council won¡¯t be happy¡­¡± ¡°Then use your silver tongue to make them understand,¡± Bodb lifted his empty, open palms. ¡°If there were not so few of us left, I would be the first to defend tradition. But it¡¯s better to do away with antiquated customs than indulge the masses and chance our entire race dying off. My decision is final. Midir will be coronated this coming Samhain¡± ¡°Do I get a say in any of this?¡± I said through gritted teeth, digging my fingers into my arms. Their attention snapped to me, as if they¡¯d all forgotten my presence. ¡°How could you not be happy?¡± Bodb asked with a growling edge. ¡°If Midir becomes High King, Bri Leith is yours. Do you know how many princes would kill for lands like these?¡± ¡°He knows I won¡¯t give him permission for any more of those silly mortal scries.¡± Father said, chin jutting out as he peered down his nose at me. ¡°It¡¯s not fair!¡± I jumped up and my chair flew back, making a loud crack as it collided with the stone floor. ¡°This place is lonely, even with Mother here. But if you become High King, you¡¯ll move away to Tara and take her with you. Then what am I supposed to do?¡± Father shrugged. ¡°Ideally, you¡¯ll be busy managing your new lands.¡± ¡°What is there to manage? Bri Leith houses, at most, a dozen self-sufficient subjects.¡± I waved past the library, toward Bri Leith¡¯s empty estate. ¡°Would I at least be able to leave here without a chaperone?¡± ¡°If you¡¯d spent time learning to wield a weapon, you could have already done that.¡± Father swiped his fingers through his hair as he smoothed it back, tugging hard enough to make himself cringe. ¡°But instead you waste your time tending flowers and still cannot defend yourself.¡± ¡°My magic is as capable as any sword.¡± I shot my finger at Uncle Aengus. ¡°With him as my teacher, I¡¯m more than capable of taking on any full-blooded Aos Si.¡± ¡°He has improved,¡± Aengus muttered in a hurry, shrinking into his chair. ¡°Anyone in Tir Na Nog can still trounce him in combat, but he¡¯s clever with his glamour and has strengthened his affinity with plants.¡± I rewarded my favorite uncle¡¯s betrayal with a scowl. ¡°What did you expect?¡± Aengus hid half his face behind his hand. ¡°I¡¯m incapable of twisting the truth that much.¡± ¡°We¡¯re not trying to be spiteful,¡± Bodb said through a rigid jaw, scratching his corded neck. ¡°As the Key Bearer, you¡¯re too vulnerable outside the bounds of Bri Leith. Someone could take you hostage and use you to manipulate us into opening Tir Na Nog.¡± Fresh tears hovering on my lashes, stinging my eyes. Phlegm thickened in my throat too much to speak anymore. I followed my feet as they ran for the heavy door and stormed from their sights. * * * I found my bedchamber and shoved my way in, salty tear trails already trickling down my cheeks. I had to stop Father, but how? The domed room acted as a tonic for my troubled, frenzied mind. I furnished my only private space with a round canopy bed and writing desk¡ªI avoided glancing at the small bed of white lily vine flowers I kept by my parchment and pens. The few tapestries hanging on the walls seemed to follow me, though their woven eyes weren¡¯t enchanted like the wall-folk carvings. My oval looking glass was shrouded by a thick curtain to prevent unwelcome spies from scrying me and to warn me if any intruders tried to make their way through it. I cast aside my bed¡¯s green drapes and collapsed into its pile of gold tasseled pillows. Sunlight streamed in from the skylight and its warmth dried my face as I laid there. How could I foil Father¡¯s plans? I could run for High King myself and exploit the loophole in Uncle Bodb¡¯s scheme. But that meant competing against my father and rallying support from the monarchs on the council¡ªdifficult when Bri Leith¡¯s defensive wards enforced the rule that I couldn¡¯t leave without a family member. Something sharp stabbed into my side, a corner. With a wince, I scanned the pillows and found a book lying under to me. Only Uncle Aengus stored information that way, inspired by my visions of mortal monasteries. I picked it up, opening my senses as I turned it over. Simple green knotwork with charming ivy leaves lined the cover¡¯s border. In the middle stood an embossed red ram and butterfly, my parents¡¯ symbols. A gold cord connected the two figures, wrapping around them in the shape of a skeleton key. The tome emitted an odd aura from between its pages and its energy thrummed at the same beat as mine. I opened it, only to find the first page blank. Every page I flipped to after held more of the same. The symbols on the cover clearly meant it was about me, yet nothing was written inside. It wasn¡¯t like Uncle Aengus to leave me anonymous journals, especially ones with an aura attuned to mine. The magic pulsing through the paper grew warm against my fingers. A circle filled with gold filigree lined Ogham script formed under them. I slid my palm further up the page and the spot moved with my touch, revealing more of the message. Once my skin lost contact, the words vanished into the page. A giddy bubble swelled in my chest. Of course there was a trick to it! I pressed two fingers back to the top of the page and read along. ¡°¡­insists the walls must stay closed forever. The Aos Si cannot go for long with such limited access. Upon the agreement of us all, my esteemed brother asked that I make this safeguard so that when he steps down, it will destroy the Key. I tried to make the process as merciful as possible, a gradual decay rather than an instantaneous strike. My infant nephew deserves that much. It will afford him time to say goodbye to loved ones and make arrangements. I am sure that, should Daire learn of this, he will come to hate us all. I only hope that by then he has lived long enough to understand it will be for the good of all that he fades away. It should be enough that he will live on through our memories and the great tales I will spin honoring his sacrifice.¡± I flinched back from the page and the script faded. Betrayal stabbed into my gut. Why did I feel such things? What had I read? I could not, for the life of me, remember a single Ogham character, let alone the entire passage. My nose crinkled as I touched the upper corner of the page again. I read the word aloud, saw it clear as day, then lifted my hand and there it went. I almost forgot why I touched the bare sheet before the pull of its magic brought me to my senses. That must have been a part of the book¡¯s enchantment; the same force that kept the words concealed erased my memory of them. I closed the book with a thump and studied the spine. It had the same thickness as my hand. Uncle Aengus must have left the tome, for who else would have access to his library? But why the secrecy? Something about the Key must have been in there that could save me from Father¡¯s intention to cut me off from the mortal realm. If I copied the passages and read over them, I might be able to find what I needed before Samhain. Hope kindled in my spirit, a small flame in need of nurturing. But it would only stay if my quest remained hidden. If I shared my discovery with my family, any of them, some oath would make them report it to Father or Bodb. Whoever had left the book had risked much. I would not let their efforts go in vain. I would use this chance and find my freedom, no matter the cost. Chapter 3 - Maya Nate broke every speed limit while I talked Mom out of shattering the mirror. When we pulled into the parking lot, I ran up the stairs and Mom charged into me before I reached the door. She clutched my ribs so tight it made breathing hard as I tucked her under my elbow and guided her back into the apartment. Both of us collapsed onto the futon while Nate filled her a glass of water from the tap. Mom mumbled the same phrase over and over into my neck, ¡°She won¡¯t take you. I won¡¯t let her.¡± Eventually, she fell asleep against my shoulder, her arms limp around my stomach. I stroked her hair out of her face like when we used to read together. Before I left high school, my English classes assigned a small library of novels, so I would study those on the futon while she laid her head in my lap and did her daily Bible devotionals. My hand had needed something to fiddle with and she¡¯d always liked head massages. Nate walked out from the kitchen with two cups of coffee, piping hot and thick. We both liked it black with nothing but the taste of the beans for flavor. What made it special was that Nate stocked us with specialty coffees so he had something to drink when he came over. That batch was apparently an imported Colombian roast. ¡°Thanks for staying.¡± I took my cup and caught a good whiff of the steam¡¯s burnt undertones. ¡°No problem.¡± Nate sat on one of the folding chairs Mom and I kept around for company. It creaked under his weight. Quiet. Nate stalled, sipping his coffee. I twirled a piece of my mom¡¯s shiny blonde hair around my finger. When I was little, that hair made me wonder if Abuela was actually my mom instead, since I took so much after my Alvarez side. Mom figured she¡¯d inherited some blonde genes buried in her Cuban heritage, and I hadn¡¯t. Nate hummed, breaking the silence. ¡°How long has she been like this?¡± ¡°Well, she¡¯s going to be thirty-three.¡± I counted backwards in my head. ¡°It¡¯s over eighteen years now.¡± ¡°Since you were born?¡± ¡°Yeah, a little after. I asked Abuela about it once. She always had the anxiety, but the schizophrenia didn¡¯t show until she had me. The doctor thought the trauma from the car accident that killed my father must¡¯ve triggered it. It happened and there¡¯s no cure, so we deal.¡± I shifted Mom¡¯s neck to an easier angle. Dealing meant taking even more time from work for doctor¡¯s appointments while the laundry list of other bills piled up. ¡°Just sucks that her new med combo went south so quick. I spent the rest of our money on that damn trip.¡± ¡°If you need help, I have some funds saved up.¡± ¡°Of course you do, Mister Pinch-A-Penny,¡± I teased. ¡°You and Nico already help enough.¡± ¡°And you¡¯re still only scraping by.¡± ¡°On the bright side, one less mouth to feed.¡± ¡°And one less income. Accept a handout for once in your life.¡± Nate leaned forward with his elbows resting on his knees. ¡°Then you can save for the future. You could go to school, get a career, find a passion for something.¡± ¡°If money gets that bad, I¡¯ll think about asking.¡± I sipped my coffee and hissed when it burned my tongue. ¡°Any savings are going for a car, though, not a piece of paper I¡¯ll never use.¡± ¡°It¡¯s silly learning about history, politics, the arts?¡± ¡°If I ever need to know that stuff, the internet¡¯s right here.¡± I jerked my chin at my chunky laptop. ¡°What about you? You never got a degree and you¡¯re doing fine.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve still taken plenty of classes so I can run the bar better. I get a degree isn¡¯t for everyone, but what about trade school? Or cosmetology like your grandmother? You could do something hands on.¡± ¡°If I ever get time. But right now, that¡¯s zip. That¡¯s what it comes down to.¡± I tugged my mom closer. ¡°Before, while Abuela was still alive, maybe I could¡¯ve thought about that stuff. But now I¡¯m all Mom¡¯s got.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve got us too, you know. Besides, I¡¯m still worried that you¡¯re giving up on your own happiness too easy.¡± Nathan gestured around at the apartment then. ¡°Is taking care of her all you want out of life?¡± ¡°That can wait ¡®til Mom and I figure stuff out.¡± I managed a reassuring smile, a slip of a thing. ¡°Even if I never get to it, she¡¯s my family. That¡¯s enough for me, really.¡± Nate frowned, but he let the two of us finish our coffee without anymore well-meaning questions. Mom¡¯s back went up and down with her breathing, slow and steady. ¡°Can you tell Nico to move my day off to tomorrow?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll pass on the message.¡± Nate stood, abandoning his empty mug on the small card table nearby and leaving his ongoing dent in the metal chair a little deeper. He left with a wave and a worried crease in his forehead. I unwrapped Mom and, at the first touch, she squinted. When I hopped up and locked the door after Nate, she stretched her back loud enough that I heard it pop from across the living room. ¡°You feeling better?¡± ¡°More or less-ah!¡± A yawn broke up her last word. ¡°What about you?¡± ¡°I¡¯m always fine.¡± I plopped back into the imprint my butt had made. ¡°You got me out of a bachelor party. The groom was single-handedly slaughtering classic rock.¡± ¡°Nice to know I¡¯m useful.¡± Mom sagged against the upright mattress. ¡°Nate saw, didn¡¯t he?¡± ¡°Barely anything.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll have to go to the doctor tomorrow.¡± Mom tucked her knees under her chin. ¡°I hate making so much trouble. I don¡¯t know what happened this time. I was getting dressed and then¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s not your fault.¡± I squeezed her. ¡°The doctor screwed up. Maybe we should ask for a new one.¡± ¡°If the clinic even has another one available.¡± Mom nibbled on her bottom lip. ¡°The thing is, this time felt different.¡± ¡°How¡¯s that?¡± ¡°Normally the angels just talk to me or they send me little signs. Sometimes I can ignore it if I focus hard enough. But none of them have physically shown up since you were born. Nothing¡¯s been that¡­vivid. And it was the exact same woman this time. She had the accent and everything. I swear there was someone with her too, a young guy¡­¡± She trailed off and sighed. ¡°You sure the guy being there wasn¡¯t wishful thinking?¡± ¡°Ew, he was your age. If I ever date again, it¡¯ll be someone way older than that.¡± Mom elbowed my side. ¡°My point, it felt different. I felt different. So I reacted like anyone does when their worst fear talks to them through a freaking mirror. ¡± ¡°I thought your worst fear was cockroaches. What¡¯d she say?¡± ¡°She asked about why it was hard finding us and how long it had been since I¡¯d seen her. Then she brought you up.¡± Mom shuddered and rubbed her arms like she was cold. I scooted closer until our hips touched. She sucked in a big gulp of air, held it for a few seconds, and let it out in a rush. ¡°At the accident, she said something about a deal. If she helped you, I had to give you up when she came back. I thought, what if that woman really talked to me?¡± ¡°It didn¡¯t happen, though.¡± I smoothed her hair back, one long stroke after another. ¡°This isn¡¯t Alice in Wonderland. People don¡¯t show up in mirrors and they don¡¯t talk through them unless there¡¯s speakers, internet, and cameras.¡± ¡°That¡¯s exactly what I thought. But the last time I saw her, the doctors said you weren¡¯t big enough to survive.¡± Mom curled her trembling fingers around my arm. ¡°They pulled you out nine pounds and screaming. You never got sick, you did everything early. It happened exactly like she said.¡± ¡°She had nothing to do with it.¡± I covered her hand with mine. ¡°The doctors screwed up their prediction, or we got a genuine miracle.¡± ¡°What if seeing her again was a sign? What if something takes you too?¡± Mom¡¯s eyes got too shiny as moisture gathered in their corners. ¡°You¡¯re all I¡¯ve got left.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not going anywhere.¡± I pulled her forehead into my chest and pressed my own eyes shut. If her tear ducts were acting up, I couldn¡¯t let mine follow along. If Abuela never cried, neither would I. ¡°Nothing will change that, especially some hallucination with an ego problem.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Mom took another cleansing breath as she wiped her face with the back of her fist. ¡°I think I¡¯m ready for that movie. Let¡¯s watch something upbeat this time.¡± Mom picked a romantic comedy with two men vying for the lead¡¯s interest, and we watched as the formula progressed. The actual couple managed to hit it off, but then the inevitable misunderstanding with the other guy drove them apart. Mom yawned until the halfway point and her eyelids drooped shut. I tossed a throw blanket over her shoulders as the movie played out the couple¡¯s happy reunion. The vomit-inducing powers of Hollywood love became background noise while I opened my laptop instead. I cleaned out the list of college home pages and application tutorials I¡¯d bookmarked, all of them picked before Abuela passed. Mostly they were small state colleges that accepted a GED and boasted some solid degree programs with online options. I toyed around with a few majors like hospitality management, medical billing and coding, and social work¡ªthe last one when I felt ambitious. I¡¯d planned to take a few intro courses to be sure. Mom rolled over and kicked the blanket off her feet. I hurried to delete the rest of the list and tucked the throw¡¯s corner under her legs. Couldn¡¯t have her getting cold toes. * * * Mom and I had caught the bus to the psychiatrist¡¯s office, and I sat in the clinic lobby after she went in, nipping at my nails while waiting for her session to end. The blank paperwork she needed me to fill out stayed untouched in my lap. Helping her with medical stuff still made my head spin. All my life, Mom had depended on Abuela for everything big like that. My grandmother always insisted she would do it all right and we shouldn¡¯t worry. She¡¯d started grudgingly training me how to take over paying our bills before she passed, but that was it. Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. The overhead T.V. played a rerun of a diabetes cooking show while I bounced my knee in a too slick upholstered chair. Two receptionists on duty sat behind a thick glass barrier with speakers and slots for interacting with patients. There was a numbered combination lock on the door handle leading to the offices. A framed picture of ducks in a pond hung from the wall, the only thing soothing thing about the place. Why ducks? A nurse in blue scrubs with braids peeked out from the offices. ¡°Maya?¡± I lugged Mom¡¯s important papers binder out of the chair beside me. ¡°Come on in.¡± A polite smile broke out over the nurse¡¯s face. ¡°Dr. Marshall wants to talk to you now.¡± When I crossed from the lobby¡¯s thin carpet to the inner clinic¡¯s colorful linoleum, my footsteps echoed loud enough to startle me. The nurse led me down the stark white hall and stopped at a room on the left. It had a familiar bare bones set up with an armchair for the doctor and a sofa for the patients. The carpet had a convoluted swirl of earthy beige and maroon to make up for the bare cream walls. Mom sat across from Dr. Marshall, a white knuckled example of perfect posture. ¡°Thanks for seeing us so last minute.¡± I switched my attention to the psychiatrist as I took my spot beside Mom. ¡°I know it¡¯s been awhile between sessions. What¡¯s going on?¡± ¡°Jen told me about what happened last night.¡± Dr. Marshall adjusted her horn-rimmed glasses. Somehow she managed to pull off a french twist without a hair out of place in Tampa¡¯s humidity and still had straight creases in her gray slacks. She kept unshakeable eye-contact with Mom as she spoke. ¡°You told me you had a relapse. You saw someone in the mirror who was threatening you and your daughter, right?¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± Mom muttered, her cheeks going pink. ¡°The angel from the accident with Manny.¡± ¡°Jen did a good job using her support system, especially in light of your family¡¯s recent loss. I talked over the treatment options with her. She wanted you to tell us what you thought as her caregiver.¡± She tapped the scribbled words on her clipboard as she talked. ¡°Medication-wise, the quality of last night¡¯s hallucination suggests her current dosage isn¡¯t as effective as I¡¯d hoped. My recommendation is to switch to something stronger. Then, if things get better, we can work on lowering the dosage for maintenance.¡± ¡°Got it. New meds,¡± I said ¡°Anything else?¡± ¡°The thing that worries me is that this happened so soon after her last adjustment.¡± Dr. Marshall tapped her french-tipped nails together over her notes. ¡°Jen told me you¡¯ve been away from home more.¡± ¡°The bar¡¯s been getting a lot of tourists.¡± I dug my pared down nails into the sofa cushion. If I crossed my arms over my chest like I wanted, she¡¯d read something into it. ¡°In light of the recent stress, I want to make sure Jen¡¯s symptoms don¡¯t get worse. I saw that she used to have regular therapy sessions, but someone canceled most of them.¡± ¡°My grandmother thought church was enough.¡± ¡°Ah, that makes sense.¡± Dr. Marshall set her clipboard aside on the arm of her chair. She leaned forward, as if dropping to our level. ¡°While I appreciate your grandmother¡¯s dedication to her faith, I think we should pick up those sessions again. Twice a week. One day would be just Jen and I. The other day I¡¯d like Maya to sit in for some family counseling.¡± ¡°Will insurance cover that?¡± I asked. ¡°You¡¯ll have to call them to make sure.¡± ¡°My schedule¡¯s all over the place.¡± ¡°I can also refer Jen to a local support group, but I still strongly recommend the family session. With the recent tragedy and how young you are, having a neutral person to talk to during this difficult transition should do wonders.¡± I bit the inside of my cheek. ¡°Mom, do you want this?¡± Mom nodded, slouching deeper into the sofa. ¡°Only if you can make it work.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have a car right now, so I need to set up a ride system or something.¡± I swallowed as I turned back to Dr. Marshall. Would Nate or Nico have the time? Could Mom¡¯s insurance provide a pick-up service? ¡°Can I get back to you about scheduling those?¡± ¡°Of course. I¡¯ll get the new prescription sent to your pharmacy in the meantime,¡± Dr. Marshall said, adjusting her glasses. ¡°When can I expect to hear back from you about times?¡± ¡°Sometime this week.¡± I crossed my legs and flexed my stiff fingers. ¡°Is that all you wanted me for? Can we go home?¡± ¡°This session is over, yes.¡± Dr. Marshall waved to the door. ¡°I look forward to hearing back from you. It was nice seeing you again, Jen.¡± ¡°You too.¡± Mom left with a sheepish wave. We strolled through the clinic together toward the lobby. I nudged Mom. ¡°You okay?¡± ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ll be fine.¡± Mom held her chin up and her scrunched shoulders relaxed. ¡°So we¡¯re trying therapy again. At least you¡¯ll be there.¡± ¡°Sure.¡± I showed her a toothy smile and did my best not to fake it. Mom¡¯s face lit up and she wrapped her arm around my waist. I kept pace, but each step seemed heavier with her leaning on my side. * * * Guitars and a smoky-voice blared from my phone, not the alarm¡¯s digitized piano. Sunshine glared in my face as I pawed around the end table and flipped open the cell. ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°Maya?¡± Nico¡¯s voice crackled on the other line. ¡°You sound like a truck ran over you.¡± ¡°What the hell you calling for?¡± I pulled the phone away from my cheek and glanced at the time: 3:24 P.M. ¡°It¡¯s the middle of the afternoon. Didn¡¯t Nate tell you to cancel my shift today?¡± ¡°Cindy just came and showed me a letter from Juilliard. Quit right on the spot and skipped out of here. Plus David picked yesterday to let Nate get to him, and he hasn¡¯t shown up since.¡± ¡°You call Shaqina or Frankie?¡± ¡°Shaq¡¯s not available, helping her dad through chemo. Frankie didn¡¯t pick up her phone. Probably in class or volunteering.¡± Nico sighed. ¡°I¡¯ll need you working doubles ¡®til I can hire someone else for the day shift.¡± I dropped my voice to a whisper. ¡°What about Mom?¡± ¡°Is something wrong with her?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure I should leave her alone until we get her new meds figured out.¡± ¡°Bring her, then. She can nap up in the house and we¡¯ll check on her during breaks.¡± ¡°Sounds good. Can Nate pick us up?¡± ¡°He¡¯s ahead on orders, so he¡¯s already on his way.¡± Nico let out a big puff of air. ¡°Thanks a ton, Maya, you¡¯re saving my ass.¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t I always?¡± Nico laughed. ¡°See you soon.¡± I pressed the end call button and hopped off the futon. Mom had taken the apartment¡¯s only bedroom, but she left it open out of habit. I charged in for the dresser where both of us kept our clothes. The middle drawers had all my black slacks and v-neck shirts. I grabbed the first ones from the top. ¡°Where¡¯re you going?¡± Mom rubbed her eye as she sat up, covered in the topsheet. She¡¯d left Abuela¡¯s quilt hanging over the wall mirror to be safe. ¡°We are going to Nico¡¯s.¡± I shoved my leg into my pants. ¡°I thought you told Nico to cancel your shift.¡± ¡°Last minute call in.¡± I hopped around as I worked my other leg through. ¡°Nico told me I could bring you along.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be fine here.¡± Mom yawned and stretched her arms. ¡°There¡¯s some chores I need to catch up on.¡± ¡°We still don¡¯t know how the new medication affects you.¡± I slid my head in the shirt collar and tugged the rest of it over my chest¡ªquicker only because I¡¯d slept in my bra. ¡°One of the day servers up and quit. It¡¯ll be a few weeks of crazy scheduling if Nate carts us back and forth. Maybe they¡¯ll let us sleep at their place.¡± ¡°Alright, I like their house. How¡¯s that going to work with therapy?¡± ¡°We probably need to tell Dr. Marshall to put off starting anything yet.¡± I shoved my wallet and keys into one pocket. My phone went into the other. ¡°At least until Nico hires someone and one of us trains them.¡± Mom¡¯s eyebrows puckered together and she frowned. ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°I know therapy was a pain before, but I never gave it a shot because of Mercedes.¡± Mom rubbed her arms even though we kept the place at a sweltering 80-something degrees. ¡°I want to try again, for real this time. Dr. Marshall thinks it¡¯ll make a difference.¡± ¡°She¡¯s a shrink. She gets paid to do those sessions. Of course she¡¯ll say you need them.¡± I sat back on the bed and leaned down to slip on my socks, already drooping out of my chunky sneakers. ¡°I¡¯m not saying they won¡¯t help, but we need the money from these extra hours right now. I¡¯ll call the doctor tomorrow and tell her to hold off. If she really wants to help, she¡¯ll understand.¡± ¡°No.¡± Mom squared her shoulders. ¡°I can¡¯t put this off anymore. I can do this.¡± ¡°And what if you can¡¯t?¡± I shoved my feet into my shoes and tugged the laces tight. ¡°Be reasonable, please.¡± ¡°I am. If I go to therapy again, I¡¯ll apply it this time. I¡¯ll get better at my coping mechanisms. I can get a job, keep it, and help with the bills.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not going to happen overnight.¡± I finished off the final knot in my laces, pulling it tight enough to make my foot sore later. ¡°I won¡¯t get anywhere unless I try. You¡¯ve been working hard enough.¡± Mom crawled over and touched my back, gentle like Abuela used to. ¡°I¡¯m your mother. I need to take care of you.¡± ¡°No, you don¡¯t. Have you noticed how our relationship works?¡± I bolted up from the bed. My chest burned, too tight like hot air ready to burst. ¡°I had to make you food before I lost my first tooth. I dropped out of school to take over your job at Nico¡¯s. I had to retake my GED because you wandered off the only day I asked for the car. I get that you have issues that make functioning harder, but all my life it¡¯s been my job to take care of me, not yours.¡± Mom opened her mouth to argue back, but it snapped shut in impish horror. From the corner of my eye, Abuela¡¯s quilt twitched. I checked over my shoulder. The blanket still dangled over the wall mirror. No movement. ¡°Did you see that?¡± Mom asked. ¡°It¡¯s just the fan.¡± Even though said ceiling fan sliced through the air slower than rush hour traffic. A gust of wind blew out from inside the mirror, making the blanket billow like a curtain over an open window. The frame¡¯s rectangular edges glowed gold. Instead of our reflection, the glass showed twisting trees along a paved path with purple flowers. ¡°What the hell?¡± I backed away toward the bed¡¯s headboard. ¡°You see it too?¡± Mom leapt up and huddled beside me. ¡°Unless you¡¯re not actually here and I¡¯m imagining this whole thing.¡± ¡°It¡¯s real.¡± The balmy wind tossed the blanket aside and it dropped in a heap. Those gold edges expanded into a long oval, big enough for a person to fit through. A woman with deep red hair floated more than walked through that glowing space into the bedroom. She could have been a runway model with her domineering height and willowy figure. Her white gown screamed Renaissance Fair escapee, but the way she looked down her nose at us said politician. The area she existed in demanded attention. She waltzed up to Mom and I like a stalking predator, every sway of her hips precise while her cat-like eyes raked over us. ¡°Jennifer Diaz, your time has run out.¡± The alien bombshell¡¯s formal English echoed with a different, more musical language. ¡°I come to collect.¡± Mom staggered into the wall behind us, breathing faster. She clawed into my arm. ¡°Hey bitch.¡± I side stepped between Mom and the intruder. ¡°Whatever you are, you deal with me.¡± ¡°Who is this?¡± The woman¡¯s silvery eyes probed from my purple bed head to my slip resistant sneakers. ¡°She resembles the dead boy.¡± ¡°She¡¯s nobody.¡± Mom tugged me against her chest. Her heart pounded too fast against my back. ¡°Mom, don¡¯t talk to her.¡± I reached into my back pocket, opened my phone, and felt around for 9-1-1. ¡°Mom?¡± The woman¡¯s full lips pursed into a heart-shape as she paused. One second she was across the room. The next, she leaned over me, inches away. ¡°Mom is an informal term for mother, correct?¡± Instinct made me shove Mom away, into her bed. The stranger grabbed my wrist. I jerked it back, but her delicate fingers held on like a vice. She lifted me up until only the tips of my shoes grazed the ground. I rammed my fist into her hand again and again. ¡°Please don¡¯t take her.¡± Mom fell to her knees on the floor and clutched the woman¡¯s skirt. ¡°She¡¯s all I have.¡± ¡°She is far older than I expected, more rough.¡± She shook me and I dropped my cell phone. It clattered to the floor. The bones in my wrist ground together. I grabbed my shoulder as burning pain flew down my arm. But I refused to scream, grinding my teeth to hold it in. ¡°Her headstrong nature will make things interesting. Now complete the deal, give me what you owe.¡± ¡°No.¡± Mom frantically shook her head. ¡°Anything else.¡± ¡°I offered both of you a place in my realm once, but you spurned that offer. I followed your wishes and only saved your child. Should I take back the generosity I bestowed on you?¡± The woman¡¯s thin eyebrows went up, her forehead staying smooth somehow. She twisted my limp hand. The disjointed bones in my wrist crunched. I shrieked. ¡°Stop it!¡± Mom¡¯s eyes welled up. ¡°I¡¯ll do whatever you want.¡± ¡°That¡¯s better. Declare that your daughter belongs to me.¡± ¡°My daughter belongs to you.¡± ¡°I accept this payment and free you from your debt, Jennifer Diaz.¡± The woman set me down and her face lit up, literally, as she beamed. ¡°The deal is finished!¡± The pain in my arm numbed as she let go. I cradled my wrist to my chest and knelt down to my shaking mother. There was my phone, still lying open on the floor. The 911 operator had to hear everything. If I kept the redhead occupied, played along with her drama, maybe they could track our location and send help. ¡°You got me.¡± I wrapped a protective arm around Mom. ¡°What do you want now?¡± ¡°To take us home.¡± My would-be kidnapper patted the top of my head. An electric jolt ran down my body. ¡°Sleep.¡± The room blurred and wobbled. Everything felt so heavy. I slumped over. Mom cried my name. Chapter 4 - Daire After one of my sister¡¯s not-so-subtle threats, I stood a distance away from the glowing portal I held open for her. There was a cry from the other side but I was too busy puzzling over my uncle¡¯s testimony about my ultimate demise to pay it any mind. I¡¯d spent the last few days absorbed in copying down everything in the book from its start and came upon that horrifying passage. It only magnified my urgency to find a solution. But my wrists ached from writing my uncle¡¯s wandering rambles about ancient wars that had nothing to do with the Key¡¯s creation. When next I peeked toward the portal, a crown of red hair emerged. Riona climbed from my scrying pool with a human slung over her shoulder like a hermit¡¯s bag. ¡°You actually brought someone back with you.¡± I couldn¡¯t tell much else about Riona¡¯s prize from that angle, save that their black-clad silhouette seemed feminine and that the color of their hair matched the delphiniums around the courtyard. ¡°Far older than you hinted at.¡± ¡°That¡¯s none of your concern.¡± Riona headed for her small domain, the thick forest lining of my family¡¯s estate. ¡°Go play with your flowers. I have no more need of you.¡± The Key¡¯s power withdrew and a new weight settled over my limbs. Another reminder of the disturbing news I discovered as I started working through the mysterious book. Come Samhain, when Father was coronated and Bodb stepped down, the Key would kill me. Even more reason to explore the tome¡¯s secrets. Perhaps if I investigated where this curse began, the Key¡¯s creation, it would stir me out of my mired thoughts. And thankfully I knew someone who had been there besides Father, Aengus, and Bodb. I set out to pay my mother an overdue visit. Across the central courtyard, the adjacent wing of Bri Leith waited. Glowing stones decorated the domed ceiling inside that part of the estate, shedding soft light over the interior. A narrow corridor off to the side led to Mother¡¯s quarters¡ªhard to notice for those who didn¡¯t know how to find it. A thick wooden door lay at the end of the arched passageway, bound with strong hinges. I slipped in, and it shut behind me with a hollow thud that echoed throughout the small chamber. My only aunt, Brigid, was a skilled healer who took on Mother¡¯s care once her mental condition started worsening. She had insisted my mother¡¯s sanctuary be reminiscent of human architecture, making it the only rectangular floor plan on the grounds. But the bare furnishings¡ªa simple canopy bed, a couple of chairs, and a wash pitcher and basin¡ªreminded me more of a monk¡¯s cell than a noble lady¡¯s bedroom. The only luxury they afforded her was a high window for light and the loom she used to make her tapestries. ¡°She¡¯s been asking for you.¡± That day Aunt Brigid sat in her usual spot, fiddling with a small bronze statue. The metal glowed red hot as she shaped it like clay. Her magic¡¯s fiery alignment showed in the waves of her red hair. Her flames made her a metalsmith of some renown, and her craft had made her build brawny over the centuries. Despite that intimidating exterior, the harsh trials she¡¯d endured over her long life, and her duties as a member of Tir Na Nog¡¯s ruling council, she still made time to care for others around her. ¡°Did you need time alone after the meeting yesterday? Bodb just told me his news, and that you didn¡¯t take it well.¡± ¡°I admit I¡¯m still unsure how to feel,¡± I replied, the mysterious book or what I had read inside its pages coming to mind rather than Father¡¯s upcoming coronation. ¡°I distracted myself with a¡­new project.¡± ¡°Oh? What kind?¡± I debated whether I should tell my aunt about the curse on the Key. Better to err on the side of caution and keep it a secret, for now. My aunt was very loyal to her brothers, and she might mention something to my uncles or Father with the good intentions of solving the problem in her blunt manner. But Uncle Bodb had been so stubborn at the meeting. I doubted even Aunt Brigid could make him change his mind about my death and the Key¡¯s destruction being best for the Aos Si as a whole. ¡°A surprise.¡± ¡°Is that my little swan that I hear?¡± Mother said as she weaved her new tapestry¡¯s weft fibers through its tight waft threads, each dainty movement precise and steady. People used to call her the most beautiful woman in the world, among humanity and the Aos Si. She looked even younger than my nineteen-year-old appearance thanks to Tir Na Nog¡¯s magic preserving her body in the prime of her youth. Her red-gold hair shone in the halo cast by the sunlight streaming in. When she concentrated on her work, her teeth sank into her full bottom lip. That serene quietude made her almost resemble the full-figured Aos Si princess she¡¯d once been, before a twist of magic had transformed her into the human woman sitting before me. ¡°Who else?¡± I closed the distance between us in a couple long strides and bent to kiss her cheek. ¡°Is this something new you¡¯re working on?¡± ¡°Yes, it appeared to me in a dream.¡± Mother held up her clump of colored threads. She pointed toward the robin-egg blue and white strands. ¡°Those will be for the sky.¡± Then the black. ¡°That will be for the bird soaring overhead. I¡¯m not yet sure what sort of bird, but I think a crow or raven.¡± ¡°A carrion bird? Did your dream have the Morrigan in it?¡± ¡°Hmm, perhaps she did drop by. Wouldn¡¯t that be nice?¡± A wistful note entered my mother¡¯s voice at the notion of being visited by a legendary harbinger of death. Then she moved on to the golds, yellows, and reds. ¡°I saw a pretty maiden. I¡¯ll use these for her hair. Won¡¯t it be lovely?¡± ¡°Of course, they match your own hair.¡± I curled a lock of it between my fingers. ¡°Are you sure you didn¡¯t see yourself in the dream?¡± ¡°She looked like me, but she was a different person.¡± Mother stroked the spectrum of threads with the same fondness as when she held me as a child. ¡°Yes, she was younger than me, your older sister by my mortal husband. You never met him, but he was far older than me and High King of all Eire. Your father had the idea to name my new girl after me once I came to live with him. My little Etain¡­¡± She trailed off and the ever present fog in her eyes faded. Tears gathered along her lashes and her hand trembled. ¡°Mamai?¡± I touched her shoulder. ¡°Do you want to tell me about the other colors?¡± ¡°She would follow me around everywhere. Such a pretty girl. She twisted wildflowers into crowns and put them on your uncle Aengus¡¯ hounds.¡± Mother¡¯s tone lowered to an angry hiss as she let the threads fall to the floor. ¡°Midir said she was going to marry a great king someday, then he took her away once my other husband came looking for me. Midir married her to a king, as promised, by convincing her own father that she was actually me. He tricked her, he tricked me. I left everything I knew because I loved him, and he tricked me!¡± ¡°Your calming spell is wearing off,¡± I said to my aunt as I waved her over. ¡°Etain, calm down. What are you talking about?¡± Brigid set down her half-finished sculpture of a rearing horse and glided to my mother¡¯s other side. She stroked Mother¡¯s hair and her hands glowed. ¡°Midir is your husband, your dearest love. Why would he trick you?¡± ¡°No! He tricked me.¡± Mother shook her head and smacked Brigid¡¯s hand away. ¡°He told me I used to be his Aos Si wife, put false memories into my mind to make me believe it. I foolishly ran off with him, and he took my baby away!¡± ¡°How can that be?¡± Brigid¡¯s voice grew melodic, soothing. It thrummed with an undertone of power. ¡°Your baby has grown into a fine young man and visits you every day. He stands before you now. You remember Daire, your little swan?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t let her, please.¡± Mother snatched my arm and tugged me close. A glimmer of her natural, unsedated clarity remained but the fog of Aunt Brigid¡¯s spell threatened to engulf her again. ¡°I don¡¯t want to forget. Don¡¯t leave me in here!¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine.¡± I held her small hand in my own. ¡°Aunt Brigid, can¡¯t it wait? She reacted better this time.¡± ¡°It may not be a good idea.¡± A conflicted frown marred Brigid¡¯s otherwise flawless features. ¡°What if she encounters Midir and tries to attack him again?¡± ¡°She won¡¯t be anywhere near Father.¡± I waved away my aunt¡¯s concern. ¡°We¡¯ll go for a walk. I can show Mother the garden. I changed it quite a bit since the last time she saw.¡± ¡°Please, a little quality time with my son won¡¯t hurt.¡± Mother¡¯s tight grip relaxed as she batted her lashes up at her caretaker. ¡°You wouldn¡¯t want to forget about the son you lost, would you?¡± ¡°Careful, Etain.¡± Brigid bent down, a hair away from Mother. ¡°I still remember back before you became a human, enchanting everyone who didn¡¯t go along with your whims. I¡¯m not drunk enough to fall for it. You keep a watch on your hands and see that they don¡¯t fall on any pointy objects while around my brother, aye?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve tried using anything pointy on Midir yet.¡± ¡°And I haven¡¯t given my approval for you to leave this room, have I?¡± ¡°If it¡¯s only Daire and I, there is no danger to Midir.¡± Mother smiled, soft and sweet. ¡°Even if I do find any weapons, I won¡¯t use any on my boy.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be using them on yourself, either.¡± Brigid went back to her chair and retrieved the half-finished bronze sculpture. With her back turned, she made a series of cracks, creaks, and taps as she fiddled with it. At the end, she handed me a small hand mirror adorned with twisting ivy leaves. ¡°Be back before sunset. If anything happens, scry me through this.¡± I shoved the mirror into my belt pouch and led Mother out the door. She breathed deep of the main hall¡¯s crisp air and let it out in a happy sigh. ¡°Do you remember those races we had when you were tiny?¡± ¡°I seldom won until I became much taller.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s see if I still have it in me.¡± She darted ahead of me down the hall, laughing as she went. My mother¡¯s sprinting defeated my easy jog, and she arrived at the garden winded, bent over her knees. I steadied her as we found a stone bench nearby. We spent her recovery in mutual contemplation and enjoyed the breeze as it kept the sun¡¯s heat at bay. ¡°What was the surprise that kept you away all these days?¡± she asked. ¡°That depends. Can you keep a secret?¡± ¡°From who?¡± ¡°Everyone. Especially Father.¡± Mother twisted an invisible key over her mouth. ¡°I found a book Uncle Aengus wrote about the Key,¡± I whispered. ¡°I¡¯m trying to find a way to split its power from the High King.¡± ¡°Oh my, but that is a surprise.¡± Mother¡¯s delicate eyebrows pinched together. It created a delightful furrow between them, impossible for my Aos Si relatives whose skin could not wrinkle that way. ¡°Why choose now to undermine your father and uncles?¡± ¡°The timing seemed right.¡± The fact of my impending death went unsaid. Why should I unsettle her nerves? ¡°You could help me. What exactly happened when they made the Key?¡± ¡°Well I didn¡¯t witness the event. Brigid had me closed away at Tara. I was suffering labor pains. Midir rushed in with a bloody sword raving about a band of humans slaughtering everyone in their path. He and Brigid got into a small debate about how that wasn¡¯t possible. But apparently one of the druids from the new religion opened a door to Tir Na Nog and was chanting iron-laced spells over the attackers.¡± ¡°I believe the new religion called their druids priests.¡± Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. ¡°What have I told you about interrupting your elders?¡± She flicked the tip of my nose as one would correct a misbehaving hound. ¡°Yes, Mamai.¡± ¡°Now, back to chanting priests. Right as your head started showing between my legs, Midir went on about a spell Aengus had conjured to take care of the issue. One of its ingredients was a host, a newborn babe.¡± Her hands squeezed into tight fists. ¡°You can imagine that I wasn¡¯t thrilled with him wanting to use yet another one of my children for his schemes. Next I knew, he flew away, with you huddled in his arms. Before that, we were recovering. I¡¯d almost forgiven him for what happened to your sister.¡± Mother¡¯s shoulders trembled with renewed tension. Yet the sun still had a small journey left before it sank below the distant hills. Pressing her further was risky, dangerous even, but she¡¯d never hurt me before. I had to know more. ¡°And then?¡± ¡°After the battle, he handed you back to me and closed himself in his study. He didn¡¯t come out for the longest time, even for meals. I let him be. You kept me far too busy to worry. Oh you were a fussy babe, always grabbing for my attention.¡± ¡°It hasn¡¯t changed that much, aside from the fussing.¡± ¡°No, you still fuss. Only the reasons changed.¡± Embarrassed heat flooded my cheeks and I preoccupied myself with one of the braids holding my hair away from my face. ¡°There¡¯s my Apple Cheeks.¡± ¡°I miss this. Spending time together, being a family.¡± The way she flinched warned me to stop. Foolhardy hope drove my mouth more than sense. ¡°You don¡¯t have to stay in that room all the time. Can¡¯t you put your feud with Father to rest?¡± ¡°He stole my children, little swan, and put these two lives inside my head.¡± She took hold of my shoulders, nails biting. ¡°Sometimes I¡¯m the other Etain, the one who was an Aos Si princess that Midir married. I remember her connection to the earth, her power to be whoever and whatever she wanted. I try and try, but I can¡¯t use it. Then I¡¯m me, the human she was supposedly reborn into. I had parents who were so proud. I was the wife of the High King of Eire. My mortal husband treated me well. A sea of people respected me. Now they¡¯re all dead, and I¡¯m not.¡± ¡°Mother, calm down, please.¡± I held onto her wrists, but not firm enough as her fingers crept up my neck. ¡°I want it to stop, Daire.¡± Mother¡¯s eyes turned manic and her voice cracked. ¡°I need it to stop.¡± ¡°Mamai, you¡¯re hurting me.¡± One of her long fingernails broke my skin. I summoned my power to subdue her like Brigid. It wouldn¡¯t come. Any moment she should realize who I was and snap out of it. ¡°Let go, please.¡± ¡°What do I do? How do I make it stop?¡± With both my hands keeping Mother at bay, I couldn¡¯t get to the mirror to call Brigid. I needed to tear her off of me, but any force could hurt her and she wouldn¡¯t trust me. She was my mother just a moment ago. Why wasn¡¯t she anymore? If I waited she would stop, I knew it. But in the meantime, my throat burned and my breaths came as rasps. ¡°Maybe this is all a nightmare.¡± Mother¡¯s grip closed around my throat, cutting off the rest of my air. ¡°You¡¯re holding me here. Maybe if I get rid of you, I can go back. That other Etain¡¯s memories will go away. This all will go away.¡± A pair of strong arms swung around my waist and vaulted back. The motion threw me onto the path and I coughed against the new air fighting its way into my lungs. Mother didn¡¯t fall with me though, as my rescuer tore her hands off my neck. My hind quarters smarted with the blow from the packed pebbles, a small price so I could breathe again. The merciful figure took my place on the bench beside Mother, but he had Father¡¯s golden mane. He grabbed both Mother¡¯s wrists. She flailed against him, clawing for his eyes, then the sword he kept on his belt. ¡°Come, wild thing.¡± Father spoke to her like a troubled child. He released one of her arms and lifted her chin, forcing her gaze to meet his. ¡°Come back to me. I won¡¯t hurt you, I promise. Just look at me and everything will be well again.¡± Mother shoved his hand away, but the spell in his soothing words made her shoulders sag. Tears started down her rosy cheeks as she pushed at him, weak as it was. ¡°I hate this. I hate you.¡± ¡°I know.¡± Father¡¯s slitted pupils widened and took on an ethereal light. ¡°Just as I love you.¡± The fog came over my mother once more as she patted her wet face with a quizzical frown. Recognition of who sat in front of her dawned and her tears turned to an adoring smile. ¡°Midir! You came to visit me today?¡± ¡°Yes I did, my heart, but our son had already led you away to the gardens.¡± Father gave her an answering show of teeth, more pained than happy. ¡°Did all that walking make you tired? Would you like me to take you back to your room for some rest?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Mother yawned, no doubt directed to do so. ¡°That would be best.¡± ¡°Up you go, then.¡± Father swept her into his arms as if she were still the princess she used to be. Mother nestled the hollow of his neck and clung to his tunic. Her eyelids drooped and her breathing leveled to even puffs. She seemed at home, almost childlike in her artificial serenity, a precious doll preserved forever. ¡°Were you watching us?¡± I reigned in the urge to ask if he had overheard my plans and disguised my sweating palms by wiping the dust from my shirt. ¡°Yes, a good thing too. Else you would be a corpse.¡± Father proceeded down the opposite direction of the path and didn¡¯t pause to make sure I followed. ¡°She was herself longer this time.¡± I trotted into step beside him as expected. ¡°Perhaps next time she will last the night.¡± ¡°There will be no next time, Daire. She isn¡¯t to leave her room again. And you won¡¯t visit it.¡± ¡°She was better!¡± I side-stepped into his path. ¡°I saw it. She was herself. You can¡¯t keep her locked up in here. She hates it.¡± ¡°She attacked you.¡± Father halted in his tracks and he clutched Mother closer to his breast. ¡°The one thing she had never done in over a thousand years, the one thing she swore never to do, and she did it today.¡± ¡°Because I asked her why she could not settle things with you so that her and I could be a family again.¡± I jabbed my finger at him. ¡°It was because of you and everything you¡¯d done.¡± ¡°She thought if she got rid of you, she could escape this ¡®nightmare.¡¯¡¯¡¯ Father¡¯s grip tightened on Mother and she stirred in his arms. ¡°Do you call that an improvement, you naive boy?¡± ¡°If you locked me away and charmed me into submission every time I had an independent thought, I¡¯d want an escape as well!¡± I forced myself into his space, despite that it made me have to crane my chin up to see above his collar. ¡°Have you ever suspected that¡¯s why she gets worse?¡± ¡°I enjoy keeping her in that cage even less than you, but what other choice do I have when she gets like this?¡± Father said. ¡°She has to stay where she¡¯s safe, especially from herself. I refuse to let her slip into death¡¯s dark abyss, and if the price is that she hates me for eternity, so be it.¡± ¡°Then why not help her? Cure her?¡± I swept my hand over my ever-blooming gardens, the broad hills and full forests extending beyond Tir Na Nog¡¯s unsullied horizon. ¡°We have so much power at our disposal and we can¡¯t make her better? She was reborn this way after your first wife turned her into a butterfly and a mortal woman swallowed her whole. It¡¯s ludicrous to think we can¡¯t mend the two halves of her mind.¡± ¡°Do you think me a dullard? I tried. Brigid tried. Aengus refuses to touch her. Her malady is not so simple.¡± ¡°And how long has it been since you approached the idea again? Tried looking at it from a new angle?¡± ¡°If you think I haven¡¯t exhausted all my means, then speak to Aengus yourself. In the meantime, don¡¯t come near Etain again. You¡¯re too valuable to risk, even for her.¡± Father shoved me aside and strode across the courtyard to Bri Leith¡¯s fortress. I stumbled a step and rubbed my arm where he bumped me. Unfortunately, his idea had merit. Samhain was still a few moons away. I could afford a brief detour to my favorite uncle. * * * I summoned Aengus¡¯ image in my aunt¡¯s small bronze mirror. He appeared naked, with his elbow propped on the arm of his chair. The book in his lap shielded what lay between his legs. Shelves of other tomes lined the wall behind him alongside a work table with carved figurines scattered across it. ¡°Uncle,¡± I said into the mirror, ¡°I need your counsel on a matter.¡± Aengus looked up from the text and his lavender irises brightened. ¡°Of course! Come in. Bru Na Boinne is always open to you.¡± ¡°Please glamour yourself some clothing.¡± I brushed the mirror¡¯s oval frame and pushed my power into it. The edges gleamed with gold aura. ¡°This is a serious matter.¡± ¡°Why must serious matters need clothes with you? I raised you to enjoy yourself.¡± Aengus set the book aside among the wood shavings on the table. ¡°Do you need a power boost?¡± ¡°Let me try first.¡± I sucked what little magic I could from the surrounding environment¡ªit was much harder than in the gardens where I reigned. The rest I needed came from the anger boiling in my belly. How could my family still insist on treating my mother and I like mere children? I had reached my maturity and Mother was long past her own. Father may have sealed me in Bri Leith since my infancy, but I refused to let him cage her in that cell of a bedroom. ¡°You¡¯re thinking again.¡± Aengus glamoured himself a pair of loose purple trousers held up by a gold cord. ¡°Simplify your purpose. The magic is neutral, it doesn¡¯t care about the why. To channel it you have to think simple, basic requests. If you don¡¯t, it¡¯s liable to rebel and do something different, like refuse to work at all.¡± ¡°It is far from neutral in this place. The entire house reeks of Father. It resists me.¡± ¡°You¡¯re pulling from your anger, right? Use Midir¡¯s domain to enhance that. What did he do now?¡± ¡°It has to do with Mother.¡± ¡°Ah. Make the gate and we¡¯ll talk more.¡± I concentrated on breathing as my father¡¯s magic surrounded my body, a cruel weight pushing down as if it wanted me on my knees. A heat flared deep in my gut and spread out against the outside force. I focused a single image toward the mirror: my hands parting the frame so I could step through, like I was an animal in a human cartoon. It amused and appeased the magic enough that the glowing bronze stretched itself to fit my height. The scents of wood dust, parchment, and herbs wafted around me as I squeezed inside. As soon as I emerged through my uncle¡¯s looking glass, the connecting point, the hand mirror slipped through after me, returning to its original size. ¡°That has to be your best one yet.¡± Aengus waved and the stool reserved for me slid into place beside him. ¡°My brother must have done something horrendous to provoke that performance.¡± ¡°He said Mother isn¡¯t allowed outside her room and I can¡¯t visit her anymore.¡± I sagged onto my usual perch. ¡°I know Midir can be stubborn, but he always has reasons behind what he does,¡± Aengus said, pursing his lips. ¡°What exactly happened?¡± ¡°I took Mother for a walk and she was doing fine, the most like herself she¡¯s been in years. Then she reverted. Next I know, Father bursts out and declares she¡¯s too dangerous.¡± ¡°Is she well? Did she hurt herself?¡± ¡°Both her and I are fine.¡± ¡°Then what gave him the impression that she¡¯s dangerous?¡± ¡°Her hands may have been around my neck.¡± I rubbed the base of my throat on reflex. ¡°I was handling the situation.¡± ¡°Of all the times she¡¯s been unstable, she¡¯s never laid a finger on you.¡± My mentor frowned, his merry dimples vanishing. ¡°I¡¯m afraid I have to agree with Midir. She¡¯s deteriorated too much.¡± ¡°But that doesn¡¯t mean we can¡¯t reverse the damage, does it? I know we can do more. Surely you¡¯re capable.¡± ¡°That all depends on how we try.¡± Aengus folded his fingers atop his lap. ¡°I was down this same road with Midir when her mind first started unwinding. Her will is strong and her condition is strange.¡± ¡°Well, I¡¯m not my father.¡± I grabbed at whatever frenzied ideas came to mind. ¡°Why not erase the memories that are causing the problem to begin with? Do away with her former life, let her think of herself as a lucky human who Father fell in love with and took away to Tir Na Nog. Or we can meld the memories together. Make them whole rather than seem like two separate entities.¡± ¡°There are many problems with those ¡®solutions,¡¯ Daire.¡± Aengus counted them off on his fingers as he went. ¡°If we wipe away any part of her memories, it will unalterably change her. As for any melding, they¡¯re already whole. She only believes they are two separate pieces because her human mind cannot contain that much. She appears so young, yet she has lived longer than ten lifetimes and remembers every moment. The human mind has certain limitations since it was meant for a mortal existence.¡± ¡°Then how did so many humans survive here for so long without deteriorating like she has?¡± ¡°None of them had her extra memories, or her unique background,¡± Aengus explained. ¡°Your mother¡¯s situation is exceptional. The Otherworld¡¯s magic might have kept her stable if Tir Na Nog were still connected to the mortal realm, but there¡¯s no telling how much its power has fluxed since the walls were sealed. It¡¯s miraculous she lasted as long as she did before something like this happened.¡± ¡°What if we turned her back into an Aos Si? She was reborn before. If that essence is still inside of her, isn¡¯t there a way we could make her body take back its true shape?¡± ¡°Daire, after so many years, I¡¯m still puzzling over how she survived.¡± Aengus¡¯ gaze softened, his serious mien turning to pity as he patted my knee. ¡°She made her way into a human woman¡¯s womb, after being digested, and was reborn as a human babe of the same likeness and name. Do you know how much serendipity that requires, how many interventions of fate it takes for such a thing to happen? I can¡¯t fathom trying to recreate a similar transformation. To even think of reversing what kept her alive and brought her back to us feels like an insult to the powers that accomplished it. With so many unknowns, trying that has the possibility of unmaking her altogether. Midir refuses to risk it, and frankly, so do I.¡± ¡°So that¡¯s it? We give up and leave her to languish in that prison? Just a shadow without any coherent thought or action of her own?¡± ¡°As much as it pains me to admit, yes. That¡¯s what we must do.¡± I slumped forward, burying my face in my hands. Tears slipped out and phlegm hindered my breathing, but I stifled the small whimpers threatening to escape. The woman had raised me, soothed my aches and wiped my tears. She walked with me in my gardens and admired my handiwork without reproach. When my father dismissed my attempts to bond with him, she rocked me. Every one of my stories of humanity¡¯s funny behaviors made her laugh and she marveled with me at their advances. Despite losing her connection to the Earth and her ancient power, she still defended me against Riona¡¯s barbs. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Daire.¡± My uncle scooted closer and gripped me tight. As I shoved my face into the hollow of his waiting neck, a stray thought made my stomach churn with the slightest sliver of hope. It was a question unasked, something I dare not speak aloud. What if I escaped to the human world and took Mother with me? Their world had made scientific leaps that helped those with illnesses similar to Mother¡¯s condition. If they could not cure her, they could make it easier. She could live out the rest of her days to a ripe old age, like she wanted, and I would be by her side through it all. The only problem: most humans who had spent too long in Tir Na Nog turned to dust when sent back to the mortal world after the Key¡¯s creation. Though, a few had survived to become village outcasts or mad hermits. Could my mother be one of those exceptions? If she had survived against all odds before, would she do it again? It was a hope and that made my decision. First I would liberate myself, then I would save her. Chapter 5 - Maya I shivered, but not from the cool, dry air hanging over me. The neon mirror, the willowy redhead, and Mom begging on her knees for my life¡ªit all rushed back. I was stuck in a psychedelic crime procedural and its serial-killer-of-the-week chose me as her first victim. I¡¯d woken up to my head in a fog and my whole wrist throbbing like someone yanked it out of joint. A trail of flickering lights surrounded me, stuck into coppery candelabras mounted on the flaking dirt walls. The domed ceiling had a web of tree roots with fibrous threads dangling from them. Size-wise, the underground shelter seemed only a little bigger than my apartment. My kidnapper left me a burlap cot to sleep on, a big clay bowl as a bathroom, and a ceramic pitcher full of water for a shower. Was she storing me there, buried alive? Would she remember to bring me food or starve me? Mom. She¡¯d be alone on the floor, hugging herself like when Abuela had her heart attack. Panic set off her symptoms sometimes. Would she think it was her fault and try to hurt herself? Would she run out like last time? Our neighborhood had nice people, but that didn¡¯t stop the bad ones from skulking around. The worst case scenarios played through my head: some big lowlife pinning her behind a dumpster, or a bullet in her stomach making her bleed out while the faceless shooter ran off. Best case? The police could pick her up and put her in a hospital. She might tell them what she saw, but what rational person would believe some random chick walked out of a mirror and stole her daughter? If I didn¡¯t show, nurses and social workers would tell her I¡¯d walked out, too young to handle supporting her, until she believed it. She¡¯d be alone, abandoned, at the mercy of strangers. I wanted Abuela. I needed her to tell me what to do. If she were there, she would¡¯ve kept Mom and I safe while getting that ginger stick away from her girls. There was no way I could replace her. How could Mom see me with the same unshakable faith? Everything blurred as ugly tears burst out. Snot plugged my throat and dribbled out my nose. My breaths came as whimpering sobs that echoed into wails. I curled up with my forehead buried in my knees. Months of whispered thoughts screamed through the empty prison. Abuela would never fuss over the right way to bleach my hair or sing Spanish hymns under her breath to calm me down. Mom would lay in a hospital bed restrained by padded cuffs instead of on my shoulder watching silly romantic movies where she belonged. Something fluffy brushed my arm. On reflex, I swatted at it and shrank into the dirt wall behind me. If I stayed still, played opossum, whatever animal she¡¯d locked with me should lose interest. Knowing my luck so far, it wasn¡¯t an idiot and would start snacking. The creature darted away and the soft candlelight flashed off the white tip of a bushy tail. I picked out red fur and dark brown paws attached to a scrawny, dog looking thing. The long snout clued me in; a bona fide fox. Its beady eyes bored into mine, and the hair on its shoulders spiked like a porcupine. It was probably more interested in defending the half a roasted chicken between its teeth than crunching on me. I let myself breathe again. The cot had a thin, folded blanket at its head on top of a pillow. I yanked it over and scrubbed my face with the itchy fabric, hard enough to leave throbbing streaks. The solid pain reminded the psychic ache in my chest that somebody needed to shove my wrist back in its socket. Then the chicken fumes hit, full of warm spices and juicy promises. My stomach growled loud enough to convince me the sound bounced off the walls. The fox crept closer, tail low and ears perked, until the chicken carcass hovered over my lap. It dropped the greasy half-bird, bones and all, onto my work pants and skittered away. ¡°Let me guess, this isn¡¯t yours.¡± I cleared my throat with a cough as I lifted the meat up by its leg and wing. Both snapped off. The breast and thigh plopped back to my knees. ¡°You done with this?¡± It might¡¯ve been a trick of the twitching shadows bouncing around the room, but the fox nodded. ¡°You sure you¡¯re not going to attack me when I bite into this thing?¡± The fox sniffed a spot on the ground and dug a shallow pit for itself in the packed dirt floor. Then it pranced a circle around the fresh hole and curled up, tucking its its tail over its feet and nose. I tore a piece out of the leg first. The tender meat broke off the bone like it was made of soft butter. Between bites, I wondered about the fox, and it studied me right back until we had a staring contest going. Somebody had trained it, that much was obvious¡ªI bet it was my kidnapper. ¡°Good stuff. I¡¯m surprised you didn¡¯t eat it.¡± The fox yawned, showing off its rows of needle teeth. ¡°Here. Call it a tip.¡± I peeled off a thin strip and tossed it into that open mouth. It snapped and snatched the meat out of the air, not missing a beat. The fox chewed behind its poofy tail while I picked at the rest of my dinner. Light shimmered off its silvery irises as it gave its undivided attention to my air-dried cheeks and dribbling nose. The wet munching filling the place hit my mood like a bucket of ice water. I was overdue for a crying fit. Even I couldn¡¯t blame myself for feeling like crap after everything that happened. I couldn¡¯t let it beat me, though. As long as I was alive, I could change things. I dumped the chicken¡¯s bare bones on the cavern floor and supported myself against the nearest wall. I followed where it led, the candles over my head making everything visible. The shadows shifted once I walked further from the cot, exposing a dark hole in the man-made burrow. It had to be a tunnel leading to the entrance, a way out. A dark red streak darted in front of me. There was the fox, its fur standing on end as it flashed its teeth and chittered like a growling stray. When I took another step, it hunkered down, ready to jump. I backed away, and its coat smoothed out. ¡°Who the hell keeps a guard fox?¡± I glared, and it tilted its head to one side like it had no clue why. Only a few yards between me and the gap. My two legs had a slim chance of outrunning four paws, and trying wasn¡¯t worth catching rabies from a wild animal bite. I rounded back to the cot and slumped onto my side, facing the wall instead of my kidnapper¡¯s pet. It pawed at my back and whined. ¡°I¡¯m done eating.¡± It trotted off, claws scraping against the ground. I peeked over my shoulder, trying to catch where it left. It curled up smack dab in front of that tunnel. And it stayed put until I gave up and fell asleep. * * * Without any light to tell the time, I counted my days in sleeps. Over seven of them, the fox and I built this routine: it brought me food and I threw it scraps. The redhead had me living off of tender meat with sides of crunchy vegetables, juicy fruit, or soft bread. It tasted like old times, when Abuela home cooked everything. Better than my usual rotation of doggy bags from the bar, leftover pizza, and cupboards of boxed or canned everything. After I slept each time, somebody refilled the water in the pitcher I¡¯d used and cleaned the waste in the clay bedpan. The candles never burned down either, so the same person must have changed them out too. I shuddered at the thought of my kidnapper sneaking in there and tidying. But whenever I tried to get a better look at that tunnel, the fox pranced over and nipped at my pants, herding me to the cot. My foxy friend laid a little closer to me day by day, until it settled on the cot and set its chin on my lap. By then I talked to the oblivious animal, rambling different stories about Abuela and Mom. Those stories echoed through the underground chamber and reminded me not to get comfortable. On my eighth sleep, my kidnapper¡¯s pet dragged in a linen cloth with a massive leg bone sticking out of it. I started drooling at my first whiff¡ªno American kid could forget the smell of turkey. The fox propped the treat on the edge of the mattress. I tugged the bundle the rest of the way up. ¡°Is there a fair in town or something?¡± The fox cocked its head to the left, silvery eyes zeroing in on my breakfast. ¡°I bet you¡¯d go crazy for corn dogs too.¡± I tore a greasy chunk from the turkey leg and chucked it high. The fox vaulted up on its hind legs and chomped on the flying meat before it got too far. ¡°My favorite part was the rides. There¡¯s the zipper, tea cups, bumper cars, the pirate ship. I never got to go on them all, but Mom made sure we never missed the Ferris wheel. One year, our car got stuck at the top, at sunset when the lights came on.¡± I¡¯d leaned over the edge for ten solid minutes, soaking up the view while they made repairs. A sea of glittering light bulbs flashed against the orange sky. Abuela pestered me to stick my head back in while Mom snacked on her candy apple. The screams and chatter around us faded into white noise. My stomach gurgled, so I guess it liked that memory. Without thinking, I took another bite out of the turkey leg, balancing the heavy thing in both hands. Sharp pain bolted up my arm. ¡°Shit!¡± I flinched and dropped the food smack into my lap. The fox crept closer and nudged my arm with its nose as I cradled the limp hand against my chest. ¡°A present from your not so sane lady-friend.¡± I rotated the joint with my other hand, but it throbbed worse. ¡°Still hurts like a mother¡­¡± The fox¡¯s big ears folded back. ¡°That won¡¯t fix it, but thanks for trying.¡± I scratched under its chin and it rolled over, exposing its white stomach that begged to be rubbed. The scratch attack switched to its chest and it let out pleased little whines. ¡°You know, we¡¯ve gotten pretty close the last few days, but I don¡¯t even know if you¡¯re a boy fox or a girl fox, too fluffy down there to tell. I still have no idea what to call you. Any suggestions?¡± Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. Its delicate paws curled in as it rested its head on my leg like a pillow. I massaged its belly and its nose stuck up in the air all hoity-toity. Whenever I threw it a bigger chunk of dinner, it peeled the meat into strips and never left a mess. I¡¯d caught it grooming itself like a cat more than once and it strut around like the cavern was a castle and it was the queen. ¡°How about Queenie?¡± I sped up stroking its belly and its hind leg kicked. ¡°Do you like that, your highness?¡± It barked and squirmed under the extra attention, but it seemed to like the new nickname. Who knew whether it actually understood a word I said? It still helped to put a name to the only thing keeping away the oppressive quiet of that place. A few more days of friendly pats and it would trust me enough to let me explore that mysterious entrance. If it didn¡¯t? Well, I didn¡¯t let myself think that far ahead. * * * The next time I woke, my forearm was caught up in a makeshift sling. I adjusted the frayed fabric, wondering where it came from. How had I not noticed somebody manhandling me like that? Had the redhead drugged the turkey leg to make me sleep heavier? But why stop with basic medical care? A hunger cramp twisted my gut. No Queenie in sight. The black tunnel sat there, empty and wide open. ¡°Queenie?¡± I called, my voice stretching down the corridor. ¡°Hey, you there?¡± No answering barks or yips. The silent opportunity crept in and goosebumps spread over my arms without even a stiff breeze. I got up and crept toward the dark hole. The closer it was, the better my eyes adjusted to the dim details inside. Rows of dark curtains lined the shaft, hiding long things that shined when light hit them. Those could be doors that led to other parts of the cavern. Something barked, high and anxious. Just when I was home free. I sped back to the cot, tripping over the edge and falling into it. The familiar red ears and brown paws scampered in. The fox carried a small sack in its mouth this time, but none of the goodies bulged out. It hopped into my bed and dropped the bag onto the stretched mattress. ¡°Somebody¡¯s late,¡± I said as my breathing and my heartbeat slowed to normal. I dug through the sack, only to find a pile of fresh plant cuttings and a bowl with a little club. ¡°Grass salad without dressing, huh? She must want me on a diet now.¡± The fox leaned its fluffy cheek into my fingers and I remembered to give it the petting it deserved for keeping me alive. It ate up the attention, shifting so my fingers dug into its mane and between its ears. ¡°You saving up for something?¡± I gave it a final couple pats and puzzled over how to eat what it brought. Did the woman expect me to shove my face in the greens like a cow? Queenie walked off the cot instead of curling up by my leg and stopped a yard or two away, putting that distance between us. I glanced up. ¡°Something wrong?¡± Queenie stood upright on its hind legs, solemn as a sphinx, and tucked its dark paws to its chest. The spark of intelligence in the fox¡¯s beady eyes lit up on overdrive as they grew and spread further apart on its face. Their shape tilted up at the corners and their irises became gunmetal gray with silvery flecks. I knew those eyes. The rest of the little creature¡¯s body followed as it flowed into the silhouette of a willowy woman. Its fur melded into fair skin and a white medieval dress, except where it grew into waves of hair around a softly pointed face. I scrambled back until the rough wall stopped me and kept pushing against it in vain. That couldn¡¯t physically happen unless a top-secret, hyper realistic robot had stolen me, then used Queenie¡¯s shape as a front. The redhead must¡¯ve watched me the whole time, overheard all my rambling stories, figured out I¡¯d lost to a crying fit. I gritted my teeth and cradled my limp wrist against my chest. What else could she want from me? ¡°Do calm down,¡± she said, tapping one hip with the tips of her pearly nails. ¡°I haven¡¯t hurt you thus far, have I?¡± I jabbed a finger at the sling. ¡°That injury was a necessity of the moment.¡± She bit her full bottom lip, like Mom when she was uneasy. ¡°You came out of a mirror! We were already scared shitless. That wasn¡¯t a necessity, it was overkill.¡± ¡°Well, I have come to fix it. That absolves any debt for the transgression.¡± I gaped, worse than a fish staring at a kid in an aquarium. Any response I had, let alone fear, got stuck somewhere on its way to my mouth. ¡°Did I not speak clearly enough for you?¡± I just blinked. Couldn¡¯t help it. I had the same reaction to customers who talked to me in caveman sentences where they punctuated each, fragmented word by saying it slower and louder. ¡°Excuse me?¡± ¡°Has your bravado run out already?¡± Her chest puffed out as she huffed. ¡°I thought you were supposed to pose a challenge.¡± ¡°Are you trying to piss me off? ¡®Cause it¡¯s working.¡± I got up and used every bit of my five feet and eight inches of height, even if I only came to the redhead¡¯s shoulder. The only people allowed to use me as a doormat were my well meaning bosses and dependent family, not condescending bar-goers and never fox-changing-robots. ¡°You broke into my home, threatened my mentally ill mother, and kidnapped me to a terrorist prison. Fixing a broken wrist is the least of what you owe me after the mini-hell you¡¯ve put me through!¡± ¡°You rather enjoyed my hospitality when I was ¡®Queenie.¡¯ We shared meals, tales of your life, even a few intimate touches.¡± She grinned at my cringe as more X-rated petting sessions with Queenie flashed through my head. ¡°My mom might be dead because of you!¡± I invaded her space until she had to lean back to see my face. It strained my neck to shove my chin up that high, that fast. ¡°You know her name already, right? Jennifer Diaz, in case you forgot. Her favorite colors are pink and baby blue. She loves horses and has a huge sweet tooth. She tries to be optimistic, no matter how much she blames herself for needing other people¡¯s help. Making sure she stays that way falls on me now. You remember all those stories about my grandmother, how she held our family together? We lost her less than a month ago. But you didn¡¯t think about any of that when you made this sick game, did you?¡± The redhead opened her mouth, closed it, and opened it again. Nothing came out. ¡°Did I not speak clearly enough for you?¡± ¡°Bodb was right,¡± she muttered, taking a step away from me as she crossed her arms. ¡°You humans are impossible to please.¡± ¡°Really? I¡¯m making it pretty damn clear what¡¯ll please me.¡± ¡°That is enough.¡± The redhead dropped her hands to her sides and they curled to fists. ¡°Understand, Maya Alvarez-Diaz, this burrow is your home now. The only reason you did not perish in the womb was because your beloved mother begged me to save you. This is the price of that gift. I recommend you make the best of a bad situation and make due with what company you do have.¡± ¡°A situation you made¡ª¡± ¡°Sit down.¡± Something filled up my legs from the hips down, tingling pulses like when I left them in one position too long and they went numb. I strained against the movement, urged my brain to send more signals down south. No dice. My legs folded together and they lowered me ass first to the floor. ¡°How¡¯re you doing that? What¡¯d you put in that food?¡± ¡°It has only been my intent to harm you once. My purpose now is to make amends.¡± She knelt, reached behind my shoulder, and picked up the sack of plant cuttings on the cot. I jerked out of the way, but her silky hair brushed against my bare elbow enough to send shivers through it. ¡°I meant what I said about fixing your arm, but I need you compliant to do so. If you fly into a rage every time I offer aid, then I have to force it on you. That expends needless energy that I could put to better use if you cooperated. So, will you let me help?¡± My wrist hung there in the sling, sore and useless. Having her that close didn¡¯t leave me many options. Trying to overpower her got me injured in the first place. If her guilty conscience didn¡¯t let up until she treated me, I might never get rid of her long enough to explore those tunnel doors. At least it proved she wasn¡¯t totally heartless. I could use that, so I agreed with a shaky nod. ¡°Excellent.¡± She plopped the sack in her lap and dug through it. The alien energy in my legs settled enough that my knees bounced when I wiggled them. She pulled out the bowl and club first, then piled the plants in and ground them up. As she mashed the green leaves and stems together, they started to look like fast food guacamole. I scrunched my nose at the mix¡¯s bitter smell. ¡°I¡¯m not eating that stuff.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have to eat it,¡± she said, rolling her eyes. ¡°These are ingredients for a salve. It is my aunt¡¯s recipe, and she is very adept at these medicinal concoctions.¡± ¡°Wait a sec, there¡¯s more of you?¡± ¡°An entire race.¡± She set the bowl aside and reached for me. ¡°Your arm.¡± ¡°So you have a family?¡± I shrugged out of the sling and held out my dangling hand. ¡°Of course. All creatures have relatives.¡± She scooped the guacamole paste, wiped a glop of it on my wrist, and rubbed it in. The clammy salve went on like a lotion with soft chunks, but the throbbing pain settled to a dull ache. ¡°What are they like?¡± I flexed my fingers. They only twitched. ¡°Patience. It will not be better until you wake next.¡± The redhead looped the sling off my shoulder, wrapped it around my wrist and tied the makeshift bandage off in a tight knot. ¡°As for your question, my family are largely unpleasant. I can only stand the company of a couple of them.¡± ¡°Do they know what you¡¯re doing?¡± ¡°Some do. Most of them do not. For your own good, it has to stay that way.¡± ¡°Why?¡± I dragged my pillow into my lap and rested my hand on it. ¡°Am I in the middle of a racist Hicksville?¡± ¡°Not quite.¡± She picked up the juice-smeared bowl and club then dropped them back into the sack. ¡°You¡¯re at my home, by my father¡¯s estate in Bri Leith.¡± ¡°You and your dad must be close if you¡¯re still living next door.¡± I watched her neutral face and relaxed hands for any signs. ¡°He gave me a portion of his lands out of obligation after my aunt convinced him to pity me, and that is the least of his sins.¡± Her knuckles turned even whiter as they clenched over the sack. ¡°We are far from close.¡± I made a mental note: stay away from kidnapper¡¯s daddy issues. ¡°What about your mom?¡± ¡°If you think to manipulate me to sympathy, this ruse is far too obvious.¡± She snapped around so her back was to me as she got up in one of those quick motions, too fast for me to catch. ¡°I already told you, going back is out of the question.¡± ¡°I just want to make sure my mom¡¯s okay.¡± I grabbed the bottom of her dress and clung. She couldn¡¯t leave. Not yet. ¡°I need to know she¡¯s still alive and taken care of.¡± ¡°I thought I had laid this issue to rest.¡± Something made her stop and peer back over her shoulder. She pouted like a frustrated kid staring down a broken toy. ¡°Surely there are others in your village who can take her on.¡± ¡°No, there isn¡¯t. I¡¯m the only one left.¡± ¡°That changes nothing.¡± Still, she frowned, and the color of her eyes seemed to shift, from a hard tint to a soft sparkle. She patted my hair, giving me more of a stiff tap than anything. ¡°The truth of the matter is I cannot take you back, even if I wanted to.¡± ¡°Then check on her for me. Show me she¡¯s okay.¡± I tugged on her dress and swallowed my pride enough to let my tear ducts water. ¡°Please.¡± ¡°Show her to you?¡± She pursed her lips and focused on the entrance for a hot minute. Her fingers flexed a couple times and her mouth flitted open, only to smack shut. ¡°First I must gain approval, but it is possible.¡± ¡°What? How? Did you install cameras in our apartment or something?¡± ¡°No strange devices. Though, it means involving my half-brother yet again.¡± She sighed and narrowed her eyes at me. ¡°If I do this, you must stay in here. You mustn¡¯t explore the hallway.¡± So that was the way out. I nodded so fast my teeth rattled. ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll stay put.¡± ¡°Nothing there will lead you back. Wandering there will only lead to your peril. If you insist on being stubborn, I have no choice but to stay and supervise you as before. Then I won¡¯t be able to show you your mother.¡± ¡°Cross my heart,¡± I said, but she quirked her head to the side. ¡°It means a promise.¡± ¡°Very well. I¡®ll return after I have gained permission.¡± Her tight shoulders relaxed as she knelt by the nearest wall. From there, I could make out her tracing some rectangles in the air, but not much else with her back to me. When she stepped away, a little cupboard filled up the empty space. ¡°If you should become hungry, open this.¡± I ogled the new piece of furniture, a dozen questions running through my head about where it came from. None of them made it out. If she was really leaving me unattended, even for a little while, any more small talk might give her second thoughts. ¡°Please do take my warning about the hall to heart.¡± I drew an X over my chest while mentally crossing my fingers. She disappeared down the hall, the darkness of it swallowing her, white dress and all. I¡¯d wait a little while longer to make sure she was good and gone. Then I¡¯d find a way out and start with whatever was behind those curtains. Chapter 6 - Daire ¡°It should be enough that he will live on through our memories and the great tales I will spin honoring his sacrifice.¡± I leaned against the page during my latest reread of the Key¡¯s creation tale and repeated that sentence to myself. Once, twice, three times. My finger stayed stuck on that single word: ¡°sacrifice.¡± None of the events had changed, nor had going over the passage a tenth time revealed anything new. Bodb, Father, and Aengus still saved the last of the Aos Si from the human hordes and sealed their victory with a secret safety measure: when Bodb commanded it, I would gradually die and take the Key with me. The text indicated the three swore not to speak about their arrangement, but my family should have troubled themselves to find a way around that like all true tricksters. How had my uncle created this, yet mentored me all these years without even a hint? How could Father have sanctioned the destruction of his only heir? The timing of my finding the book reeked of purpose. Did that mean Uncle Bodb had already given the command? I slammed the full length of my hand upon the paper. There had to be something there to fix this, something I¡¯d missed. Near the edge of my smallest finger, at the very beginning of the wide outer margin, a red line large enough to be a character peeked out. I slid my finger over and it exposed more marks. They resembled scribbles more than proper Ogham. Uncle Aengus¡¯ writing! ¡°Daire, congratulations for outwitting your forefathers and finding my record book. By now you have read about your imminent demise, perhaps you are even obsessing over it as you read this. I want to explain everything, and perhaps we will have a little talk, but only after your task is finished. The good news is that there is a loophole. Do you think any magical practitioner could resist making one? Find my notes, follow my directions, and the next step will reveal itself. The first one is find a human, for only by human hands will your freedom be secured.¡± I copied each letter on a new piece of paper before the amnesia set on, then released my hand. Reading over the notes, a bubble of hope sprang in my chest to chase away the sour sense of betrayal. Aengus had always come through for me. I was a fool for doubting him. The first part of his solution did give me pause. Of all Tir Na Nog¡¯s abundant resources, humans were not one of them. I could try to liberate my mother, but Father¡¯s restriction tied her to that room. Curse the man for his terrible timing! That only left¡­ ¡°Sequestered away inside in the middle of the day?¡± The familiar feminine voice made the fine hairs on my entire body stand on end. ¡°Surely one of your flowers must be wilting as we speak.¡± I twisted around to find my elder half-sister propped on the edge of my bed, demure legs crossed over each other. Her slouched ease broadcast a clear signal that she considered the quarters hers, despite that the blue undertones of her shimmering gown clashed with the room¡¯s emerald and gold decor. The rotten brown splotches where her iron bracelets grazed my sheets offended the entire visual theme. I strengthened the glamour over my face. That would have to be enough to hide the added redness in my eyes or leftover streaks from my earlier tears. In my rush to gather the scattered papers over my desk into a cohesive pile, I slammed the book shut and left my marker laying out. ¡°What sort of volume would keep you studying at this hour?¡± Riona glided to my side with all the grace afforded by her pure Aos Si ancestry. Her chin brushed the top of my head as she perused my desk, one of her subtle reminders of my inferior height. ¡°Transcribing old tales.¡± I stacked my notes atop the tome and barred the front sheet from her sight with my forearm. ¡°Not all of us can afford to mope every hour of the day.¡± ¡°I was enjoying my new company. You¡¯re the only one moping. Why else would your glamour be thicker today?¡± Her attention drifted to my face, gaze boring deep, and her oppressive power pressed against my own. ¡°Did Midir reprimand you this morning or did he merely walk by without noticing you again?¡± ¡°If you¡¯ve come to antagonize me, I¡¯m in no mood for it.¡± My heart pounded in my chest as I went over the wards I had cast earlier. How could she have entered? What if she had found the book? ¡°How did you even come in? I placed protections on everything.¡± ¡°Not everything.¡± She pointed toward my skylight, a gaping hole in the ceiling. As she drifted away, toward my mirror, my heart slowed a beat for each step of distance made between her and the book. ¡°But that¡¯s enough banter, little Daire. This is business. I have appropriate permission for this one as well.¡± ¡°How many requests have you made of Uncle Bodb in this past moon?¡± I strode over and joined her, willing my attention to stay pinned ahead. If I paid the book any mind, she might become curious, or worse, report it to someone else in order to spite me. ¡°Count them yourself.¡± She gestured to the reflective glass. ¡°That woman you scried for me, I need you to find her again. Make sure the scry sees as close to the mortal realm¡¯s present as possible.¡± ¡°You have your prize, don¡¯t you? Why do you still concern yourself with that woman?¡± I touched Riona¡¯s wrist and drew out the special place of my power where the Key dwelt. I focused on the past image of the petite blonde woman with her shifting hazel eyes and naught but flesh hanging from her bones. ¡°That is mine to know and yours to ignore.¡± Riona leaned forward, as if that would sharpen the swirling colors in the glass to an image any faster. When the scry came into focus, red and blue lights from a ring of law enforcement vehicles and a medical transport lit up the night. One guard with a pad of paper and pen spoke to a plainly clothed man. The civilian shook his head and gestured about as if telling some wild story. Jennifer Diaz laid on the edge of a hard asphalt street, appearing to sleep, her chest unmoving. A large spot of her blonde hair was slick, with shiny dark fluid leaking out from the side of her skull. Flashing lights glinted off the pool of it framing her face and staining the ground. The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. ¡°Of course she got herself killed.¡± Riona frowned, pinching her lower lip between her teeth. ¡°I need you to capture this scry, then alter it so that someone finds her alive and takes her to a healer. Make it so the savior is someone the viewer knows.¡± ¡°I assume you want to show this fabricated vision to your new ward so she¡¯ll cooperate with you?¡± I replayed the scene on the mirror and preserved it as a memory. That meant it could be projected later, whereas scries had to be fresh. ¡°She¡¯s being stubborn.¡± Riona slipped her wrist from my fingers, breaking our contact. The mirror turned back to our reflection. ¡°She was raving about how her mother¡¯s wits are addled and that something dire would happen without her.¡± ¡°You actually kidnapped a lunatic¡¯s daughter?¡± I pulled the green curtain back over my mirror while a pang of paltry sympathy twisted inside my stomach, guilt even. That could have been my own mother if she didn¡¯t have Aunt Brigid watching her. ¡°Not everyone has scores of family to look after their infirm relatives. She was probably the poor woman¡¯s only caretaker.¡± ¡°Had I known that, I would have taken her differently.¡± ¡°Or not taken her in the first place.¡± ¡°You couldn¡¯t resist the weight of a debt for a day, let alone centuries. The circumstances are unfortunate, but I would have gone mad if I had put it off any longer.¡± Riona stroked her chin and hummed in contemplation. ¡°There¡¯s no helping it. A deception is the kindest course of action at this point if I am to keep her.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure she would still prefer going home to staying in your care, even with a deception.¡± ¡°She is here now, she has seen us. There is no possible way Bodb will send her back.¡± ¡°And if she finds out the truth later?¡± ¡°That will not happen.¡± Her hands went to her hips then, the chain links wrapped around her wrists clinking together. ¡°How do you know?¡± ¡°You¡¯re going to swear that you will not say or hint of this to anyone.¡± Riona brought one of her dangling chains in full view and began wrapping it around her fisted knuckles. ¡°Especially my changeling.¡± ¡°Why would I?¡± I backed away until the wall stopped me. If she took this little secret away from me, I would have one less tool to recruit that young woman to my side. ¡°What importance is she to me?¡± ¡°I was not asking, little brother. My oath to the High King may keep me from killing or maiming you too much, but there is none to stop me from testing those limits.¡± ¡°If I swear this, what do I get? Let¡¯s make a deal of it.¡± I could find another way to sway Riona¡¯s changeling, but I had to gain something from her bullying tactics. Like all full blooded Aos Si, passing up a bargain wasn¡¯t in Riona¡¯s nature. ¡°I¡¯m sure you can go ahead and pummel me until Aunt Brigid gets a hold of you, but wouldn¡¯t you prefer to hurry back to that new human of yours?¡± ¡°She has put me in a kinder mood.¡± She raised both brows as she lowered her fist and set both hands behind her back. The threat of the chain still lurked, but at least it was hidden for the moment. ¡°What do you propose?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll perform the deception and create the visions you need. When we part ways, I will hold absolute secrecy about the true fate of the changeling¡¯s mother.¡± I glanced above her, toward the skylight. Whatever favor I asked had to keep the book safe. ¡°In exchange, you leave me be whenever I request it and don¡¯t come into my room or spy into it without my permission, until after Samhain. Agreeable?¡± ¡°Why are you are so protective of your room, I wonder?¡± She leaned down, inches away, her slitted pupils round and wide with feline curiosity. ¡°What are you hiding here?¡± ¡°That business is my own.¡± I held my hand out, preparing to cement the opportunity. ¡°Now, oh foul sister, would you like to beat me and get nothing, or agree and let both of us move on with our lives?¡± Riona¡¯s gaze switched between my face and my outstretched palm, no doubt weighing her options. As much as her new companion seemed to delight her, tormenting me had been her favorite pastime for the better part of a few centuries. She dearly loved persecuting me as a boy, with stinging comments and light physical abuses with her chains¡ªof course the iron made the latter hurt more. When I grew to my maturity, she found more joy in exasperating my misery with constant reminders of Father¡¯s disdain and Mother¡¯s deteriorating condition. Her new human¡¯s good opinion seemed to win out. She clasped hands with me and our powers mixed, radiating from our palms into each other¡¯s bodies. A deal between myself and a pure-blooded Aos Si always made a tingling intrusion shoot through my skin, much as a lightning bolt penetrates the ground. Her power in particular felt a twinge similar to mine, due to our common lineage, but far more volatile, with something destructive bubbling beneath its fragile surface. I stiffened as I absorbed the current and the sense of debt between us deepened. The urge to fill that gap would nag at me until I did my part, like a shrill bell ringing over and over, bouncing around my skull. ¡°Be at your scrying pool tonight and I will come with the girl.¡± When she withdrew her fingers she wiped them against her skirt. ¡°Agreed.¡± I rested my own appendages behind my back, resisting the urge to do the same. ¡°Is something amiss?¡± ¡°That thing in your blood touched me.¡± ¡°The Key, or my mother?¡± ¡°A mite of both.¡± ¡°Then leave me be.¡± The power of our deal tightened in my belly as I drew on it. Riona jerked toward the mirror, the quickest way out of my room. The brown decay surrounding her spread up the wall beside us and along the floor under her feet. The crystals set into the ceiling cracked, the mirror frame tarnished and its glass core clouded over as its gold backing did the same. ¡°Careful about abusing that. Our deal will not be official until later.¡± ¡°Your temper is ruining my quarters.¡± I wiggled my fingers her way in paltry farewell. ¡°Until tonight.¡± Riona¡¯s corrosive aura receded, leeching back into her body so the bright greens and golds of the room reappeared in pristine condition. She turned away from me and stepped through my looking glass as prettily as she had come. For the rest of the afternoon, I worked to make my bedroom a safe haven for that book. I lifted one of the slats underneath my mattress and hid the tome there¡ªwithout any extra magic to draw anyone¡¯s notice. I conjured new, convoluted wards across my door, my mirror, and my skylight that would only let those of human ancestry enter without my permission. Their goal was all encompassing enough to prevent most of Tir Na Nog¡¯s population from entering, unless they took the time to unravel my spellwork. Uncle Aengus could have made those protections in minutes, but the hours I spent weaving the different elements together produced something that would make even him pause. From there, a hard determination filled the empty dread in my chest as I read over my notes from the morning again. I had a slim hope I could release my mother from her prison, and me with her. Liberated, we could find our own way and she would have the true mortality she craved. It would be like when I was young, when we were happy. Then, when her life had run its course, I could find my way back to Tir Na Nog and face my punishment. In the meantime, as the rosy hues of twilight streamed across my room, I created the fabricated vision Riona had asked for and mulled over my plan for that night. All I had left to do was convince Jennifer Diaz¡¯s daughter to help me without Riona noticing, and pray she hadn¡¯t already succumbed to my sister¡¯s charms. Chapter 7 - Maya When I walked to the tunnel opening, I stopped and held my breath. None of Queenie¡¯s yips or barks disturbed the grave silence of the burrow. The walls were more of the same packed potting soil, rich and dark with skinny roots weaving together along the ceiling. The black curtains lining the walls hung from metal rods sticking over seven feet off the ground. My chest burned and I exhaled in a rush. Still quiet. I stepped up to the closest curtain on the right and pulled it away. A tall, oval mirror hung from the wall with thick edges made from a dark, coppery metal. The glass inside tinted everything reflected in it the same dull, reddish-gold as the rampaging bulls and boars molded into the frame. Seeing my reflection, for the first time since getting kidnapped, confirmed that I¡¯d become a hot mess in need of serious grooming. The candlelight shined too bright off the greasy roots and shaggy purple ends of my pixie cut. My black v-neck and work slacks had a patchwork of dusty splotches the same color as the walls. I lifted my bangs out of my eyes, only to find the start of red blotches along my forehead. ¡°Shower is the first thing on my to-do list when I get home.¡± Were mirrors all this hall had? But why should I stay away from my reflection and some pretty designs? It couldn¡¯t be the mirrors themselves, but what she hid behind them. I grabbed one side of the massive hunk of brass and pushed. It budged, scraping against the solid tunnel wall, but not by much. The thing had to weigh more than my futon. All I had to do was move it far enough for the edge of a secret door or window to poke out. I shoved my shoulder into it. It slid over, exposing nothing but more packed dirt. ¡°Seriously? Nothing?¡± I stepped away and the mirror swung back into place. The first lead home I¡¯d gotten in God knew how many days and all I got was a crappy reflection. Did somebody upstairs hate me? I sighed and sagged against the glass as I caught my breath. If only the damn thing would open to somewhere else. The hard surface I leaned against got soft and smooshed around my shoulders like a Jello mix that hadn¡¯t finished setting. I¡¯d put my whole weight against that mirror. Before I knew it my balance went all to hell and I tumbled ass first through that frame. A clear substance sucked me in, worse than my first time floating in a pool. My lead butt sank first and the shiny stuff flooded over my head. I flailed for the edges of the oval gap as it stretched away from me. The flickering candles and black curtains in the underground hall grew smaller and smaller. I managed to catch a fingerhold, stopping my progress for a fraction of a second. My fingertips slipped on the polished metal. Everything slid past me in a blurring woosh, snuffing out that window of light. It dropped me flat on my back, my spine hitting hard rock while my head bumped something furry. I looked up at another mirror, identical to the one in the hallway with the same stampeding animals decorating it. Hanging over it, stuffed deer, bear, and boar faces stared at me, mouths hanging open. The hunter must¡¯ve liked the way they gaped as they squealed for their lives. My kidnapper¡¯s cave didn¡¯t have those, or the layers of animal rugs covering the floor¡¯s rough stone tiles. Instead of candles, the dim light came from torches screwed into the walls and a giant fireplace across the room. Had I stumbled on a way out? I scrambled up, bumping against a wood table and folding chair¡ªbark was still attached to both. My shadow jumped across a canopy bed to my right. It had reddish-brown curtains gathered up around each of its posts and fur blankets covering the mattress, but nobody sleeping in it. The room¡¯s owner obviously liked trophy hunting, but a long stone club straight from the stone age sat over the fireplace instead of a rifle. ¡°By the Dagda¡¯s loins. What has wandered into my chamber?¡± It came from someone behind me with a deep voice¡ªa big guy, if I had to guess. His words had a familiar layered quality to them, but I didn¡¯t have time to place where I¡¯d heard it between panic spasms. Most rustic type people weren¡¯t known for their love of strangers, but I stamped down that prejudice from one too many horror movies. I couldn¡¯t afford to be picky about who helped me. I whipped around to face the speaker: a giant of a man filling the only door to the bedroom, as bulky as he was tall. Most of him hid behind some kind of hair, from the bear-skin cape with the fuzzy head sitting on his shoulder, to his long auburn beard, braided down his chest. The way his belt didn¡¯t have a buckle and how he wrapped his boots with twine reminded me of the redhead¡¯s wardrobe choices. When I met his eyes, goosebumps spread over my arms as they heightened my new suspicions. I¡¯d never seen that rust color in any other person¡¯s irises and they had the same kind of tilted shape and slitted pupils as my kidnapper. ¡°I need help.¡± I hung by the mirror, just in case. ¡°You know a tall lady with red hair, has a thing for chains?¡± ¡°I see she wrangled that interpretation spell out of Daire.¡± The man frowned and his thick mustache twitched as he inspected me. ¡°Such a peculiar changeling, though.¡± ¡°Can you even hear me?¡± ¡°Unfortunately.¡± ¡°So you know who I¡¯m talking about?¡± ¡°Of course.¡± ¡°She kidnapped me and she¡¯s keeping me in an underground prison.¡± For all I knew, his charming personality could be from from finding a random chick sneaking around his room. I had to keep trying. ¡°I need to get back home. Can I use a phone or something?¡± ¡°That ¡®prison¡¯ is your home.¡± The man took a hulking step inside the bedroom. ¡°That woman is your master. Forget the life you had before. From now on, you live to serve her.¡± ¡°Shit, you¡¯re with her.¡± I patted at the mirror¡¯s frame, across the little horns and gaps between them. It had to have a switch or a secret lever that I¡¯d activated earlier. When I tapped the glass in the middle, though, it stayed cool and hard. No thin pudding consistency. ¡°You don¡¯t understand, I have a mom. She¡¯s got a lot of mental health issues and I¡¯m all she¡¯s got left. Let me go, please.¡± ¡°Listen well, girl.¡± He spoke slowly, emphasizing every syllable like he was a teacher and I was the kid who wouldn¡¯t focus. With each word, he lumbered closer, cornering me against the mirror. ¡°I do not care a mite what you left behind, neither about your family nor your station. You are never leaving Tir Na Nog. Is that clear?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t even know where that is.¡± ¡°Hmm. Daire did say humanity had become ignorant.¡± The man¡¯s bushy eyebrows came together, but didn¡¯t make any wrinkles on his forehead. He tugged at one of the smaller braids in his beard, rubbing it between his fingers. ¡°You are not in your home realm any longer, you are among the Aos Si in the eternal lands of Tir Na Nog. Any gods, kings or chieftains you followed before have no presence here. Our kind commands powers beyond your imagining, and I rule over them. However, there are only a few of us left. I cannot have you telling other humans about what you have seen. Like it or not, I will never send you back.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll find my own way home, then. All I need is a phone.¡± Did fantasy cults even keep phones? If only I hadn¡¯t dropped mine at home. ¡°I won¡¯t tell anyone about anything, especially not the police. I swear.¡° ¡°Why did she choose you? You have all the beauty of a sack and the mind of a common ass.¡± The self-dubbed king of everything held his forehead like a migraine had set in. ¡°It¡¯s better you¡¯re locked away if you¡¯re this stubborn. I thought she could contain you, but if you managed to escape this soon, someone else is bound to see you. We can¡¯t have that.¡± The mountain man grabbed for me, but I flinched away. I had a split second to duck under his girthy arm and run for the door before he tried again. If I made it out, where would I go? No idea. Still a better alternative to capture. I went for it and dashed through that gap. ¡°Behave, wench!¡± The brute snatched my arm, the same one the redhead had almost torn out of its socket, and slammed me against the wall. White hot pain stabbed through my shoulder from my bicep, worse than the redhead making me dangle from my wrist. My head thunked against the wall and I saw double of the wannabe king. That didn¡¯t stop me from clawing at any part of him I could reach, tugging at his wrist, his beard, his face. He caught both my flapping wrists and pinned them back. I kicked between his legs. Nothing but empty air. He dug his knees into my thighs, pressing me harder against the wall. The thorny horns on the frame sculptures dug into my spine. What sick kink made these people love roughing me up when I clearly wasn¡¯t into it? The hot breath he panted on my face stank like the sweet, specialty wines Nico kept under the counter. That close, I learned that his beard was soft and straight, like someone¡¯s hair after a deep conditioning treatment. What the hell was he thinking of doing next? The mirror¡¯s copper tinted glass rippled beside me and a very familiar redhead with a delicate, angular face popped out like a frog peeking out of a pond. She made a show of sighing in relief as the rest of her emerged, holding her hand on her heart as if she had to slow it down. While I¡¯d tripped into the room, she climbed out of the mirror with the practice of somebody walking through their front door. ¡°Help!¡± I jerked against my new captor¡¯s grasp with new energy, not that I made much more progress than twitching. If she was the frying pan and he was the fire, I wanted back on the stove. ¡°Take me back, please!¡± ¡°Thank Danu you found her.¡± My original kidnapper glided toward my new assailant and rested her head against his bulbous shoulder. My skin throbbed where he¡¯d jabbed his fingers and knees into it. ¡°I hope she didn¡¯t cause too much trouble.¡± ¡°Her very nature seems to be trouble,¡± the king grumbled as he stepped off of me, making enough distance for me to breathe as he kissed the top of her hair. ¡°The pleading I expected, but the irreverent raving was unwelcome. You should train that out of her.¡± ¡°She¡¯s still absorbing everything. Even humans who knew of us took longer than a week before their hysterics stopped.¡± The woman stroked her boyfriend¡¯s naked bicep with the tips of her nails. ¡°Besides, I like her willful. It makes her better company.¡± ¡°Oh how the fates curse me.¡± He tapped his nose to hers in a display that looked as sweet as plastic cake. ¡°Can I deny you nothing?¡± ¡°He doesn¡¯t care what you want.¡± I side stepped closer to her, making my preference of captor clear. He¡¯d mentioned she wouldn¡¯t want me locked up. I could use that. ¡°He wanted to hide me somewhere else without telling you.¡± The king closed his fist around empty air and a tingling sensation ran up my jaw like a dentist had shot it with Novocaine. My mouth clamped shut all by itself. I gritted my teeth, trying to move my lips, sending rabid signals from my brain. Even pulling on my chin to pry it open did nothing. It was the trick the redhead had done with my legs all over again. My heart sped up as the panic set in. This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. ¡°Is what she says true, my love?¡± Her nails curled into her boyfriend¡¯s skin like a cat¡¯s claws. ¡°How could you doubt that I care about your desires? I value them as if they are my own.¡± He tucked one side of her hair behind her ear and showed his perfect teeth in a fond smile, all his attention on her face. I rubbed my sore forearm where his sausage fingers had left bright red marks. If I made a run for the mirror right then, either of them could numb my legs, then where would I be? Better to watch the drama unfold and focus on escaping from whoever won. ¡°And her second claim?¡± The redhead shoved him back a step, all her lovestruck fragility gone. She tilted her chin up at her boyfriend while fondling her heavy chain bracelet, like she dared him to try avoiding a straight answer. ¡°Who allowed you to fetch this insolent creature to begin with?¡± The king curled his hands into fists as he loomed over her, his mustache bristling. ¡°Yet you accuse me of subverting the very purpose of that?¡± ¡°I hear no actual denials spewing out, so it must be true.¡± She lifted up on her bare toes so she came nose to nose with the taller man. ¡°We had a deal.¡± ¡°The exact terms of that deal stated I would allow you to go to the mortal world, fetch your child, and clear your old debt.¡± He jabbed a finger my way and I froze. ¡°I did not agree to you letting her wander about unattended. Did you not swear you would keep her hidden from everyone but you, me, and the Key Bearer for as long as you loved me? Have you stopped loving me?¡± ¡°Of course, I still love you, Bodb. I will always love you.¡± She closed the distance between them, her face inches from his. ¡°But that old debt means I must take care of her, not let her rot in your dungeon. If you weren¡¯t intending to let me fulfill the oath I made, you could have chosen the easier option and married me. Then I could endure the madness of owing someone with some happiness.¡± ¡°You should never have made that oath.¡± The boyfriend¡ªshe had called him something like Bo or Bob¡ªstood his ground, his feet planted wide and firm. ¡°Really, you are an Aos Si. You should have known better.¡± ¡°I was an ignorant child! The only lesson my mother could impart to me before your vile brother killed her was to repay like with like. The human woman had been kind to me, so I accepted responsibility for her death wish.¡± The redhead yanked one of the long braids in the man¡¯s beard hard enough to bring his head lower than her. The empty air around her body seemed to fill with a focused cloud of dark specks and it emitted a soft, electric hum. Smoke curled up from the man¡¯s beard wherever the field touched. ¡°My point, beloved. You chose to continue our relationship in subterfuge. This is the price of that choice. Deal with it.¡± ¡°Leash your power.¡± The boyfriend grabbed a fist full of her pretty hair at the base of her neck and tugged. She yelped and clawed at his hand, a sound coming out like when I¡¯d accidentally stepped on Queenie¡¯s tail. Even though gray smoke floated up from his skin, he yanked her so low it made her stoop her knees and bend her spine at an angle that made me wince. She went stiff, like the boyfriend was a bear and it was all she could do not to provoke him into taking a bite out of her. The clustered particles bent away from him and faded back into the her fair skin like they never existed. ¡°Hearken close.¡± His voice dropped to the ominous calm of an approaching storm, losing all the boom it had earlier. ¡°Marrying you was, and still is, out of the question. I was not trapped by your ultimatum. I only went along with it because of my fondness for you.¡± ¡°You wanted to placate my ¡®whining.¡¯¡± ¡°Our love was never meant for the binds of that institution, nor for the consumption of the masses to ruin both our reputations.¡± He let go of her hair and cradled her face, running his thumbs up and down her cheeks. She didn¡¯t budge from her awkward pose and gazed at him, transfixed. Was it because she was still scared or that reverent toward him? ¡°I know you¡¯re not content concealing our liaisons from the public. I see the way you ache for companionship whenever we part. It doesn¡¯t help that you make no attempt hiding it with your nagging. But when you approached me about your outstanding debt, I saw an opportunity to ease your misery. That chance was what made it worth the risk.¡± As the redhead nodded along with the explanation, the determined spark that lit up her silvery eyes dulled to slate gray. Her boyfriend lifted her up by her underarms like picking up a little kid and pulled her into a gentle hug. She nestled her cheek into his beard, but glanced away at the only mounted head in her eye-line: a fox. Over the past week or so, I¡¯d been through some strange stuff: getting dragged through a mirror twice, waiting for a hyper-intelligent fox to serve me dinner, then watching that fox turn into a lady. The worst was seeing that proud, scary woman being forced to kneel in front of her monster of a boyfriend. For a second, I wondered if she was just as stuck there as me. She¡¯d stolen me away from the mom who needed me, belittled me for begging her to take me back, all because of the twisted attitude that I belonged to her. She¡¯d been awful, but was there a chance she had taken me because it was the only way she could find help? As soon as the thoughts came, I stamped them down. It was Stockholm Syndrome trying to set in, my psyche¡¯s way of surviving under stress. ¡°So, will you supervise your prize better and make her follow the rules?¡± the boyfriend asked, like a father to a daughter about a naughty pet. ¡°Yes, beloved.¡± ¡°Was my mirror the only one she wandered through?¡± ¡°Yes. The only ones who know of her are still you, Daire, and me.¡± ¡°Good lass.¡± He rubbed up and down her bare, upper back, then nudged her toward me. ¡°Take care of that scry with Daire, then meet me to pay your price.¡± The redhead came over, each movement mechanical and limp as she wrapped her arm around mine like she was my date to a dance. My escape attempt had been a colossal failure, but at least I¡¯d learned what else was out there. I hated to admit it, but she was right, dealing with her was better than the devils that lurked outside. * * * The cool, slick fluid inside the mirror slid over me easier that time, pushing me out as I hiked over the frame. My kidnapper traced her glowing hand over the edge of the now solid glass, probably locking it. The odor of animal fur and smoking wood cut off and left the moist soil and tree roots running through the cavern. Home sweet home. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you leave the hall alone?¡± She turned around and loomed for all she was worth. ¡°Oh yeah, yell at me like I shouldn¡¯t be trying to run away. That¡¯s a classy way to save somebody right there.¡± I held my arm where her boyfriend¡¯s bruising fingerprints still throbbed. ¡°Like you even care.¡± ¡°You¡¯re fortunate you went through his mirror and didn¡¯t encounter anyone else. He would have killed you.¡± Her arms shook with the effort it took to control them, so much the tendons in her wrists stood out. ¡°Even worse if you had run into Finvarra! Do you know what he does to human women, how long he has been without one?¡± ¡°Actually no. I have no idea who that is or what he does.¡± I set my hands on my hips, squaring my shoulders. She was still over a foot taller than me and could make my body move like a puppet, but I refused to sulk anymore. ¡°I don¡¯t know where I am or why it doesn¡¯t obey the basic laws of physics. If you want me to cooperate, you owe me some basic information first. If you keep giving me nothing, then I¡¯ll keep getting in trouble and bring you down with me.¡± ¡°Do you value your own well being so little?¡± ¡°If that¡¯s what it takes to get out of here. I won¡¯t stay scared like you want.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want you afraid. This place is not the land you know. To survive, you must trust me and my judgement.¡± She paused and pressed her lips together tight, as if she didn¡¯t trust herself to say anything. ¡°I want to protect you, take care of you. ¡± ¡°Oh yeah, you¡¯re Mother Teresa.¡± I shoved my finger into her chest. She didn¡¯t even wobble, but her eyebrows went up. ¡°If you wanted to do that, you would have taken me back home already. Instead you¡¯re pushing me around like some dog.¡± ¡°I promised to show you your mother, did I not?¡± She took my wrist and moved my hand away. The tension in her muscles and alien grace with how she moved made me think of a snake coiling up, getting ready to strike. She hadn¡¯t so much as smacked me, though. Was she used to lulling her prey into a false sense of security? ¡°You only wanted to placate my whining,¡± I quoted. She jolted like I¡¯d slapped her. The hard grey of her eyes melted to the hesitation I saw in the little fox, Queenie. Did she not see the parallels, how the way she¡¯d treated me was like her boyfriend? She sucked in a breath as she knelt to the floor, smoothing her dress under her knees. Her hands folded on her lap, demure and neat. ¡°I am¡­sorry.¡± Her fingers clenched and flexed, as if apologizing went against something basic in her nature. ¡°You¡¯re¡­¡± I did a double take. She¡¯d gotten my attention. ¡°What?¡± ¡°I was rash and impulsive when I decided to come to your mother. I should have handled the situation with more care, taken the time to explain my position. It has been so long since I dealt with humans, though. So much has changed.¡± She fidgeted with her dress, smoothing out imaginary wrinkles, like that was the only way to keep order in the situation. ¡°Despite the mirror-gates, the way I can change and transform things, I cannot go back in time and undo my actions. I cannot bring your mother back to you. I can only ask that we both start new.¡± ¡°So, it¡¯s true? I¡¯m stuck here?¡± ¡°Yes. That man you saw is Bodb Derg, our High King. He rules over all and is the only one who can allow anyone in or out of our world.¡± That meant her boyfriend really was the boss of everything. Since he didn¡¯t want anyone knowing about their relationship, I couldn¡¯t be his favorite person, since I just learned all about it. Great. ¡°He probably won¡¯t let you bring my mom here, either.¡± ¡°Alas, she is out of my reach.¡± ¡°How can I trust any of this?¡± I searched her body language for any little indicators that she was lying. ¡°If we were around any member of my family, I would deny that any of this happened.¡± She gestured to the mirrors with their somber black curtains, the bare dirt walls, the rows and rows of simple candles, and the basic furniture further in. Compared to the luxurious hunter¡¯s paradise her boyfriend lived in, everything was so plain and ordinary. ¡°This place is my domain. It is the only place where I can be myself, where nothing is a facade. As long as we¡¯re here, I give my word that I will always be genuine with you. I swear that now, and what I am will enforce that promise.¡± She held out her hand toward me, then, like we were making some kind of deal. ¡°I only ask the same in return.¡± I stared at her hand for a long minute, letting it hover in the empty air. It would be nice to have one person I could trust in this topsy turvy new place. If she meant everything she said, that she¡¯d be honest with me in that hole of hers, it was the best asset I had until I found a way out. There had to be a different way to get back, one she didn¡¯t know about. Fighting hadn¡¯t gotten me anywhere. I could try a little cooperation while I bided my time and searched for my path home. I shook her hand. ¡°You¡¯ve got it.¡± ¡°Wonderful.¡± She smiled and it brightened up her entire face. Silvery specks lit up her eyes and it made her more pretty, less alien somehow. ¡°Um, what do I call you? Do you have a name or something?¡± ¡°Hmm, that is a fair point. I haven¡¯t told you it, have I?¡± ¡°If we¡¯re starting fresh and all, let¡¯s try an actual introduction.¡± I tightened my grip on her. ¡°I¡¯m Maya.¡± She glanced at our still locked hands with a confused frown. ¡°Is this part of our deal?¡± ¡°I do this when meeting new people. Not really into bowing.¡± ¡°Ah, I see.¡± Her long fingers wrapped tighter around mine, somehow coming off more dainty. ¡°I¡¯m Riona, the Lady of Irons, daughter of Midir and Fuamnach of Bri Leith.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a mouthful.¡± I let go and plopped down beside her, sprawling my legs in front of me. ¡°You mind if I shorten it to Rio?¡± ¡°Call me whatever you prefer.¡± She shifted, letting her legs cross to one side at a looser angle than when they were trapped under her. ¡°I trust you understand that incident you witnessed with my sweetheart should remain secret.¡± ¡°I can keep my mouth shut.¡± ¡°For your own safety, you should. Before that, I obtained permission to call up a vision of your mother. We go at nightfall.¡± ¡°Wait, that quick?¡± ¡°If it¡¯s too soon, I can delay it a couple more days.¡± Almost as soon as her mouth quirked up at the tease, it disappeared into a troubled line. ¡°The scryer, the one who will call up the vision, is my younger half-brother. His name is Daire, Lord of Ivy. We share a father, Midir, but he is the spawn of his wretched second wife. I dearly hope you will not have to suffer his presence elsewhere, but if you do, beware provoking or trusting him too much. That goes for anyone you meet. The Aos Si were once known as a race of tricksters after people stopped considering us gods.¡± ¡°You need to explain all this crap to me, because I¡¯ve got no idea what you¡¯re talking about other than that this place is¡­different.¡± ¡°There is a great deal I would like to know about your world as well. It has changed so much. We still have a few more hours before the sun sets. Perhaps we should trade questions with each other in the meantime?¡± ¡°Alright, I can do that.¡± I rested back against the wall, my mind turning up blank. There was so much I needed to know, but put on the spot, I didn¡¯t have the first idea where to start. ¡°Um, what¡¯s your favorite color?¡± ¡°Really?¡± She cocked her head to one side and stifled a laugh, reminding me so much of Queenie when I¡¯d pretended to throw a strip of meat and hid it instead. ¡°Of all the questions you could ask, you want to know what color I most prefer?¡± ¡°We¡¯ve got to start somewhere.¡± From there, we talked. Chapter 8 - Daire A full moon hung overhead as I paced back and forth in the courtyard, waiting at my scrying pool. Riona couldn¡¯t break our deal, her nature wouldn¡¯t let her. Still, that did little to ease my stress. I needed that girl. Mother ceased to be a viable alternative after she attacked me. The changeling was my last resort. I wrung my hands around each other as I walked a small trench in the cobblestones. Laughter came from further away. My sister strolled along the path, every last strand of hair and fold of fabric spilling in her wake, her body drinking in the moonlight in a way mine never could. She beamed down at her companion, flecks of silver sparking in her eyes like polished steel. I almost mistook the human ambling with her for a boy, if not for the generous hips filling out her trousers. Most of her seemed like another cog in the mortals¡¯ modern food service industry. She had a tall, stout build and a heavy gait belonging to someone used to staying on their feet. Her face told the story of a tired eccentric. The flamboyant, albeit faded, hair color she¡¯d chosen stood out against her black attire. The small piercings in her ears, eyebrow, and nostril gave silver accents to her tawny features that winked in the light. The changeling¡¯s smile had a relaxed confidence that carried over to her straight-backed posture. She was the master of her destiny, in control and at ease. How could she maintain that attitude in a world where everything was foreign and the rules were unknown? Her and Riona had that in common, the air of being able to handle whatever fate threw their way. If only I could steal a fraction of that inner calm, I might be more certain I could save myself. When they approached me, their mirth faded. The young woman hesitated, her nostrils flaring with her next breath like a horse testing the air for threats. ¡°That¡¯s him?¡± ¡°Yes, Maya. This is my half brother, Daire, Lord of Ivy, heir to Bri Leith, titles of all sorts. He is the only one permitted to see into the human world. Therefore, he alone is able to let you view your mother.¡± Riona guided the human toward the pool by the small of her back. ¡°Go on. I¡¯ll still be here in case he attempts anything untoward.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Maya stepped forward and tilted her proud chin up at me, tight-lipped. ¡°Who¡¯s going to explain this?¡± I clenched my fingers into fists on reflex. If they had bonded enough for this girl to form a trust in Riona, that might upset my attempts to persuade her. Yet her deep brown eyes were clear, with no sign of a charming fog like the one that often clouded my mother¡¯s awareness. As long as the changeling still had a clear mind, I had hope. ¡°I will, though you should relax.¡± I knelt and gestured for her to do the same. ¡°These things tend to work better that way.¡± Maya checked Riona first, but my sister knelt to the cobbled courtyard and folded her skirt under her knees. Maya followed suit, crossing her legs and slouching over the pool. ¡°Now what?¡± ¡°First you must tell me who or what you wish to see, then when you would like to see them. Never the future, of course. My power is limited to the past and present.¡± I pointed at our reflections in the placid water. ¡°Once I have enough information to find what you seek, then you and I must physically link. I prefer a holding of hands. It makes a stronger bond between your memories and energy so that my power may channel it into the vision. Once that happens, look into the water and see what it shows you. It will resemble a television set.¡± ¡°Wait.¡± Maya¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°You guys have TV?¡± ¡°Alas, no.¡± I sighed, my shoulders drooping with the misery of it. ¡°We have plays and stories, but nothing with the same potential for stylized visual expression. Scrying, this process of seeing visions in reflective surfaces, is the only equal we have. It¡¯s like having only channels with reality shows, but all of the boring parts are left in.¡± ¡°At least you don¡¯t have to sit through ads.¡± ¡°But they have half the charm of the medium!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t encourage his moaning.¡± Riona rubbed a link on her bracelet, the entire chain slithering under her fingers. ¡°He has a tendency not to stop.¡± ¡°Come then.¡± I leaned over the pool, holding out my hand for hers. ¡°Let us get started, shall we?¡± ¡°This New Age crap better work.¡± Maya lifted her hand from where it rested on her knee. It hovered over mine for a few moments, trembling. A moment of animal panic flitted over her face as she turned to the water, as unsure as someone about to leap into an abyss. Deep down, did she suspect the true doom that befell her mother? Would the alternative I crafted make the reality that much crueler when the truth came to light? No, it was too late for compassion and far too early for guilt. The same magic that sealed Riona to her word worked in me as well. For the moment, I blamed the compulsion that drove me to take Maya¡¯s hand and summon the forged scry. Later I could face the realization that my decision to go along with my sister¡¯s plan made the girl¡¯s grief worse. But I had to live long enough to reach that point first. Maya¡¯s energy buzzed with swirling rainbows repressed by hardened grief. A light, thrumming taint thickened its edges¡ªthe interpretation enchantment I had made for Riona that turned the Aos Si language to English. ¡°I¡¯ve made the connection,¡± I said. ¡°Now tell me who it is you¡¯re looking for. Go into as much detail as you can.¡± ¡°Um, is it supposed to itch?¡± Maya winced at her hand as if it were a writhing worm. I kept my firm grip and nodded. She gulped before continuing. ¡°It¡¯s my mom. Her name is Jennifer Diaz. She lives in Tampa, Florida in the Rolling Hills apartment complex. She¡¯s in her thirties. She¡¯s got some mental health issues, schizophrenia and anxiety mostly. I want to know where she is now, in the present, how she¡¯s doing.¡± ¡°What of your father? Or does she have a different sweetheart? Does she have any other family? Any friends?¡± ¡°Dad died when she was pregnant, I never knew him. No relationship of hers ever stuck after that. We used to live with my grandmother, but she died a little over a month ago. My aunt, her husband, and their kids are on the other side of the country, and we aren¡¯t on good terms since my grandmother¡¯s funeral. Lately, Mom only hangs out with me and two of our close friends, Nate and Nico. They¡¯re the brothers who own the bar I work at.¡± As Maya spoke, I sifted through her mind, drawing up memories of those she mentioned. It would¡¯ve been easier if the grandmother were alive: a Mercedes Alvarez who styled hair for a living and served as the matriarch of their family unit. Those friends would have to do. There was Nico; a beefy, middle aged man with Mediterranean features and the garish tendency to wear plaid patterns. Then his brother, Nate; a younger, but taller man with the same dark features and a far more attractive warrior¡¯s physique. They often enjoyed playing card games together. I pieced that new information into the artificial scry I had prepared, adjusting the comforting new ending. ¡°Anything else?¡± Maya asked. ¡°I have enough to work with.¡± I focused my power into the water, projecting the memories of my original scry onto it. ¡°Simply watch the surface and focus on your mother.¡± Maya bent down over the pool, her free hand bracing the rest of her body against the stones around it. She gritted her teeth with an audible grind and her grip on me tightened enough for her knuckles to whiten. Such a stark contrast with the proud creature she had been before. Right then, she reminded me more of a stray tomcat in the presence of hounds; surrounded by larger creatures, yet puffing itself as large as possible. Stolen story; please report. Our reflections blurred and the splotches of color left swirled together until they darkened and formed a new setting. The vision unfolded, the same as before¡­ A black stretch of cracked asphalt street came into sharp focus. Cars sped by in all four lanes, no traffic lights or pedestrian crosswalks for a few more blocks. The Rolling Hills apartment complex sat across from a strip mall and a gas station. Jennifer charged for the sidewalk alongside her parking lot and the road beyond it. Her pale blue sundress with white daisy prints whipped with the wind cast by the traffic, her blonde hair like a signaling banner in the breeze. Her sallow complexion grew even paler, her eyes desperate with raw panic and glistening with new tears. She ran as if escaping something, so blinded by fear she didn¡¯t comprehend her own surroundings. ¡°Mom, look where you¡¯re going.¡± Maya thrust her hand into the vision. Were it not for my holding her steady, she would have toppled in. ¡°Stop!¡± Right as her fingers obscured the scene: swerving tires, breaking glass, and screams radiated through both of our minds. The image shifted. Red and blue lights flashed against the small crowd of black-uniformed personnel streaming out of an ambulance. Three vehicles ringed the area off from civilian onlookers. One guard stood next to a man in a suit, jotting down notes in a pad of paper. The slack-jawed interviewee pointed between the street and a sedan with a dent on its hood and a hole in its windshield. Jennifer lay in the road, her bright hair matted with brighter blood. The wound on her head resembled a macabre imitation of the dark core of the daisies on her dress, with her sprawled out hair serving as the petals. The first responders lifted her onto a rolling stretcher and loaded her into the back of their vehicle. Maya jerked away from the pool and covered her mouth. A muffled shriek tore its way out of her throat. ¡°Steady, Maya.¡± Riona wrapped her arm around her changeling¡¯s shivering shoulders. She locked her narrowed gaze on mine, an unspoken threat. ¡°The vision is not yet over, is it?¡± ¡°A few moments longer,¡± I said. Jennifer lay in a yellow-painted room with a mechanized bed and sky blue sheets covering her unconscious figure. A monitor beeped at her bedside. Needles attached to cords stuck from her arm and trailed to a rolling IV bag hanging from a metal stand. Two men sat in the chairs by her bedside. The stocky one with blue eyes and a plaid shirt, Nico, could only stare. The tall, well muscled one with amber eyes, Nate, gritted his teeth and held a smart phone to his ear. Jennifer groaned as her pale lashes fluttered and opened. She touched her gauze wrapped head while Nico rushed to her. Nate pressed a button on the phone¡¯s screen and abandoned it to the padded chair as he followed. ¡°What happened?¡± Jennifer asked, airy and mystified. ¡°Where am I? Who are you?¡± Nico and Nate exchanged puzzled frowns with each other. I skipped ahead, past the ensuing examinations and paperwork that would follow a genuine coma patient¡¯s waking. ¡°She doesn¡¯t seem to remember anything, not even her own name.¡± A physician dressed in blue scrubs and holding a clipboard thick with papers met with Jennifer¡¯s friends outside of her hospital room. ¡°The trauma to her skull was so severe, it seems to have brought on a state of amnesia. I¡¯m not sure she¡¯ll remember anything, even with proper treatments and therapy. Are there any next of kin I can notify? Any family?¡± ¡°Her daughter.¡± Nate pulled out his cell phone and shrugged. ¡°We¡¯ve been trying to reach her, but no luck yet.¡± ¡°We¡¯re close friends of the family.¡± Nico stepped forward, arms crossed over his chest and ready to do business. ¡°Whatever papers we have to sign or hoops we have to jump through, if Maya doesn¡¯t show up, we¡¯ll take Jen home with us.¡± The vision changed once more, to its ultimate end. The trio of friends sat in a living room together, clustered around an antique dining room table. They looked down at a series of playing cards in each of their hands. Nate nursed a steaming mug of coffee. Jennifer left her glass of water unattended. Nico had already finished his long-necked bottle of micro-brewed ale. Jennifer laid down the final card in her hand with a victorious beam. The three of them laughed as if nothing were amiss, as if no one were missing from the empty fourth chair. ¡°That¡¯s it?¡± Maya slackened her grip on my hand. In place of that self-assured young woman sat a baffled girl gazing into her empty reflection, as if waiting for something else to appear. I knew the feeling well after years of watching Mother struggle to remember herself. The changeling¡¯s mind must have swam with questions. How could that happen? Was there something she could do to change it? Would things ever go back to the way they were? After the initial shock, a last desperate hope always remained. That¡¯s what I needed. ¡°I¡¯m afraid so.¡± I gave her a moment as I weighed the next options of my plan. The time to plant my offer was then, when her grief was freshest. Yet Riona lurked, no doubt also seeking an opportunity to gain favor from Maya¡¯s vulnerable state. If only I could find another way to communicate with her, something secret. ¡°At least she seemed content.¡± Riona patted Maya¡¯s shoulder. The changeling leaned into it, her eyes glistening brighter. I had to act fast. ¡°Maya, I understand this is a trying time for you, but do indulge me answering a question.¡± My mind raced. She was from La Florida and her last name indicated possible Latin American heritage. If she spoke Spanish, my interpretation spell would not work, since I made it for the modern language of Eire, English. Without repeated exposure, Riona wouldn¡¯t be able to understand it, no matter how quick Aos Si picked up other languages. I had learned a variety from spying on human school lessons for so long. ¡°?T¨² hablas Espa?ol?¡± ¡°Um, yeah. I grew up with it.¡± Maya wiped her nose on her sleeve, her voice thick. ¡°How do you know it?¡± ¡°What did you ask?¡± Riona frowned as she leaned toward me. ¡°Only if she spoke another language besides English.¡± I offered my sister my brightest smile, showing nothing but childish innocence and wonder. ¡°Do indulge me, patient sister.¡± ¡°Why so interested in saying secret things to my changeling, little Daire?¡± Riona asked through gritted teeth. ¡°I¡¯d like to see if I¡¯m using these human languages right.¡± I went over my intents and words, weighing each with utmost care. My Aos Si blood prevented me from speaking a falsehood as much as her. If I hesitated over a syllable, Riona would know I balanced on that fine line between deception and outright lying. ¡°The only human I¡¯ve ever met in person is my mother. Bodb has not let me watch modern humanity as often as he did when I was a child. This is a rare opportunity, to converse with a native speaker. Let me play a little, and I¡¯ll let you be on your way.¡± ¡°Of course it¡¯s something silly.¡± Riona groaned and curled her lip as she rose to her feet. She lengthened the tip of her bracelet, letting it swing to and fro as a bored child might with a string. ¡°Make it quick.¡± ¡°Thank you, oh generous Lady of Irons.¡± I gulped and bowed my head. Without fail, even the sight of her loosing that chain made my muscles tense. ¡°?Qu¨¦ deseas?¡± What do you want? Maya sighed and pinched her thick eyebrows together. ¡°Puedo ayudarte.¡± I can help. I beamed at her with dimwitted glee. My sister watched on, looming behind Maya like a predator aiming its pounce. ¡°Puedo llevarte a tu mundo. Llevarte a casa.¡± I can take you to your world. Take you home. Maya blinked for a stunned moment then glared. ¡°Eso no es gracioso.¡± That¡¯s not funny. ¡°No estoy bromeando.¡± I¡¯m not joking. I wrinkled my nose, as if she said something puzzling. ¡°?Realmente puedes hacer eso?¡± Can you really do that? Her gaze flicked back toward Riona. When it returned to me, her mouth made an uncertain line. ¡°?C¨®mo s¨¦ que no est¨¢s mintiendo?¡± How do I know you¡¯re not lying? ¡°Encuentrame. Ver por ti mismo.¡± Find me. See for yourself. Maya didn¡¯t answer, but she seemed to scrutinize every pore of my face. A war of emotions flashed over hers¡ªthank Danu, Riona couldn¡¯t see it. Skepticism dominated at first as her nostrils flared and a deep furrow stayed between her brows. Something nagged at her though, as she wore at the piercing under her lip with her teeth. My seed of doubt had rooted itself. If only I could water it by explaining further. ¡°Anything else?¡± Riona twirled her iron between her fingers. ¡°No, we¡¯re done.¡± Maya switched to English, lacing her voice with the right touch of annoyance, like I had said something offensive. I suppressed the urge to collapse with relief. A finger of guilt crawled its way up my gut as I recalled the part I¡¯d played in fooling the girl. I could only imagine the repercussions if she found out I had aided my sister in that ruse. No, I had taken the risk and was in sight of the reward. I couldn¡¯t go back. I waved Riona forward as I stood. ¡°You have indulged me enough.¡± Riona offered Maya her hand to hoist her up. ¡°I hope his incessant questioning did not bother you too much.¡± ¡°He¡¯s nothing.¡± Maya took Riona¡¯s hand without pause, unlike how she had taken mine. I could only hope that whatever budding trust existed between the women did not interfere. ¡°Take me back.¡± I dimly registered Maya ordering Riona to take her back, that much shorter girl having the sheer gall to say such to the Lady of Irons. But my sister stayed silent, patting her new pet¡¯s back and muttering little promises in her ear. I couldn¡¯t let it worry me. I had planted what I needed. The only thing left was to wait for it to grow. Chapter 9 - Maya They forgot me. Mom had a medical reason, but what about Nate and Nico? Rio had kidnapped me a little over a week ago. How could my family forget me that quick? As I shuffled back with my alien warden to her underground lair, shock numbed my thoughts too much to figure it out. When I got to that cot, I sagged into it and crashed as Rio tucked the corners of the blanket under me. My new roommate kept creepy quiet, leaving the balmy air dead. No sirens or car horns jolted me me up at noon. No cell phone fired off text message alerts or alarms. There weren¡¯t any new email notifications or piles of unopened envelopes waiting for me. Any final notices and hospital bills hanging over my head were last on my list of priorities. I should have slept a solid eight to ten hours. A short ways in my brain kicked in, sending me rolling and twitching. Mom was okay, for the most part, but something still wasn¡¯t right. I¡¯d wanted a break from calling to check up or making sure she took her medication, but I still wanted her around. Cravings for her silly romantic movies turned my stomach. Memories of her dancing around the house while she did chores played until I could count her steps. The empty chair in that Poker game with Mom, Nico, and Nate should¡¯ve had me in it. Could Rio¡¯s brother help me? Rio had said I couldn¡¯t trust him, but what made trusting her any smarter? Was Daire, Lord of Ivy, my way out? When I gave up tossing, ¡°Queenie¡± lay curled in her tail at the foot of the cot. She let out a high pitched yawn, all those pointy teeth exposed, before blinking her beady eyes at mine. ¡°It¡¯s nice that you¡¯re keeping my feet warm, really, but it¡¯s kind of weird.¡± I sat up on my elbows and rubbed the hardened chunks of sleep gunk out of my eyelashes. ¡°You have a room, don¡¯t you?¡± I enjoy resting in my fur. Rio¡¯s voice came inside my head like a thought. The fox¡¯s attention stayed on me, her left ear flicking back. Don¡¯t you prefer this form? ¡°It¡¯s not that.¡± I shuddered and rubbed my ear. ¡°Let¡¯s keep the talking to when you look like a person.¡± Rio rose on all four paws and slunk up my legs. She plopped on my lap with a delighted squeak on impact, then pricked her ears twice and whined. ¡°Look, I¡¯m not okay with petting anymore.¡± I closed my fingers to fists, burying the temptation to scratch that special place under her chin. I wouldn¡¯t do that if she were a lady, tilting her head sideways so I could reach a new place on her neck, flashing me an admiring smile. And those chest rubs Queenie had liked so much? Heat seared up my whole face. Part of me missed the ignorant bliss when I still thought I was trapped with a super smart fox, not my kidnapper in disguise. Did she miss it too? Queenie sat up, tucking her paws against her belly. The air around her electrified, popping with an invisible energy that made the hair on my arms stand up with goosebumps. All of her parts became fluid, like an animated sequence of one shape flowing into the other. The bright fur spilled from her scalp to wavy hair while her torso swept toward the ceiling. All four brown paws poured out to delicate hands and dainty feet. White fog gathered, smoothed into something like silk, and draped over her lithe curves. It left Rio sitting on my calves, her arms crossed over her chest like a perturbed little girl trying not to throw a tantrum. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Rio pursed her lips and her thin eyebrows made a crooked line, not a wrinkle in sight. ¡°You¡¯re so flat.¡± ¡°What do you think? It¡¯s going to take longer than a nap for me to get over my family forgetting about me.¡± I tugged my legs from under her and crossed them. ¡°I¡¯m not a dog. I can¡¯t happy up on command.¡± ¡°But your mother seemed content, not in any danger. ¡± ¡°Well yeah, that¡¯s always good.¡± I crushed a section of the blanket between my fingers, wrinkling it worse than my tossing had. ¡°It doesn¡¯t change that I¡¯ve been stuck here for a little over a week and they¡¯re laughing their asses off over Poker. It doesn¡¯t make sense. Something¡¯s off.¡± ¡°Perhaps you are correct¡­¡± Rio trailed off, glancing at her knees and smoothing out her skirt. Oh great. Something else she wasn¡¯t telling me. ¡°Just say it.¡± I slouched over my lap. What else could possibly surprise me? ¡°Time passes differently between our worlds.¡± ¡°What?¡± I blinked. ¡°How?¡± ¡°I will explain everything tonight.¡± Rio hurried to her feet. The black curtain in front of her boyfriend¡¯s mirror¡ªthe one with the boar and the bulls¡ªhad a gold, pulsing glow behind it. ¡°I¡¯ve tarried here later than I should. My visit with Bodb won¡¯t take too long. I should be back before the day is out, and then we shall speak more of this.¡± ¡°Wait, you¡¯re leaving me on that cliffhanger to see the creep again?¡± It wasn¡¯t my business. I shouldn¡¯t have made it my business. But could I really let her go without trying to say something? Rio cocked her head to one side, like Queenie¡¯s when I asked a question. ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°You forgot what he did?¡± I fisted a clump of the blanket and lorded over it, frowning at it hard enough that my mouth ached. ¡°Throwing you around? Treating you like a kid he had to punish?¡± ¡°He¡¯s always been overbearing.¡± Rio rubbed her neck where he¡¯d grabbed her. Funny thing about aches and ideas, though, they always came back later. ¡°At times it makes for uncomfortable bed play, but it¡¯s his nature.¡± ¡°Still doesn¡¯t mean you should let him treat you like that.¡± ¡°Your concern is touching, but unnecessary.¡± She gave me a little ¡°drop it¡± smile. Mom did the same thing when I pried too much. ¡°I can handle him.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Maybe underneath the messy relationship and warped views on kidnapping, she was someone trying to make the best of a bad situation. But she still had a part in what happened to Mom. ¡°I guess I¡¯ll sit here for the day and entertain myself with something.¡± ¡°We shall have some dinner when I return. If you get hungry in the meantime, use the cabinet.¡± She started for the hallway. ¡°And you¡¯ll listen to my warning about the mirrors this time?¡± I¡¯d keep it in mind this time, now that I had an idea how to use them. ¡°I¡¯ll keep myself busy.¡± Rio turned and headed down the hall leading out of the cavernous room. Even in the dark, she stood out like a glow-stick at a rave. When she stepped through that mirror and disappeared behind its black curtain, I shot up from my cot. We had gone through a mirror across from her boyfriend¡¯s to get to the garden where we met Daire. Her half-brother had said to find him if I wanted more info on his offer. The question came up again: trust Rio or trust Daire? Daire had seemed model pretty, same as Rio, but with something missing. He was beach blond with a nose like Marilyn Monroe and blue eyes most teenagers would call dreamy. Lean enough to be athletic, but too wiry to be a fighter. That might work for ditsy arm candy, but next to his sister¡¯s femme fatale edge or Bodb¡¯s primal bulk, he came off more safe than scary. That didn¡¯t mean I should go along with him. Then again, why was Rio so much better? She¡¯d become a nicer kidnapper, but she still kept too many secrets and treated me like a house pet. While she claimed I was stuck without a way home, her brother offered another option. If it meant having Mom in my life again, even if she never remembered me, why shouldn¡¯t I take the chance? Altogether there were a dozen or so black curtains total lined up on either wall of the tunnel. There had to be a reason Rio covered them up, something else she hadn¡¯t told me. I lifted up the dark veils one by one, inspecting the frames. Each had the same long oval shape, tall enough for any basketball player to walk through without bumping their head. That first mirror was the one that went to that king¡¯s hunting lodge of a bedroom. The others had similar, mish-mashed themes: waves breaking against a trident, two hammers in a nest of plants, horses galloping with naked women, tiny birds flying under a sun and moon. I came to the gaudiest of them with a ram¡¯s head surrounded by stampeding chariots, as gold as polished costume jewelry. Rio and I had gone through that one to meet Daire. She¡¯d called it ¡°the portal to her father¡¯s estate.¡± Last time we¡¯d walked through a garden, but finding her brother there was a long shot. Wandering around her dad¡¯s place would get me caught for sure. There had to be another way. At the end of the row, right beside the ram mirror, was the simplest of the set. Embossed ivy vines wrapped around its frame, the leaf-corners making sharp points on the smooth metal. Her brother had a title, didn¡¯t he? Daire, Lord of Ivy. If they shared a father, and the ivy mirror was right next to his¡­ I ran my fingers over the reflective part, held my breath, and pushed. It stayed cool and hard. How had I gotten through the mirrors before? With the ram mirror, Rio held it open and waved me forward, no explanations. At my accidental meeting with Bodb, I was looking for a secret tunnel or door. Each time, I wanted to get out of that hole and go somewhere else. The glass turned to soft pudding and my hand sank into it. I jerked back. My fingers came away clean, no broken shards or molten metal. Good. I reached out again, quicker this time. The all too solid surface jammed against my knuckles. They throbbed, hot and achy, while I glared at my reflection. What had activated it? I was remembering the other times where I tried going somewhere else, then I sank in¡­ So that¡¯s how it worked: think of leaving and it opened. Rio had given me good advice when she said to stay away from the mirrors, but it wouldn¡¯t have killed her to explain the whys. I pushed that thought away and focused all my attention on going through the ivy mirror. It would suck if half of me got stuck in Rio¡¯s underground tunnel because my thoughts wandered. When I slid in that time, it rippled like liquid mercury. A chill seeped up to my elbow and a soft vacuum sensation pulled at me, urging me on. This was it: take a chance or stay a lapdog. I dove the rest of the way in. * * * The slick mush washed over me like cannon-balling into a pool in the dead of a sticky summer. After the rush of crashing through, my body floated for a hot second in the muffled quiet. Could I stay in that in-between place and swim around? But it spit me out toward my mystery destination too fast to find out. I broke the surface, sucking in balmy air. The glow of a whole layer of neon globes flashed at me, so much brighter than Rio¡¯s subterranean candelabras. I squeezed my eyes shut and put my arms out, bracing myself for the roll into a hard floor like the last time I tried a mirror without Rio¡¯s help. ¡°Oof!¡± someone else said. I landed on something firm but pliable with rows of long bumps, covered in a soft linen. It deflated all at once and tensed. Muscles? Ribs? Someone¡¯s chest? I opened my eyes and looked down. A beach blonde pretty boy stared back. Daire. Hot damn, I¡¯d actually found him on the first try! I should¡¯ve taken an extra couple minutes to plan what I was going to say before barreling in. Part of me had figured I¡¯d miss him and have to wait until the next time Rio went away to catch him. There were so many questions I had to ask, but I couldn¡¯t yank one out for the life of me. ¡°This has to be a hallucination conjured by lack of sleep¡­¡± He patted the sides of my legs, too high for comfort. ¡°A very solid one. And heavy.¡± Blunt corners dug into my thighs as he squirmed. Hip bones? Of course. I was sitting on him¡ªstraddling really¡ªan alien stranger I¡¯d met a grand total of once. I scrambled off and tripped my way back to the mirror. ¡°The hell was that?¡± I wiped at my legs where he¡¯d pawed around. ¡°Don¡¯t flatter yourself. I was trying to see if you were real or not. Besides, you were the one who landed with your nethers flush against mine.¡± He snorted as he stood, smoothing out imaginary wrinkles in his shirt, long enough to be a party dress. ¡°Too convenient for coincidence.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t waste your time trying that reverse psychology crap.¡± I groped at the mirror behind me, my life raft out. If I thought about going back to the tunnel it should get soft. The glass stayed hard. Again? ¡°You¡¯re not my type.¡± Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. ¡°That¡¯s ludicrous. I¡¯m everyone¡¯s type.¡± Daire flipped his hair over his shoulder and cocked an eyebrow at me. ¡°What horror stories has Riona fed you to suggest otherwise?¡± I had to get my bearings. Where did I end up? The light came from the sun shining through a hole in the roof and reflecting off glowing gems set into the rest of the ceiling between webs of roots. After being in Rio¡¯s bare hole in the ground for so long, her brother¡¯s gaudy circus tent of a room gave me visual whiplash. He had decorative rugs displayed across the curving wall. Instead of plain, repeating patterns, they had embroidered scenes of shining lords and ladies surrounded by different nature motifs. All of them featured at least one swan and butterfly. A circular poster bed with gold pillars and gold-fringed cushions was set smack dab in the middle of everything. The plainest piece of furniture was a desk piled high with stacks of browning papers. ¡°Let¡¯s cut the crap. I¡¯m here for one thing, and that¡¯s not it,¡± I said, squaring my shoulders at him and setting my fists on my hips. My pulse raced a mile a minute. If watching Rio had taught me anything, it¡¯s that I couldn¡¯t play nice with these people. I didn¡¯t have a way out, but he didn¡¯t know that. Years of faking smiles at drunks had to be enough practice to pull off that bluff. ¡°If I don¡¯t like what you tell me, I¡¯m going right back to your sister and snitching.¡± ¡°Not what I had in mind when I offered my help.¡± Daire froze, his mouth drawing tight. He held up his empty palms in my sight at all times. ¡°Answer me this, how did you find me?¡± ¡°The mirrors.¡± I tried a shrug, but it came out stiff. ¡°She has a bunch, and one happened to have your title on it. I guessed.¡± ¡°Lucky for you that vixen has a secret gate into my quarters.¡± Daire edged around me toward the mirror and squinted at the glass. ¡°Sure enough, there are gaps where she¡¯s stretched my spell-work from her little trips. How could I not notice these before?¡± He bent over my shoulder, hovering inches away. I flinched away a step. ¡°What¡¯re you doing?¡± ¡°Making you a way back so your absence isn¡¯t discovered. No doubt Riona crafted this gate to prevent people from this side getting through.¡± Daire traced a series of swirls over the frame, making invisible connections across its sharp gold leaves. ¡°You waited until she left you alone, correct?¡± I glared needles. ¡°I¡¯ll take that as a yes. Nice to know your mind is keener than your appearance. And she won¡¯t return for some time?¡± ¡°Duh.¡± ¡°You have no need for that attitude.¡± Daire¡¯s lips pursed as he paused, then he beamed. ¡°Aha! Unlike Riona¡¯s wards, this spell isn¡¯t soaked in her irony residue. If I twist this magic to make it a two-way portal, but mimic her design so it goes unnoticed¡­¡± The tip of his finger drew a final circle, then tapped the center of the glass. ¡°There! Now you may come and go as you please.¡± I stayed near the mirror all tensed and ready to bolt. Making me a way out was a step in the right direction, but he¡¯d have to try a lot harder to seal the deal. ¡°You had an interrogation in mind.¡± He backed away from me and rested both hands behind his back. ¡°What would you like to know?¡± I gaped. The short answer: everything. But where would I start? Rio¡¯s warning kept floating back, the pretty little voice of the evil I knew telling me not to bother with one I didn¡¯t. She knew the world a lot better than I did and seemed to care in her warped way. Should I use that instead of trying Daire¡¯s mysterious option? How could I make an educated choice when they held all the facts and I had squat? I ground my teeth, thinking until my jaw got sore, trying to swim upstream against the steady current of questions crowding my headspace. When I touched the mirror like a little kid clinging to a security blanket, the shiny middle rippled and tugged at my fingers. It must¡¯ve been responding to my half-thoughts about running back to Rio. At least I knew Daire¡¯s way back worked. ¡°It¡¯s clear you aren¡¯t convinced you can trust me. Yet you still sought me out.¡± Daire waltzed over to his desk full little white flowers and swept his hand through the air. The folding chair across the room skidded toward me. He waved to the empty seat. ¡°Take a rest. Perhaps it will help you collect your thoughts.¡± ¡°I¡¯m a server. I can stand for hours.¡± I did take my hand off the mirror. It went back to flat glass so it showed the room around it instead of taking people places. I crossed my arms over my chest instead, needing something to do with them. ¡°Let¡¯s start easy. How can you get me out?¡± ¡°That isn¡¯t as simple an answer as you think.¡± Daire plopped into the chair instead, crossing one leg over the other. ¡°How much has Riona told you about our world?¡± ¡°Not a lot. Something about time being different.¡± ¡°Lovely. The less you know, the longer this will take and the likelier Riona will be to discover her changeling missing. Still, it¡¯s easier to paint over a blank canvas than scrape away a portrait by someone else.¡± He sighed, his eyebrows pinching together and digging a furrow in his forehead. When Rio did that her skin stayed smooth. What was different about him? ¡°I thought she would have explained a few things if she wanted to keep you here forever.¡± ¡°Forever?¡± My throat closed up when he said it aloud. I¡¯d figured Rio wanted me to stay with her a while. Actually hearing what that meant¡­ My knees went wobbly and I had to lean against the wall for support. So much for standing for hours. ¡°Let¡¯s start from the beginning.¡± Daire folded his fingers together in his lap. ¡°What do you know of Irish myth?¡± I swallowed my rising panic. A different subject. Ireland. It¡¯d be nice to listen to the Dropkick Murphys or Flogging Molly, but I doubted that¡¯s what he meant. If he¡¯d asked me about the St. Patrick¡¯s Day rush and how much specialty green beer and Guinness Nico stocked for it, I could¡¯ve given him a better answer. The only ¡°mythology¡± I¡¯d ever heard of came from a Lucky Charms box. ¡°You mean like leprechauns and clovers?¡± ¡°Of course you would only know that stereotype.¡± Daire winced, his lip curling. It made the bridge of his nose scrunch up, something else I¡¯d never seen on Rio. I hadn¡¯t even seen any of that on Bodb behind all his beard. With how mad he was, I should¡¯ve. ¡°That means you have never heard of the Aos Si or the Tuatha De Danann?¡± I blinked. ¡°Easy Shee and Too-ah-ha what?¡± ¡°That would be a yes. How best to compress millennia of history into something concise?¡± He pursed his lips and stroked his chin. Was he always that theatrical or was I only noticing because of his weird ability to wrinkle? ¡°Perhaps a story. Once upon a time, a race of great magicians, poets, and warriors flew to the shores of a little isle that is now known as Ireland. This people were called the Tuatha De Danann, the Children of Danu, and are the ancestors of everyone who lives here. Upon arrival, they liberated the small island from its former conquerors, the Fomor. However, the former rulers were not quashed so easily. The Tuatha De were defeated and enslaved a number of times in the ensuing wars for dominance. My aunt and her late husband reigned during that time, as our High King and Queen, but the Tuatha De overthrew them and a final war broke out. In the end they drove the Fomor into the ocean, victorious at last. Their absolute rule was short lived, though, when humans arrived shortly after. ¡°Rather than flee to the ocean with their bitter rivals, the Tuatha De Danann crafted their own paradise from part of a separate, parallel dimension called the Otherworld. They called that paradise Tir Na Nog and placed it underneath the hills of Ireland where they made their home from then on. They gave themselves a new name: the Daoine Aos Si, or People of the Hills. We usually shorten it to the Aos Si, for brevity¡¯s sake.¡± I nodded along as he talked, soaking everything in. If only I had something to write with. I was half tempted to interrupt and ask him for a piece of paper from his desk so I could take notes, but then Rio might see it and ask where I¡¯d gotten it. ¡°Peace reigned between the Aos Si and humans for a time where they flourished alongside each other. It was a coexistence that cultivated much of Ireland¡¯s folklore and culture. The Aos Si believed the years of war were behind them. Then sects of a new religion cropped up¡ªyou would know it as Catholicism¡ªthat shunned the old ways of worship where humans treated the Aos Si as gods and paid them tribute. There were some who became so fervid against us that they somehow gained magic laced with iron, a substance toxic to us, and began campaigns of slaughter against any of our number who chose to live in the mortal world.¡± ¡°Wait, what about your sister?¡± The iron magic would explain the dark field Rio used to burn Bodb and why she kept swinging her chain bracelet around at Daire like a biker gang enforcer. ¡°She wields the very same power. It¡¯s made her quite the pariah.¡± Daire twirled the ends of his hair around his finger. ¡°How either mortals or Riona got a hold of this magic remains unknown. But it¡¯s common rumor that their source is the Fomor.¡± ¡°Makes sense.¡± That explained why Bodb wanted their relationship to stay secret. ¡°What happened next?¡± ¡°Word traveled fast to our supreme leader, the High King, Bodb Derg. He called his kin together and they crafted a power known as the Key. They endowed it into the newest born of their kind, a mere babe at the time. This power locked the walls of Tir Na Nog from anyone who would want to get in or out unless they gained access through the Key Bearer.¡± ¡°Okay. War, Tir Na Nog, Aos Si, Catholics, Key. Got it.¡± I repeated that string of words in my head until they made a tune. ¡°So, you¡¯re saying if I find the kid with this Key thing, they can let me out?¡± ¡°Keep in mind, this all happened well over a thousand years ago.¡± ¡°So the kid grew up. Same question.¡± ¡°We used to be able to see the mortal realm from here through scrying, like the vision of your mother,¡± Daire went on, his tone lilting up, hinting at something. ¡°The Key put a stop to that as well. Now only its bearer can perform such acts.¡± ¡°But you were the one who showed me my mom¡­¡± Daire raised both eyebrows. ¡°Of course it¡¯s you.¡± I groaned and raked my bangs out of my face. The headache from information overload was nice for a change. That still didn¡¯t rule out Daire feeding me a line of crap. ¡°This makes a little sense. But for all I know, you¡¯re making it up.¡± ¡°No one with Aos Si blood can lie, for one. Deceive by weaving unrelated truths into implications, yes. But outright telling a falsehood is beyond our ability. It¡¯s the same force that binds us to keep our oaths.¡± He waved at the mirror beside me, the way back to Riona. ¡°Ask my sister if you are so eager to check my story. There is no love lost between us. Be wary of trusting her too much, though. Her symbol is a fox for a reason.¡± ¡°Funny, she said the same thing about you.¡± Both of them bad mouthing their sibling to me made my head throb worse. ¡°And your story doesn¡¯t line up with the bits I figured out on my own about this place. I¡¯ve heard about this Bodb guy. Isn¡¯t he the only one who can let people in and out?¡± ¡°You are right. There¡¯s a well known catch with having such a stupendous power.¡± Daire¡¯s jaw tensed. ¡°I¡¯m not allowed to use the Key unless I have permission from the High King. And others must ask him first before making a request of me.¡± ¡°Damn it.¡± I pounded the wall and shook my head at the floor. ¡°Another dead end.¡± ¡°Not quite.¡± That snapped me right up. I rushed over, abandoning my safe spot by the mirror and invading his space. My shadow loomed across him almost as well as Rio. ¡°Stop yanking me around and spit it out!¡± ¡°Be aware, if word of this gets out, especially to Riona, the punishment would be dire.¡± He flinched, scooting away some. ¡°You will lose what small chance you have for escape.¡± ¡°I know better than to shoot my mouth off about leaving a place where I¡¯m not supposed to be.¡± ¡°Very well.¡± He gulped. ¡°I found a spell that will eliminate Bodb¡¯s control of my power and pass it to me. Which means I can open whatever portal I want to the mortal world and send you through. The catch is that I require a human¡¯s cooperation to perform it. I need your help.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°That¡¯s how the spell was made. It was nigh impossible since the High King¡¯s hatred of humans made him banish them back to the mortal world. That is, until you came along.¡± ¡°So I¡¯m the only human in this place?¡± ¡°There¡¯s one other, but she is¡­compromised.¡± ¡°If I say yes, which I¡¯m not yet, what do I have to do?¡± ¡°We must complete everything by Samhain, your Halloween. That leaves us only a few months. Then the Key¡¯s power will fade out of existence and seal you here.¡± Daire wiped his palms on his leggings. ¡°My source hasn¡¯t revealed the how just yet, but it will soon.¡± ¡°You want me to help you without any idea what I¡¯m doing? On blind faith?¡± ¡°More or less,¡± he said through gritted teeth. ¡°No deal.¡± I swiveled around and started to the mirror. ¡°I¡¯ll take my chances with the redhead.¡± He grabbed my arm. ¡°Wait!¡± ¡°What?¡± I jerked out of his grip and turned around. He was a loose end, and if I left him scared I¡¯d reveal his big secret to somebody, it¡¯d come back to bite me. ¡°If you¡¯re so worried I¡¯ll tell your sister, saying something hurts me same as you. As far as I¡¯m concerned this never happened. Happy?¡± ¡°Do you not realize how dire your situation actually is?¡± Daire let both hands fall back to his sides, his fingers clenching like he was resisting the urge to pin me down. ¡°You struck me as someone who valued your freedom. Time is not a luxury you have in this world. How much about its flow did Riona tell you about? Did you notice in the vision how stilted it seemed?¡± ¡°She didn¡¯t explain that much. What about it?¡± ¡°Time is an artificial construct here in Tir Na Nog.¡± He pointed at the skylight and the sun shining through. ¡°The place where Riona and I live is called Bri Leith. It lays within the province of Midhe, one of five territories that resembles the states of your country. Tara, where the High King Bodb sits, is the Washington D.C. that¡¯s nestled inside its borders. Because of that, it is the only region that has heavenly bodies: our sun, moon, and stars. Everywhere else fluctuates with its ruler¡¯s whims. Something like days pass, but the only seasons are the ones we make. Nothing dies unless it¡¯s killed. Everything is forever young and eternally at its peak. The magic that creates that effect has been even more erratic since it lost touch with the mortal realm. It never perfectly lines up with it at a steady pace. Sometimes a hundred years may pass in the human world when only a day has passed in Tir Na Nog, and visa versa. It seems like a week here when it¡¯s been a month there. There have even been instances where a few minutes in either world has meant a millennium passing in the other.¡± ¡°The hell does that have to do with me?¡± ¡°You will stay frozen as you are in this world. If you don¡¯t take my escape, one of two possibilities will happen. If you stayed here forever as Riona¡¯s pet, your mind would deteriorate until there was no hint of you left. If, by some miracle, you found your own way out before that, only after decades of searching, you would find everything you ever knew long gone. Those charming bar-owners of yours, your mother, all dust. Then all that you had left would be waiting until you joined them.¡± Daire tilted his chin up, making his full basketball player height that much more ominous. ¡°How lucky do you think you are?¡± The truth? Not very. I kept my mouth shut though. Had that been why Rio was nervous to talk to me about that? If Daire was telling the truth, then he was right and I couldn¡¯t afford to put off getting out, especially if his offer had a limited window. How the hell could I verify any of that? I could check out the history, whether they couldn¡¯t lie, and the time difference with Rio. But I still didn¡¯t have any other way to verify anything else he said or if it would screw me over. He¡¯d given me more information than Rio had and he needed me for something. He¡¯d tell me what he had to so I¡¯d cooperate. I had to have more than his word¡­ ¡°Prove it.¡± I stayed planted and crossed my arms in my best impression of security guard that meant business. I had a little weight to throw around: the leverage of knowing his scheme and the fact he needed me for it. If I had to launch that nuke and tattle, Rio would take out more anger on her annoying kid brother than her precious pet human. As long as Daire had more to lose, I could risk talking to him. ¡°You¡¯ve got one more shot to convince me to go along with this or I¡¯m gone. I¡¯ve got no idea what¡¯s in this for you, but at this point I don¡¯t care as long as it gets me back home.¡± ¡°How?¡± ¡°That¡¯s on you.¡± ¡°Very well. I suppose I can show you the other mortal.¡± He sighed, throwing me a side scowl as he stepped up to the mirror. When he tapped the edge of the frame, a gold ring appeared around the glass. ¡°It means taking you somewhere neither of us is allowed, especially you. I can hide you if you do as I say.¡± ¡°No promises.¡± ¡°This girl is going to be the death of me,¡± he muttered, switching to the same language Rio used where the actual words echoed underneath the English. Daire stepped into the mirror first, the surface rippling around anything it touched as he passed through. I saved my whispering for a prayer that whatever he showed me would work. His plan was the only sliver of a chance I had right then. I followed him in. Chapter 10 - Daire I kept my senses wide open as I led my would-be accomplice through my gardens. We trailed through aisles of flowers and under winding trees that made shady arches over the pathways. At that time of day, with the sun high over our heads, Fergal should be making his patrol of Bri Leith¡¯s inner halls. As long as we stayed outdoors and kept along the hill shaped roofs of Father¡¯s manor, I could keep him from spotting Maya. We skirted around the sloping entrances to pit-like courtyards and round windows and skylights. It wasn¡¯t until I spied the solitary rectangular slit in the lowest of the domes that I slowed our pace. Mother¡¯s room. My neck tingled where her delicate fingers had squeezed. The lingering memory made my stomach a bed of buzzing wasps. We drew closer to the narrow window and I withdrew my energy, muting it so Aunt Brigid would not detect me as easily. Maya inhaled as if to say something. I pressed a finger to my mouth. She glanced around the nearby hills and swaying grasses. When she spoke next it was a soft whisper. ¡°Does that mean we¡¯re close?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± I replied, matching her tone. My traitorous heart beat harder against my breast and my feet became leaden for all they wanted to move. ¡°From here we must take care not to draw notice or someone will find you.¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Maya narrowed her eyes at my trembling hands. ¡°A tad late to be getting cold feet, isn¡¯t it?¡± The idea seemed brilliant back in my room, too far away for the possible ramifications to dawn on me. What if Mother spotted me? Would she greet me with an eager smile or the same frantic rage like when she¡¯d tried to kill me? ¡°There¡¯s something you¡¯re not telling me.¡± ¡°Only because it isn¡¯t relevant.¡± I hid both hands behind my back and squeezed them together. ¡°That¡¯s up to me, not you.¡± ¡°I could leave you out here, stranded and lost. It would be easy for anyone to catch you.¡± I closed the distance between us in one stride. ¡°None would treat you nearly as kind as my sister or I.¡± ¡°Fine.¡± The maiden had the gall to shrug. ¡°Good luck with that spell. I bet that king would love to know all about it.¡± ¡°You said it earlier. If you expose me, you risk yourself.¡± ¡°If I go down, you go with me.¡± ¡°I see my sister is rubbing off on you.¡± I withdrew from her intimate space and resumed our distance. ¡°What is it you Americans call this kind of impasse, a Mexican standoff?¡± ¡°Nope. It¡¯s me grabbing you by the short and curlies.¡± ¡°Colorful.¡± I winced at the painful images that conjured. ¡°It really is nothing. The other human is always guarded by one of my family¡¯s mightiest elders. There is no telling what she will do if she sees you.¡± ¡°And that¡¯s the only reason you¡¯re so twitchy?¡± My throat tightened as the agitated yes I wanted to say caught. I gagged trying to force the word through. Why couldn¡¯t I have inherited Mother¡¯s capability to lie outright? ¡°One of many,¡± I managed. ¡°Come. We have tarried here too long. My father¡¯s guard makes regular patrols and at this rate he will have circled back around by now.¡± Maya peered over her shoulder at the empty hills sprawled behind us. When I started walking again, she trotted beside me without another complaint. Thank Danu. We made it the rest of the way to Mother¡¯s window. As we approached the gap, I knelt beside it and Maya copied me. The musty air filling that dank room wafted out and it made my nostrils flare. I used to bring Mother flowers to set by her bed so their perfume would override that smell and give the gray chamber more color. Then she realized the blossoms never wilted and it provoked her into a frenzy where she tore at them until the petals were strewn across her floor. Brigid gently turned away any other bouquets I attempted, saying they were better off at home in my garden than fodder for Mother¡¯s fits. ¡°What now?¡± Maya continued to keep her voice low, even moreso than before, and nibbled on her worn thumbnail. ¡°Stay still.¡± I bent over her and leaned toward her ear so she would hear my own murmuring better. Then I cast a thin layer of glamour over the two of us. Power skirted over my skin as the illusion covered it, only enough to hide us from sight so as not to alert anyone¡¯s extra senses. I would appear as naught but a stone and Maya would seem a mere mound of grass. A shudder ran through Maya¡¯s shoulders and she dug her fingers into the ground. ¡°What do you see?¡± I pointed down the hole where one could see into the whole of Mother¡¯s quarters. ¡°If you want to know so bad, look.¡± ¡°One of us has to play sentry and watch for danger.¡± A convenient excuse. If I saw inside, I might forget all secrecy, peek through the glamour, and someone would notice me. ¡°Fine. There¡¯s a couple redheads. The one sitting by the door is super tall and she¡¯s playing with something shiny. Probably in her late twenties or early thirties. More on the orange side than your sister. She glows like you two.¡± ¡°That¡¯s the guard.¡± Aunt Brigid keeping herself busy. ¡°And the other?¡± ¡°She¡¯s more of a dark strawberry blonde, about my age, so late teens, maybe younger. She¡¯s kind of my height too. Is she the human?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Anyone describing Mother at her best wouldn¡¯t be so frugal with details. ¡°What¡¯s she doing?¡± ¡°Weaving or something. I don¡¯t know.¡± Maya¡¯s voice caught. ¡°She doesn¡¯t look too good.¡± ¡°Her name is Etain. My father took her, just as Riona stole you. She was a newly wedded queen among ancient Ireland¡¯s people, rumored to be the most beautiful woman in the world. The Aos Si often covet those sorts of mortals like prizes. When they put it in their minds to have something they do anything to obtain it.¡± ¡°Sounds about right.¡± ¡°She has been here ever since and is now trapped in that room and guarded at all times.¡± I paused and surveyed the landscape around us. The long grasses made rolling waves with the balmy breeze. No far off figures stuck out above them, stomping their way across the green. Nothing disturbed their flow or divided them as something slinked through. ¡°Her only access to the outside world is glimpsing through this slit, set too high to climb through.¡± ¡°He never lets her out?¡± Not anymore. ¡°Does that sound familiar?¡± Maya shifted her weight from one hand to the other and rolled her wrists. Whatever thoughts she kept shuttered before showed as clear as if I had scried them myself. Panic and dread, her white-knuckled fingers curled into the grass and tearing at it. Perhaps I¡¯d skewed the truth some for my own ends, but the reality of her predicament helped assuage my guilt. Maya¡¯s situation had a few key differences to Mother¡¯s and her fate would be far worse if Riona stayed as possessive as she seemed. I spied over the edge ever so little. The grasses stayed clear of any disturbances. If Mother was at her loom, a short look shouldn¡¯t distract her from that absolute focus. Aunt Brigid would stay occupied keeping watch on her charge and fiddling with whatever plaything she had brought. I could chance seeing how things were for myself. Nothing could¡¯ve prepared me. In both her Aos Si and human lives, others had praised Mother¡¯s beauty as the finest in either realm. She took great care maintaining that reputation and stuck to a set regimen from her childhood as a chieftain¡¯s daughter. Our best talks came when I helped her comb her hair the requisite hundred strokes a day or accompanied her on the long walks she credited with preserving her physique. She insisted on a thrice a week washing and never dressed without consulting me on the effect a gown had. Father often complained she spent too much time on such ¡°unnecessary frivolities.¡± But she quipped back his favorite saying: ¡°a dull blade only kills the one who wields it.¡± You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. Mother¡¯s hair stuck out in so many disjointed tangles and her skin had a greasy sheen with the start of red blemishes. She wore only her baggy nightdress that hung heavy from her shoulders, not having bothered with her usual finery. The progress she¡¯d made on the sky of her latest tapestry hung limp, a large gash torn through its middle. Mother toyed with those broken threads and took each end to tie them together in a series of mismatched knots. The piles of thread she had sorted strand by strand into their respective colors laid jumbled in a ball on the floor. Who had ruined her stunning work? Had it been Aunt Brigid, trying to dissuade a tantrum? Had it been Mother herself, taking out her grief on her art? ¡°Why won¡¯t you let me go home?¡± Mother asked, her voice a nasal monotone. She turned to Brigid and the sunlight flashed off of fresh tear trails on her cheeks. ¡°Has my husband not negotiated my ransom yet?¡± ¡°This is your home, dear. Your husband is the king over this hill.¡± Brigid set the glistening hunk of bronze in her lap, still shapeless as far as I could tell. ¡°Are you done with your weaving today?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Mother sighed, twisting away from the tapestry. ¡°Everything is wrong, broken. Who ruined it?¡± ¡°It was my fault. I was not watching your dinner knife and you were very clever that day.¡± Brigid crossed the room to Mother¡¯s copper wash pitcher. ¡°If you¡¯re finished, shall we wash your face?¡± ¡°Not now.¡± Mother stayed in her chair and her attention wandered away from Brigid to stare at the window. We locked eyes. The cloudy stupor in hers cleared a moment, recognition registering. Maya ducked back and tugged on my sleeve to do the same. I couldn¡¯t as I hung on Mother¡¯s reaction. Would she ask for me, say my name, or even smile a little with delight? Could she spare me her ire long enough for that small comfort? ¡°Someone¡¯s watching.¡± Mother recoiled and pointed an accusatory finger at the ledge, at me. ¡°You¡¯re one of Midir¡¯s spies, aren¡¯t you? I want nothing to do with your master. I want to see my family again, my daughter. Tell him to take me back home, please!¡± Aunt Brigid spun toward the slit. I pressed my belly to the grass and withdrew back into my glamour. The burning in my eyes from lack of sleep intensified with fresh, gathering tears. I swiped at them. We had no time for such indulgences. Maya had seen my ¡°proof.¡± Mother¡¯s condition could only help my cause. Mother wouldn¡¯t have to endure it for much longer, though, so long as Maya agreed. ¡°We have lingered too long.¡± I crawled away from the window, staying low so neither Brigid nor Mother could catch sight of my flight. Maya only nodded as she clambered arm over arm after me. Her manner stayed measured. The mask of pensive bravado left her resembling an overcast gathering of clouds, likely to storm as much as hover. I concealed our tracks as we went, sending my power into the long stalks of grass we pressed against so they bounced upright behind us. Soon we reached a point far enough away where Brigid and Mother wouldn¡¯t spot us if we rose. ¡°This should be a good distance.¡± I paused and lifted myself to kneel. Maya became lost among the stalks. ¡°What is my little lord doing?¡± The grass shifted, curling inward as sage colored coils as thick as a string of wine casks twisted around us. I cried out as I scrambled on top of Maya and wrapped my glamour about her. She clapped her hand over her mouth, muffling a yelp. All anyone should see would be a pile of tall grass I laid upon. If the giant snake happened to brush against said grass, that would raise a whole new set of questions. Why does the grass feel like flesh, little Daire? Why does it whimper when I squeeze it? ¡°Fergal.¡± I grabbed my pounding chest and adjusted my tongue from speaking in Maya¡¯s English to the Aos Si¡¯s language. ¡°Isn¡¯t it early for you to be wandering by here?¡± ¡°I adjusted my route to give this area an extra sweep.¡± An oblong snake head rose over me, its pale green eyes unblinking and shiny black pupils narrowed to slits. Fergal shrank and shaped himself into a fair Aos Si man with near white hair, towering above me from where I sat. The diamond shaped scales with their deep brown rows of spots became a cloak hung about his shoulders. A silver brooch in the shape of a serpent chasing its own tail pinned it in place. He was the only one of Father¡¯s personal guard to live through the sealing of Tir Na Nog. That survivor¡¯s guilt drove him to take his duties as my personal stalker far too seriously. ¡°Orders from King Midir, in case you came lurking.¡± ¡°I am no threat to her. He knows that.¡± ¡°True. Besides, Queen Brigid protects Lady Etain well enough.¡± Fergal added a cheery cadence to his words as if I were still a child that needed his coddling. ¡°It is not for her safety, little lord, but yours.¡± ¡°She¡¯s hardly dangerous.¡± My shoulders slumped, the sight of Mother¡¯s neglected state biting fresh. ¡°It seems like she¡¯s not even bothering to take care of herself.¡± ¡°The king told me about that incident when you visited her last. She may not have started out a threat, but you saw yourself how bad her condition is.¡± He patted my head in an all too familiar gesture. I had complained about it before, but he¡¯d only chuckled and commented how I would miss it if he stopped. ¡°She is only human, now. That¡¯s the natural course their limited forms take. We can only prolong it for so long.¡± ¡°They have made substantial leaps of their own over the years. Some live beyond a century without any magic. Without our intervention.¡± ¡°They also used that cleverness to slaughter most of our kind.¡± Fergal knelt, stern gaze meeting mine in warning. ¡°Careful not to let your fantasizing about mortals corrupt your wits, lest that blood corrupt you like it did Lady Etain.¡± Maya rammed her elbow into my leg. So she hadn¡¯t lost all feeling in her limbs yet. ¡°Duly noted.¡± I cast him a smile that hardly touched my cheeks and wiggled my fingers in farewell. ¡°Do get back to your duties then and I¡¯ll be on my way.¡± ¡°To where?¡± ¡°Either my room or my gardens. I haven¡¯t decided yet. I won¡¯t disturb the Lady Etain. I¡¯ve had my fill for the day.¡± ¡°Be sure I don¡¯t catch you again.¡± Apparently satisfied, Fergal rose and and trekked away along his route. I lingered until he rounded Mother¡¯s window and disappeared behind that hill. Maya wheezed. ¡°All clear.¡± I scooted off and crossed my legs. ¡°Took you long enough to get rid of him.¡± She sneezed and rubbed her nose as she sat up. ¡°Convincing performances are never rushed.¡± ¡°Yeah right.¡± She braced the small of her back as she stretched it. Her vertebrae emitted one sudden crack rather than a gradual series of them. ¡°Next time hurry it up. You¡¯re heavier than you look.¡± ¡°There will be a next time?¡± Hope swelled in my chest. ¡°Only if you¡¯re straight with me.¡± She slumped over her knees. ¡°No more games, alright?¡± ¡°I make no promises.¡± ¡°Whatever.¡± She indulged a roll of her eyes before squaring them on me. ¡°Your sister doesn¡¯t like you and I can see why. She¡¯s got a hole in the ground while you¡¯ve got the rich family, all this property, and all the time in the world. But from everything you¡¯ve told me, if you go against the Bodb guy, you¡¯ll lose it. Why do you still want to do this spell?¡± ¡°That hardly touches the surface of my sister¡¯s resentment.¡± ¡°Not the point.¡± ¡°I thought you said you didn¡¯t care about my motives.¡± ¡°You¡¯re stalling.¡± ¡°What does it matter?¡± I picked at the nearest grass stalk and curled it around my finger. ¡°It¡¯s a simple arrangement. You help me, I help you. Why complicate matters?¡± ¡°Because I need everything in the open, no secrets.¡± ¡°Very well, if you must be difficult.¡± I jerked my chin toward Mother¡¯s quarters. ¡°That woman and I are in similar predicaments. She is trapped in that room, unable to leave because my father values her. I am trapped in my own home because my family values my power. If I free myself of the High King¡¯s authority, then I can save myself and escape to the mortal realm.¡± ¡°I said no secrets.¡± Maya leaned closer, crowding me. ¡°That lady¡¯s your mom, isn¡¯t she?¡± ¡°How did you¡ª¡± ¡°It wasn¡¯t hard to figure out. Besides, You two look alike in the face.¡± She tapped her own eyes, her own nose, features of mine most commonly compared to Mother¡¯s. Her finger settled on her forehead. ¡°And you wrinkle up here when you¡¯re mad. Nobody else here does.¡± ¡°Either you¡¯re more observant than I gave you credit for or lack of sleep is making me careless.¡± Heat flooded my cheeks as I rubbed my still sore eyes. ¡°That doesn¡¯t make anything I said any less true.¡± ¡°What¡¯s going on with her? Why aren¡¯t you allowed to see her?¡± ¡°She has been here so long that her mind isn¡¯t quite what it used to be, so she has these episodes where she loses herself. Sometimes she forgets things, other times she becomes hostile and attacks her caregivers¡­me included.¡± I tied that stray blade of grass I¡¯d been toying with into a knot. ¡°When I was younger, she was of her right mind more often than not. Recently she hasn¡¯t been herself more often. Father has convinced himself that the best thing for everyone is to keep her secluded and sedate at all times. No more visitors, no more attacks.¡± ¡°And what about when you leave?¡± Maya¡¯s eyebrows crinkled together. ¡°Are you going to leave her here?¡± ¡°I intend to take her with me.¡± I tossed the crumpled grass aside. ¡°If modern medical technology cannot help her be well again, then it can at least improve her quality of life until she does pass on.¡± ¡°Then what?¡± ¡°I¡¯d rather not think that far ahead just yet. Odds are against me making it that far as it is.¡± Maya went quiet, her mouth bending into a pensive frown. Did her thinking favor me? What must her inner debate be arguing? Her brightly dyed hair and the silver piercings she wore matched her defiant personality. Yet her monotone garb suggested someone who kept her head down, another automaton lost to a daily grind. The former could work in my favor, wanting to take control of her helpless situation. The latter would side with resigned adaptation, mourning her old life but preferring guaranteed survival over such uncertainty. Were those contradictions why Riona seemed to cling to her? Would those dueling sides help my cause or hurt it? ¡°Fine. You¡¯ve sold me.¡± Maya stood while wiping off stray grass and seeds clinging to her trousers. ¡°I¡¯ll help you.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a deal!¡± I lit up, bolting to my feet and capturing both her hands in mine. ¡°You help me gain control of my power and I will take you back to the mortal realm, to your true home.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s not get too touchy.¡± She slipped her fingers from my grasp. ¡°Remember, this is business.¡± ¡°Of course.¡± After all, our road ahead was bound to have enough twists and turns to make us dizzy. Everything involving the Aos Si never followed a straight line. If we were to follow it to the end, we had to keep our heads, no matter the perils. ¡°Just business.¡± Chapter 11 - Maya When I agreed to help Daire I thought we¡¯d get started right away on doing his spell. He knew the deadline, a holiday that the Aos Si called Samhain and that I called Halloween (and by weird coincidence, my birthday). It was their new year celebration and if we didn¡¯t finish the spell by then he¡¯d lose his opportunity. That gave us three months his time with no idea how long would go by in my world. He still had to find the next ingredient, though, so that left me waiting. Seeing Daire¡¯s mom, Etain, reminded me of mine in the depths of her depression right after Abuela passed. She spent her time sleeping and shuffling between the bathroom and the bedroom. She¡¯d only eaten when I made her something, handed her the plate, and watched her swallow every bite. She got away with not washing herself for a week straight before I walked her to the shower and sat on the toilet until she finished. Daire¡¯s mom had looked like that, moving slower than a zombie with the same empty stare. At least mine had the opportunities to come out of it: access to medical resources to help her and me to take care of her, until she was ready to do it herself. Daire¡¯s mom was trapped in that cell with only a little more light than Rio¡¯s burrow and nobody but a guard for company. I shuddered every time I thought about staying with Rio so long I¡¯d wither away to that, losing all hope of escape even in death. Daire gave me two weeks until I should visit next, and by then he should find the next step of the spell. I measured those days with a set routine. I woke up to an empty cavern¡ªRio disappeared every day to see her secret boyfriend, the same guy Daire and I were trying to undermine. After doing what I could for my basic hygiene with the always-full water pitcher and rag Rio left me, I spent the next hours keeping myself busy. I made lists of what to do after I got home, jogged laps from my cot to the boulder sealing up the cavern, tried to remember every My Chemical Romance song I¡¯d memorized in middle school. Right about when I ran out of ideas for what else to do, the cave walls closed in and all the panicked thoughts I kept pushed down rushed back. Was anyone waiting for me back home? What if Mom, Nate, and Nico thought I was dead? By the time Daire and I finished the spell, years could pass over there and I¡¯d be stranded in the middle of Tampa Bay with no money and missing a chunk of my life. Then Rio came back and we sat down to dinner/question time. It felt like a therapy session with Mom where the psychiatrist asked me a bunch of probing questions and wouldn¡¯t stop until I¡¯d spilled my life story. Rio laughed at Abuela¡¯s guilty love of telenovelas and begged me to teach her how to salsa after I told her about the dancing socials at my old church. She threw out her own ideas about how Nate and Nico could perfect their microbrew. We tried Rummy a few times, but she didn¡¯t catch the fun of card games until I showed her Poker. It calmed the frenzy running through my head enough for me to fall asleep and start the cycle over. * * * Five days straight and I went stir crazy, cooped up in that cave with nothing but time and myself. Even though I grew up an only child, there was only so much I could do to entertain myself without something to break up the silence. Without a computer, a phone, a book, or even elevator music, I ran out of activities fast. I broke and made a beeline for Daire¡¯s mirror. Our deal made him my way out and I shouldn¡¯t let it go any further than that, but he was one of two people who didn¡¯t want to kill me in a place I didn¡¯t belong. I¡¯d take the risk of getting friendly if it meant having someone else to talk to when Rio wasn¡¯t around. I held my breath as I stepped through the glass. The liquid goop sucked me through like silly putty. I¡¯d have to get used to that feeling if I wanted to secretly visit this guy on the regular. It spit me out in Daire¡¯s room. Sunlight streamed in through the hole in his ceiling. If I had to guess it was the middle of the day. Daire sat at his desk tracing his finger over an open book while scribbling notes on a stack of papers. I let out my air in a gasp. Daire jumped and slammed the book shut. As he whipped around, his hand slipped on the papers, sending them flying all over the floor. I gave him a little wave. ¡°Hey there.¡± ¡°Oh. It¡¯s you.¡± He blinked and at first his words had the same undercurrent as Rio¡¯s. He gathered his papers back into their stack and when he spoke next, no other language lilted underneath his formal English. ¡°It¡¯s a few days early isn¡¯t it? I haven¡¯t made much progress, and there¡¯s no telling how long this interruption will set me back.¡± ¡°Yeah, I figured.¡± ¡°Then why, pray tell, are you risking discovery like this?¡± ¡°Because if I have to stay in that place by myself another minute, I¡¯m going to do something stupid.¡± ¡°Like this?¡± ¡°Better than poking into the other mirrors.¡± ¡°Where did Riona head off? She should be spending every waking moment she has with you with how protective she acts.¡± ¡°Beats me.¡± A half lie, but it wasn¡¯t my business to tell. Better to play it safe by keeping that info close to my chest instead of pissing Rio off by gossiping about it to her kid brother. ¡°All I know is every day she goes somewhere and stays out until dinner.¡± ¡°Very well.¡± Daire sighed and set himself back in his chair, opening the book again. I looked around the room, exploring it better with more time on my hands. It was like any royal bedroom from a fantasy video game, full of medieval wall hangings and bright green fabric, only it didn¡¯t have any trunks or dressers for storage. The feature that stood out most was his desk, specifically its soil mound with little white flowers growing out of it. They were like tiny stars with delicate stems and fuzzy yellow stamens. ¡°Those are pretty.¡± I pointed over at them. ¡°What kind of flowers are they?¡± ¡°Lily vines, called Kerry Lilies by modern humans,¡± he replied in a monotone. ¡°Why¡¯re those flowers in here instead of outside with your other plants?¡± ¡°I have my reasons. Don¡¯t touch them.¡± I left the flowers alone and edged closer, trying to catch a peek at what was in his book instead. He opened it to a spot about two thirds of the way through. All the pages he flipped through were blank. I came up and hovered over his shoulder as he read the top page of his notes. He¡¯d written rows of long straight lines with tiny slashes sticking out of them, not like any letters I¡¯d ever seen. He touched a corner of the book, and glowing gold lines like the ones on his writings appeared under it. ¡°That¡¯s some weird invisible ink,¡± I said. ¡°What¡¯s it say?¡± ¡°Nothing relevant. Aengus likes to blather on when he¡¯s hiding something.¡± ¡°Who¡¯s that?¡± ¡°My uncle.¡± Daire paused his copying and leered at me with a sober scowl. ¡°Don¡¯t ask Riona about him. They don¡¯t get along.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°He¡¯s the one who killed her mother. It was an act of vengeance for trying to kill my mother.¡± No wonder Rio didn¡¯t talk about her family. I wouldn¡¯t either if mine had that kind of soap opera drama. ¡°Is he as bad as your dad?¡± ¡°Oh no. He¡¯s far more pleasant. He taught me everything I know of magic and spell work.¡± Daire went back to drawing those lines and skimming his fingertip over the page. ¡°You¡¯re looking for the next step, right?¡± ¡°Sadly, yes. I have already read this massive tome twice. It¡¯s slow work, and the enchantments upon it are meant to make it difficult.¡± ¡°Me being here won¡¯t distract you, will it?¡± ¡°You¡¯re not a bother, yet. Aos Si excel at languages and academics because we can concentrate on many things at once.¡± ¡°I guess that makes sense, but your mom¡¯s human. Doesn¡¯t that make you more like me?¡± ¡°Technically, yes. However, Mother has a complicated situation. She was an Aos Si before magic changed her into a human. While I must sleep and eat as a human must, I have stronger Aos Si traits because of my mother¡¯s former heritage.¡± ¡°Wait¡­ What?¡± ¡°I suppose ¡®The Wooing of Etain¡¯ isn¡¯t well known in the Americas.¡± He scrunched his nose and rubbed his eyes. ¡°If you need a break, you could tell me the story.¡± ¡°It is an epic spanning many years.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve got the time to kill if you do.¡± ¡°I suppose a diversion couldn¡¯t hurt.¡± Daire tucked a cloth bookmark into his place and shut the book. When he turned his folding chair toward me, he snapped his fingers. ¡°Do have a seat.¡± A hard lump butted against my calves. I stumbled back into a chair-sized mound that wasn¡¯t there before. Unlike the other places to sit in his room, that one didn¡¯t have a cushion. My tailbone ached for a hot second. ¡°Some warning next time?¡± ¡°I make no promises. The surprise is half the fun.¡± Daire smirked as he folded his hands in his lap. ¡°Now, how do they phrase it in fairy tales? Ah, yes. Once upon a time¡­¡± * * * The last time Daire told me one of those long-winded stories, I¡¯d been too suspicious to enjoy it. Now that I had nothing better to do, it was more like watching a one man show. Daire got into it, doing impressions of his family and gesturing along with the action. He referenced the woven art on his wall for a couple of scenes and added a brag about how his mom made them. It all started when the Dagda, Daire¡¯s grandfather and the High King before Bodb, had an affair with a married lady and got her pregnant. He tricked the lady¡¯s husband into staying away long enough that she had the baby, gave him away, and returned back to normal before the husband got back. That baby was Daire¡¯s uncle Aengus. The one who adopted him was Daire¡¯s dad and Aengus¡¯ older brother, Midir. Midir was the best fit to take on another kid because he already had a ton. None of them were from his first wife, Fuamnach¡ªRio¡¯s mom. So Aengus grew up thinking he was one of those many illegitimate sons and that Midir was his real dad. But eventually Aengus found out the truth¡ªthat his real father was the boss of everybody¡ªand wanted some land of his own. Aengus worked with the Dagda to cheat his real mom¡¯s husband out of his land and took over as its new king. ¡°So you have a bunch of other brothers and sisters running around somewhere?¡± This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. ¡°No. Most of my older brothers perished in conflicts with other factions of Aos Si. The rest of my siblings were left stranded in the mortal realm after the walls of Tir Na Nog closed and died at the hands of humans. Only Riona and I remain of Father¡¯s natural children.¡± ¡°How does he treat you two?¡± ¡°With Riona, he has disowned her. With me, he tends to be indifferent at the best of times and disappointed at the worst.¡± Daire¡¯s shoulders slumped as he glanced up at a wall hanging. It had a family portrait of two happy swans with their baby. ¡°It¡¯s strange to hear Aengus speak of Father as if he was the best parent a son could have.¡± ¡°Where does your mom fit into this?¡± ¡°Well, the story truly begins much later, when Father first laid eyes on fair Etain. But it will have to wait for another time.¡± Daire pointed up at his skylight, orange rays streaming in. The sky had changed from a clear blue to a mix of red blending into purple. ¡°We can¡¯t have you being missed.¡± ¡°Another time?¡± I pushed myself up, my butt numb from sitting so long. ¡°Is that you inviting me to visit again?¡± ¡°I suppose it is. It¡¯s been quite some time since I had any friendly company, besides Uncle Aengus.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have any other friends?¡± ¡°Family, yes. Occasional lovers, yes. Friends, no.¡± He turned his chair back to his desk, rearranging his notes into new stacks. ¡°Most see me as nothing more than the Key Bearer. The few that do know me better are quite a bit older and watched me grow up. I¡¯m still a child to them, despite that I have grown to my maturity. And, unlike them, I have never touched the mortal world. I cannot commiserate about ¡®the good days.¡¯ It leaves finding common experiences difficult.¡± ¡°I get it. Ever since I dropped out, I lost touch with the friends I had in high school. Most of them either went off to college or work as much as I do. My only friends now are the people I work with and they¡¯re all older than me.¡± I debated patting him somewhere. He seemed like he needed it, but I shoved my hands in my pockets. ¡°Hard to keep up relationships if you don¡¯t have the time.¡± ¡°Well, now you have too much time don¡¯t you? Off with you before you¡¯re caught.¡± Daire shooed me away, waving toward the mirror. ¡°I shall see you when next you visit.¡± * * * The next time I went over there, Daire continued the epic. While Midir got with any lady that wasn¡¯t Fuamnach, he¡¯d never been in love with any of them. Then he met Etain, a young heart-breaker with an overprotective father who was asking for a huge dowry from anyone who wanted to marry her. Midir promised he¡¯d never touch another woman again if he could have Etain, and Aos Si couldn¡¯t break a promise once they made it. But Midir was already married. There was no way Etain¡¯s father would allow that wedding to happen. Midir visited Aengus¡¯ new place to hang out and get some advice. But an accident happened there where Midir almost lost his eye. Aos Si law said that Aengus was responsible, since it happened on his land, and that he owed Midir big time. Midir told Aengus that the only way to make things right was if he helped get Etain. Aengus pulled through, pulling a fast one on Etain¡¯s dad, and brought Etain back home to his place where Midir waited. But on the way back, Aengus got a huge crush on the same woman his big brother/father figure wanted. They were the same age, and Etain was the sweetest, prettiest lady that ever lived (Daire stated that like indisputable fact). But Aengus did the honorable thing, stuck by his bro, and kept his feelings to himself. ¡°Did anybody ever ask what Etain wanted?¡± I rubbed my neck and massaged some of the stiffness out of it. ¡°I get it was a different time, but if your dad and uncle loved her so much they should¡¯ve cared what she thought.¡± ¡°Very true. She didn¡¯t mind the prospect of marrying Uncle Aengus before he revealed the truth that her intended groom was Father. She did have reservations at first, but Father refused to wed her without earning her love in return. They agreed that she would give him a year. If she still rejected him after that, he vowed to return her to her home unsullied and cease pursuing her. In the end, she fell for him and they were married.¡± ¡°And he didn¡¯t have to dupe her into being with him?¡± ¡°No. Before her condition deteriorated, Father always gave her the choice to stay with him even after she became human. That doesn¡¯t mean he never did anything she hated.¡± ¡°Even after she knew how he treated his first wife, Foo-ahm-something¡ª¡± ¡°Fuamnach.¡± ¡°Yeah, her. He cheated on her a bunch of times, had all those other kids, then decided he wanted to trade her up for a younger model. He didn¡¯t even divorce her first.¡± ¡°Aos Si don¡¯t have divorce. Since marriage is more of a contract, a pledge, their nature makes it so that they cannot break it. The only way to remarry, as it were, is to marry a second time.¡± ¡°My point is he could¡¯ve treated her a lot better. She must¡¯ve freaked when he brought Etain home.¡± ¡°Not at first. She deceived Father into believing she had no qualms about him bringing another wife into her household. Their marriage had been a farce for for hundreds of years, and all their attempts to have children failed. Father was eager to believe she wanted to move on as much as he did. He was very wrong.¡± ¡°What did she do?¡± ¡°Next time.¡± Daire snickered as he pulled his all important book into his lap. ¡°It¡¯s twilight already.¡± ¡°Come on. Give me the short version.¡± ¡°No true storyteller rushes their art.¡± Daire waggled his finger at me and pointed to the mirror. ¡°Away with you until tomorrow.¡± I groaned and trudged back to Rio¡¯s cave. * * * As soon as I woke up, I checked to make sure Rio had left and rushed through my hygiene routine. Once I washed the superficial layer of grime off, I charged through Daire¡¯s mirror like Abuela went for the futon when her show had a new episode. Daire had reshaped my dirt mound to be a small armchair. A steaming slab of ground beef shoved between two thick slices of bread waited in it. I lifted up the top piece of the meat sandwich. It had chunky red gravy slathered on it. ¡°Is this supposed to be ketchup?¡± ¡°Good day to you too.¡± Daire glanced up from his copying. ¡°It¡¯s supposed to be a hamburger.¡± ¡°You made me a burger?¡± Daire¡¯s cheeks went as red as his tomato concoction. ¡°I wanted to see how it compared.¡± ¡°Oh, so I¡¯m a test subject.¡± I sat in the dirt chair and set the plate in my lap. ¡°You need not eat it.¡± Daire rearranged his seat to face me. ¡°I¡¯ll scarf down anything if it means you finishing that story.¡± ¡°Of course!¡± Daire smiled so big his eyes twinkled. ¡°Last we left Midir and Etain, Fuamnach had lulled them into trusting her¡­¡± Before setting up her plan, Fuamnach met with her godfather and got a spell to kill Etain. She made a big dinner for her husband and his new wife when they got back home. Everybody thought Etain was safe as Fuamnach played the nice hostess. That¡¯s when she cast her magic. Etain dissolved into a puddle of water on the spot. Fuamnach thought she¡¯d won and ran off while Midir was trying to revive his true love. After Fuamnach left, the spell backfired and a butterfly flew out of the water. Etain had survived. Points to Midir, he stuck by Etain even though all she could do was flutter around his ear. It was only a matter of time before Fuamnach found out her spell hadn¡¯t worked and that Midir was still happy. She did the ultimate overkill and sent a tornado that blew Etain all over Tir Na Nog. Butterfly Etain managed to escape to the human world. However, her luck didn¡¯t hold out when she landed in a noble lady¡¯s drink. The liquid weighed down Etain¡¯s wings too much and the human woman swallowed her whole. I winced, both for butterfly Etain and the lady that drank her. ¡°That wasn¡¯t the end, though,¡± Daire corrected. ¡°The chieftain¡¯s wife became pregnant shortly after that. Her child grew to be the most beautiful woman in Eire, with the same red-gold hair and fair features as Midir¡¯s lost love. And what do you think that girl was named?¡± ¡°Something Irish?¡± ¡°Well of course. That goes without saying.¡± Daire deadpanned me, breaking character a second. ¡°The chieftain and his wife named their new daughter Etain, for her striking resemblance to the fairest maiden of the Aos Si.¡± ¡°Did Fuamnach find out?¡± ¡°No, she thought her deed finished. But she set back to Midir¡¯s home in Bri Leith for one final task¡­¡± Before Midir found out Etain had been reborn as a human, when he was about to give up looking for her, Fuamnach visited him for the last time. She went back home, disguised as Etain, and spent the night with her husband. Daire wasn¡¯t sure why she did it, but he figured it was nostalgia, wanting to capture the old days when their marriage wasn¡¯t as bad. Of all the times they were together, that was the one that got her pregnant. ¡°Fuamnach ran to her godfather¡¯s grove and lived there in hiding. She raised her secret child there for many years, and none but Riona knows quite what happened inside those trees. When Midir realized he had been tricked by his first wife once more, he scoured the human world for his dear Etain, knowing in his heart she had to be alive.¡± Daire swiped his hand through the air like it was Midir taking off on his search. ¡°Lest you not forget, though, that Uncle Aengus still had tender feelings for his brother¡¯s new wife. He had given up hope that she still lived and knew Fuamnach was to blame. While his brother quested across the mortal realm, Aengus ventured across Tir Na Nog seeking revenge. He found the grove and slew its master. But Fuamnach was nowhere to be found. Aengus wound between the trees, silent as the death he meant to deal, waiting for his prey to make herself known.¡± As I listened, I munched on Daire¡¯s ¡°burger,¡± which went down more like a sloppy joe. Everything came to life in my head. Fuamnach must have hidden Rio somewhere and left to take on Aengus. In my version, she crouched behind a clump of bushes, peering over them and watching Daire¡¯s uncle as he crept around. She waited for him to either give up and take off or let his guard down so she could attack. ¡°Aengus shouted taunts into the air, ¡®Afraid you cannot best me, witch? Do you tremble now that you must face someone mightier than a helpless insect?¡¯ Still, it didn¡¯t rile Fuamnach to action. He felt her power lurking somewhere among the shrubs. ¡®Very well, it¡¯s clear no one else is here. I should move on,¡¯ Aengus said aloud, trying a different tact. He changed to a swallow and disappeared into the canopy overhead. Unknown to Fuamnach, he perched on a branch and masked his aura to make it seem as if he had truly left.¡± I froze mid bite as the Fuamnach in my imagination rose out of her hiding spot, looking around for any signs of Aengus. If she couldn¡¯t feel him or see him, she was duck waiting to get shot. ¡°Fuamnach showed herself, having hidden as a vixen among the underbrush. She changed to her true shape, the majestic former lady of Bri Leith. Aengus leapt from the branches and shifted form as well. He bared his sword and sliced for Fuamnach¡¯s neck.¡± Daire pulled out the itty-bitty knife hooked on his belt and slashed it through the air. ¡°He struck true and rended Fuamnach¡¯s head from her shoulders. Her corpse collapsed to the ground, finally slain.¡± The air got clammy as I sucked on my labret stud. My brain flashed forward to later when Rio crawled out of whatever hole Fuamnach had put her. She would¡¯ve called out, asking where her mom was. Then she¡¯d walk into that grassy patch and find the body. The woman who¡¯d raised her would be sprawled out and staring with empty eyes. The details of the forest were a fuzzy blur of greens, but the way my imaginary Fuamnach¡¯s hand clutched her chest and one of her legs was folded under the other matched Abuela. ¡°Maya?¡± Daire bent toward me, biting his lip. ¡°You¡¯re pale. Was I too graphic?¡± ¡°A little.¡± I rubbed my eyes hard enough to snuff out that image burnt to my retinas. ¡°I think I¡¯ve had enough for today.¡± ¡°You may borrow the bed if you must lie down a moment.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve got to get some sleep.¡± I held my stomach as I started for the mirror. Acid churned inside it, fighting to upchuck what I just ate. ¡°Will you return tomorrow? I can make something better.¡± I stopped. He liked me coming over? I figured he was entertaining me so he¡¯d stay on my good side. But if he¡¯d stoop to bribing me with bad food, he must¡¯ve either been having fun or he was as desperate for company as I was. He did say he didn¡¯t have any friends that weren¡¯t relatives. I threw him the best grin I could manage. ¡°Yeah. I¡¯ll be back.¡± * * * I went back to Rio¡¯s burrow that night in a fog. The quiet that had been so oppressive before welcomed me. The dim light helped me process my swimming thoughts as I got ready for bed. I should¡¯ve predicted that as soon as I took off my bra and settled down into my cot that Rio would come flowing out of her boyfriend¡¯s mirror. She walked over and greeted me with a warm smile that didn¡¯t reach her eyes. Their steely sheen made her seem tired, worn out. ¡°How¡¯d it go?¡± I didn¡¯t usually ask how her visits with Bodb went, but I couldn¡¯t help it after knowing what I did. ¡°I¡¯d rather speak of pleasanter matters.¡± She knelt to the cabinet and opened it. The smell of roasted pork filled the cavern. ¡°What did you get up to today? I hope you weren¡¯t too restless.¡± ¡°I did alright.¡± The deception came a little harder than it should, my already nauseous stomach twisting. I shouldn¡¯t feel guilty about lying. She wasn¡¯t there a ton and, like any pet, I needed company sometimes so I didn¡¯t become a neurotic mess. We stared at each other for a hot second, the air thick with secrets neither of us was ready to give up. Rio looked away first as she set out one plate for her and one for me. I munched at my dinner while she picked at a raspberry or two. If Tir Na Nog had crickets, they¡¯d be chirping somewhere. ¡°You don¡¯t feel like talking, huh?¡± ¡°No.¡± She sighed. ¡°Not tonight.¡± ¡°Maybe we could play something instead?¡± ¡°I¡¯m afraid my mind isn¡¯t quite in that place either.¡± ¡°What would you usually do?¡± ¡°Change to my other shape, the one you call Queenie.¡± She peeled off a strip of the meat and twisted it between her fingers. ¡°I might go for a scamper in the woods, but you have been alone for too long already.¡± ¡°A walk outside sounds nice.¡± Rio shook her head. ¡°Hmm.¡± I paused, mulling over our options. She was right that I wasn¡¯t eager to send her off while not knowing when she¡¯d be back. Plus Daire needed to work sometime. If I visited twice in a day, he¡¯d get worried. The strip of meat in Rio¡¯s hand dripped with juicy goodness, a perfect scrap for Queenie. ¡°You could change and we could play like that.¡± ¡°I thought you disliked interacting with that form, now that you¡¯re aware it¡¯s me.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not as weird now now that I¡¯m used to it. It¡¯s a compromise I can live with.¡± ¡°As you wish.¡± Rio grinned, some of it reaching her eyes this time. She shrank, her features narrowing, melding and shifting, sprouting a fluffy tail and sonar dish ears. She folded her dainty brown paws under her and wiggled as she got ready to leap at something. I tossed her a strip of my pork and she caught it with a proud little yip as she scarfed it down. She nosed her plate over to me and I threw her the rest of her dinner. Chapter 12 - Daire Maya and I continued those visits every day for the rest of that week. I still hadn¡¯t found any further notes now that I had procured a human. Uncle Aengus should have put a trigger into the next step to reveal itself near the first, but nothing more showed itself as I reached the book¡¯s end. Going back to the beginning and running through each of the margins again made me stay up long past when I needed more sleep. Maya¡¯s short sojourns afforded a pleasant diversion for a few hours, but those were hours taken from my work, from my bed. Around her fourth or fifth visit in a row, I forewent my usual experiment with food. She didn¡¯t seem to notice or mind as she stepped through. I glanced over my shoulder and offered her a quick greeting before diving back into the glowing letters of the book. What had I missed? There had to be a second step concealed somewhere within those pages. Maya muttered a paltry, ¡°Hey.¡± She had seemed less talkative since I became carried away describing Fuamnach¡¯s demise. Perhaps she saw that I was otherwise occupied. While she hadn¡¯t engaged me in further conversation, the weight of her presence made me reread lines and scroll over margins I had already combed through. To be a poor host was one of the biggest offenses one could give a guest, or so the Aos Si believed. If she was there, courtesy demanded I make seat for her, or attend her needs, or make meaningless small talk after her affairs. ¡°I¡¯m not in the best of moods at the moment.¡± I massaged my throbbing forehead. ¡°Today may not be the best time.¡± ¡°You need me to leave, I get it,¡± she said, her voice soft and resigned. ¡°Just a couple more minutes, alright?¡± I peered behind me and sought her out. What could possibly delay her departure? She had taken liberties with my bed in the prolonged silence since her arrival and laid on the edge. Sunshine from my skylight fell across her face. She¡¯d closed her eyes and sprawled her arms across my pillows. Her skin drank in the rays like a starved plant longing for nourishment. The expression on her face was serene and wondrous, a criminal in exile given the rare privilege to glimpse their homeland. She came from a land where the sun shone most of the year. If my scries to find her and her mother were correct, she¡¯d known nothing else since her infancy. I hesitated to speak, to break that vulnerable peace, but the question slipped. ¡°What is it like where Riona lives?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a big hole in the ground. She¡¯s got some candles in the walls to light the place up, but it¡¯s not much.¡± Maya hadn¡¯t opened her eyes yet, not moving from the sun¡¯s light. It gave her warm skin a soft glow of its own and made her resemble some foreign breed of Aos Si, if such existed. ¡°Haven¡¯t you ever been outside?¡± ¡°Only that one time when we saw your mom. Your sister says it¡¯s too dangerous.¡± Maya shrugged, still basking. ¡°I get why. Somebody could see me and that¡¯d break the terms of the deal she made. Then I¡¯d be killed to either clean up her mess or punish her, or something else bad.¡± ¡°Ah. And how long does she leave you in said hole every day? Our visits tend to go on for a few hours at least.¡± ¡°Yeah, she usually gets back a while after I do. I¡¯d say it¡¯s anywhere from five to ten hours. Don¡¯t quote me on that. No clocks or sundials or whatever you use in this place to tell time.¡± I pressed my mouth into a line. My finger was still pressed to the page of the book, most of it blank save for the small section highlighted by my touch. I peered down. It was the beginning of the passage detailing the Key¡¯s creation. The end of the next page would have the portion about how the Key would gradually kill me once Bodb dubbed my usefulness over. Following Aengus¡¯ logic, I had until Samhain, which was still a couple moon cycles away. I still didn¡¯t know what Maya needed to do to make Aengus¡¯ solution work. Tracing the same pages over and over, obsessing over the grim fate in store for me, was fraying my wits. The short fits of sleep I had managed were plagued by nightmares of nothingness and the sensation of my own nonexistence. I¡¯d wake up exhausted, but terrified to slip back into the same dream. Maya coming every day had been a boon, holding the dread at bay with all of her eager questions. ¡°Alright, I¡¯m about ready.¡± Maya sat up and kneaded her eyes. ¡°I¡¯ll get out of your hair.¡± ¡°There¡¯s no need, really.¡± I set my cloth marker back in the book, saving my place. ¡°Now is as good a time to pause as any. I don¡¯t have any food prepared for today. I could find something else to make your stay a bit easier.¡± ¡°Um, let me think.¡± She bit the piercing in her lip. ¡°You got any music?¡± ¡°Aos Si are masters of that art. What sort were you thinking?¡± ¡°Something fast with a good beat. You wouldn¡¯t have any punk or hardcore, would you?¡± ¡°Why would we carry that noise?¡± I had skimmed over showcases of those small, riotous groups in my past visions. They used large electrified guitars and complex configurations of drums and gongs. Even a full blooded Aos Si would have difficulty making use of those. ¡°Half of them don¡¯t have the skill to play a simple melody or the voices to carry discernible lyrics.¡± ¡°Seriously?¡± Maya inclined forward, elbows on her knees and ready for hardy debate. ¡°So you don¡¯t like the Ramones?¡± ¡°Their singer mumbles everything.¡± ¡°The Sex Pistols?¡± ¡°Why should they be any different?¡± ¡°What about anything Celtic punk? Dropkick Murphys or Flogging Molly?¡± I turned my nose up and refrained from comment. ¡°There¡¯s so much you¡¯re missing out on! The Descendants, Bad Religion, Rise Against. There¡¯s this indie band in Washington I found, Only North. They¡¯ve got a great style you¡¯d have to like. They¡¯re around my age but their sound is a good blend of melody, hardcore, and metal.¡± She twisted the beads set high on her ear. ¡°If there¡¯s one thing I wish I could¡¯ve brought when your sister grabbed me, besides my mom, it¡¯s my music. I haven¡¯t touched it since Abuela passed away. Now I¡¯d kill for some kind of sound to fill all the quiet here.¡± ¡°Tir Na Nog isn¡¯t supposed to be that way. If you ever saw a feast, the reels alone would play in your mind long after you had left. Actually¡­¡± I made my way to the mirror and waved for her follow. ¡°Come. I¡¯ll show you. This last Imbolc had a very catchy player, and most of her songs were even faster than those groups you like.¡± Maya pricked upright and sped over. I summoned a scry of the fair Aos Si musician in question running her bow ragged over her lyra. Every dancer who¡¯d entered that circle became winded by the end of the set, a mighty feat considering Aos Si endurance. I had only endured through two songs. We spent the rest of those few hours comparing the music of our respective cultures, breaking up the silence of our mutual isolation. It was strange to share something as basic to my people as their music and tales, and see how Maya¡¯s reactions varied from appalled to enraptured. When she described the merits of her musical tastes, I attempted to imitate them with my own assortment of glamoured instruments. The arrangements she explained seemed to couple well with the bawdy and politically charged lyrics she sang out. I had only one quandary once she left: had I made a friend of my accomplice? * * * Maya and I continued the pattern of her regular visits. It proved reliable in breaking up the monotony of my copying from the book and reinvigorating my spirits. My new ally wasn¡¯t the most fascinating of creatures, as far as humans went. Her clothing style and shape ran on the homely side, yet in conversing with her, I found myself becoming more comfortable. We exchanged questions in a natural banter, and I was reminded of those long talks I would have with Mother, Uncle Aengus, or Aunt Brigid. I¡¯d never had that sort of familial experience with a stranger, let alone someone who had no impressions of me as a boy, or as just ¡°The Key Bearer¡± or ¡°Midir¡¯s Son¡±. On her following visits through the mirror, I continued to make those attempts at human meals. A cabbage salad I attempted lacked color while its cream dressing resembled a porridge. Frying battered onions went better, though they came out more burned than crispy. These tries made Maya roll her eyes and cringe, but in the end she ate them with gusto. On our tenth meeting, I produced something supposedly simple: a grilled cheese sandwich. It waited for her on a plate in her earthen seat once she emerged through my mirror a little before midday. ¡°You¡¯re early today.¡± ¡°What¡¯s on the menu?¡± Her eyebrows pinched at my creation. ¡°Is that grilled cheese?¡± ¡°With butter and ham slices, which was the easy part. Replicating a thick, wheat-based bread and more modern, foreign cheeses was a challenge.¡± I offered her a thin dinner knife and a glamoured fork. ¡°You don¡¯t have to do this stuff, you know.¡± Still, she sat and cut the sandwich into diagonal halves. ¡°But if you have any tomato soup, that¡¯d be nice.¡± ¡°Hmm¡­ Making my best guess at tomatoes was a disaster the last time I attempted. Would a stew work?¡± I strode to the mirror and summoned the Dagda¡¯s Cauldron, which resided on the other side of the realm in Connacht. When I projected my expectations to the artifact, it spewed out a bowl of steaming meat broth with hearty chunks of mutton floating in it. Not precisely what I asked for, but it would have to suffice. I reached into the mirror and took the bowl. ¡°And while I don¡¯t have to, you¡¯re the one who must suffer through my attempts at modern human cooking. I¡¯d say you getting a free meal in exchange for being my test subject counts as a fair arrangement.¡± ¡°If you want to try something hard, try Cochinita Pibil. The pork takes forever to cook and spicing it right is a pain. But you guys probably don¡¯t need Publix or a Walmart to get the ingredients.¡± She watched the mirror with wide eyes. ¡°Where does the food come from?¡± ¡°Oh, from one of the Aos Si¡¯s sacred treasures. The Dagda¡¯s Cauldron supplies us all of our food in unlimited quantities. Though, the selection is limited to food available before the walls closed unless I try experimenting. Has Riona never used it to feed you?¡± ¡°She has a magic cabinet she pulls our food out of.¡± ¡°It must have a concealed portal to the cauldron inside with a preset selection of meals. That¡¯s a simple enough construct.¡± I tapped the glass and the cauldron¡¯s image disappeared. After delivering the stew, I resumed my seat. ¡°How is it?¡± ¡°Hold on. I haven¡¯t had time to take a bite.¡± Maya dipped one of the triangles into the stew. She munched on it for a moment, her expression more perplexed than disgusted. When she swallowed, she offered an uncertain shrug. ¡°It¡¯s not too bad.¡± ¡°And the cheese?¡± She took another taste of the sandwich, her nose wrinkling. ¡°It¡¯s¡­sour.¡± Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. ¡°Adjusting how a magical cauldron makes cheese is bound to affect the flavor.¡± Maya stabbed her fork into the stew and devoured a piece of mutton. ¡°Why have you been practicing your cooking on me?¡± ¡°For when Mother and I are in the human world. She won¡¯t know the language and will not be likely to learn it, so she will have to rely on me to help her navigate our new life.¡± ¡°What¡¯s your plan?¡± ¡°We¡¯ll find a little cottage or flat on the edge of a city, not too far from a grocer, but separate enough from civilization to not attract much attention. I¡¯ll have to find an occupation doing something, perhaps assisting on a farm. We¡¯ll have a small vegetable crop in the back, of course, where I can grow much of our food.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a pretty picture, but to buy a house you need a mortgage. If you find somewhere to rent, most applications need a credit check. To work an official job, you¡¯ll need a social security card, unless you do it under the table. At least that¡¯s how it is in America. Were you guys going to live there or in Ireland?¡± For a moment, what she said resembled describing complex magical theory. The words made some sense, and the translation spell upon her helped the concepts come through, in a sense. I blinked and tilted my head one side. ¡°Are those all things you had to do?¡± ¡°Kinda. During the last couple years, I got Abuela to let me sit down with her whenever she had to do budgeting or bills. When we had to move last time, I helped her coordinate everything.¡± ¡°Abuela¡­ Your grandmother, then? Your mother didn¡¯t teach you these things?¡± ¡°She tried teaching me what she did know when she was stable, but I didn¡¯t really listen to her and she got frustrated easy.¡± Her shoulders fell as she stared at her sandwich and shifted the remaining triangle with the tip of my knife. ¡°Abuela always had more patience, even though she didn¡¯t like me handling stuff without her.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t recall seeing her in any of my visions. Does she live somewhere far away?¡± Maya went quiet, shaking her head. Her entire demeanor drooped. ¡°So she doesn¡¯t visit often?¡± ¡°She had a heart attack a month or so ago. We didn¡¯t find her in time. Didn¡¯t I tell you that?¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right. I had forgotten.¡± I remembered then how I¡¯d dismissed the comment about her grandmother because I couldn¡¯t use her in my faked vision. Perhaps I shouldn¡¯t have brought up her family, knowing what I knew. The guilt at the part I¡¯d played in deceiving her clawed at my stomach anew. I¡¯d almost settled into believing my own falsified version of events. While Jennifer Diaz¡¯s fate wasn¡¯t entirely certain, the amount of blood seeping from her head wound suggested a bad end. Which meant Maya would be all alone when I brought her back home. ¡°Well, you pose a good problem.¡± I cleared my throat, hoping to drive off some of the awkwardness invading the moment. ¡°I may have miscalculated how well Mother and I will get by in your world on our own. I may need more assistance than I thought.¡± ¡°What¡¯re you asking?¡± ¡°Could you teach me how to be human? I thought I knew enough to get by, but you¡¯ve made it painfully obvious I was wrong.¡± ¡°You sure?¡± Her round cheeks gained a faint tinge of red. ¡°It¡¯s not like I¡¯m an expert. I¡¯m still learning a lot of this stuff. Hell, I¡¯m barely out of high school.¡± ¡°You know how to survive with a loved one who depends on you.¡± I frowned as the gravity of my next words dawned on me. ¡°For as long as Mother is alive, I will have to care for her in a world that is very new to both of us. You grew up there and know its minutia as commonplace, while I have viewed it as a novelty from afar all my life.¡± ¡°Alright, that makes sense. You¡¯ve been explaining how a ton of your magic stuff works. I guess it¡¯d be the same for you if you had to use a debit card for the first time.¡± ¡°Pardon?¡± ¡°You know, the plastic cards with the numbers you swipe in those machines so you can buy stuff.¡± ¡°I thought you exchanged paper bills and coins for items.¡± ¡°Cash works too, but cards are easier.¡± ¡°I should have paid more attention to the commercials in those television programs.¡± I gulped, realizing just how much I had to learn. ¡°It¡¯s alright.¡± Maya laughed and patted my shoulder. ¡°As long as you guys stay in Florida for awhile, I can help.¡± ¡°Does it ever snow in Florida or is it too tropical?¡± ¡°Oh, don¡¯t get me started on the weather¡­¡± We began plotting some logistics of how Mother and I would start a life of our own in Maya¡¯s world. I had to produce a thorough backstory and a slew of falsified documents to make it believable. There were so many things to figure out before Samhain. But planning the next steps aloud for when Mother and I crossed over to the mortal realm made it seem like a legitimate possibility. For the first time, my tentative hope bubbled into an eager excitement at my future. * * * ¡°To get somewhere without a car, one rides the city bus.¡± I pinched my tunic as I ran over the rest of Maya¡¯s previous lesson on public transportation and travel. She had given me one each day since I made my request, and I had accumulated ten sheets of notes detailing them. Maya nodded with expectation. She held my notes in her lap, flipped over so the blank side of the bottom most page faced me rather than the writing. We were nearly finished with the review session. ¡°That requires either bus fare, money paid for one ride, or a bus pass, which costs more currency, but lasts for more than one ride. It stops at multiple places, so it takes a longer time to reach your destination. This is not to be confused with a longer distance bus, like from the ¡®Black-Hound¡¯ company, in which one must purchase a ticket for one trip, much like they do with airplanes.¡± ¡°It¡¯s Greyhound, not Black-Hound.¡± ¡°Blast.¡± I smacked my knee, my frustration getting the better of me. ¡°That breed does make more sense. Black hounds are foreboding.¡± ¡°That¡¯s still a ninety-nine percent. A-plus!¡± ¡°Of course. I expected no less.¡± My chest warmed for the praise, regardless. ¡°What shall the next topic be?¡± ¡°Hygiene.¡± ¡°You mean bathing and the like?¡± ¡°More than that.¡± Maya handed me back my notes, gesturing I should start writing by scrawling something in the air. ¡°Daily showers, deodorant, toothpaste, antibacterial soap.¡± ¡°Aos Si don¡¯t have to deal with things like that.¡± ¡°Yeah, but your mom will. And they didn¡¯t have any of this stuff where she¡¯s from, right?¡± ¡°No.¡± I took my enchanted quill from my desk and steadied it against the blank side of my notes. ¡°Being human is rather complex in your time, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°It gets worse. We haven¡¯t even started on the internet yet.¡± Something tickled the back of my neck, making the fine hairs there stand on end. It wasn¡¯t anything solid, but the feeling of another¡¯s power invading my own. It came from the mirror, seeping through gaps in my wards. The gold frame glowed amber a moment, the High King¡¯s color. ¡°Hide, quickly!¡± I scrambled to gather the book, my notes, everything sprawled and stacked across my desk. ¡°Where?¡± Maya glanced about the room in a frenzy. The circular design and lack of private spaces made my request a challenge. Her gaze settled on the bed, though, and its stacks of pillows. ¡°From what?¡± ¡°Anywhere.¡± I hoisted Maya to her feet as I demolished the earthen seat I¡¯d produced for her. It turned to small pile of dirt and rocks upon the floor. I spread it smooth with my foot. ¡°The High King himself calls from the mirror.¡± Maya¡¯s eyes widened in evident terror as she dove at the bed and ducked behind it. Considering it was round, it would give her ample enough space to move, should my uncle decide to come inside. I pulled the tie holding up the curtains on the canopy and they cascaded down around her. So long as she didn¡¯t squirm too much against the sheer fabric, they should help conceal her. Bodb¡¯s power sent gooseflesh prickling under my sleeves and up my arms. The Key bubbled up in my chest, reminding me of my direct tie to him. Oh how I ached to sever it in that moment. I adjusted my glamour to its minimal state and smoothed out any wrinkles in my tunic. I had to school my panicked breathing, even though my heart raced in my ears. The best way to deceive is to use the truth as much as possible, I repeated to myself¡ªUncle Aengus¡¯ favorite lesson. As I walked up to my mirror to answer the summon, Bodb¡¯s face appeared, his beard and bulk taking up much of the glass. The hunting trophies littering his walls leered over his shoulders. A roaring fire from his massive hearth made his visage dark and foreboding, moreso than usual. ¡°Daire, you shouldn¡¯t tarry when someone calls, especially your superiors.¡± Bodb¡¯s voice boomed through my quarters, making me wince with the momentum of his chiding reprimand. ¡°It can be perceived as an insult.¡± ¡°I meant no offense, your majesty.¡± I changed my speech to my native tongue and bowed low at my waist. My hair fell across my shoulders as I dipped my head. ¡°I did not expect you to call, so I was taken aback. You tend to reach me through Father.¡± ¡°When I hear of something being off about your activities, I¡¯m inclined to surprise you.¡± Bodb frowned, the thick hair on his upper lip hooding his mouth. ¡°You¡¯re very important to me and all of Tir Na Nog. Your safety is essential.¡± ¡°Of course.¡± I held back a biting remark about my so called importance. ¡°What is it about my behavior that has you so personally concerned?¡± ¡°I¡¯m told you¡¯ve hardly been outside your quarters in weeks.¡± ¡°And where did you hear that?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be coy, boy. I have my ways.¡± ¡°How much longer will this be?¡± A familiar woman sighed behind him. Riona? Was she playing spy for Bodb in hopes of currying his favor? Was that how she¡¯d earned the privilege to take Maya? ¡°You know very well I must be back home to attend someone.¡± From the corner of my eye, my bed curtain twitched as Maya sucked in a sharp breath. ¡°You and I will resume our discussion once I¡¯m done.¡± Bodb¡¯s attention flicked to my bed. ¡°And what¡¯s so odd about staying inside for a change?¡± I spoke up, letting some of my insolence creep into my voice. If there was anything the High King despised, it was my sass. ¡°You are a child who obsessively tends his gardens.¡± Bodb¡¯s dubious regard shifted back to me. ¡°They¡¯re starting to become overgrown and you haven¡¯t noticed. Something else distracts you.¡± I grimaced. How much of a mess would I need to fix to curb his suspicion? He wasn¡¯t wrong, and that was the problem. My thoughts had been consumed by the Key, the book, and Maya for as long as I had been in my room. As well as Mother¡­ ¡°If you want to know the reason, ask Father.¡± ¡°I should have figured as much.¡± Bodb groaned as he shook his burly head. ¡°Any squabbles between you two are not mine to intervene in.¡± ¡°Oh really?¡± Riona¡¯s smirk showed in her voice, despite that I couldn¡¯t place where she stood in the room. ¡°What did our neglectful sire do now?¡± ¡°None of your concern, Iron Witch.¡± I crossed my arms over my chest and tilted my chin up. No doubt she could see me. ¡°It¡¯s serious enough to inspire crying fits. Do make him tell, your majesty. It¡¯s been so long since he entertained me with his plight.¡± ¡°Hush!¡± Bodb turned and raised his hand in threat of a slap. Riona went silent. That curtain stretched and trembled, as if someone gripped it in a clenched fist. Such bluster was a common enough way to administer reprimands to unruly underlings for the Aos Si, but it made sense that a show of such aggressive discipline might set off Maya, someone from the modern age. If only I could assure her such a threat was more posturing than anything. Father had done the same plenty of times when I spoke out of turn, but he never followed through on it. ¡°Is there someone in your bed?¡± Bodb asked. ¡°I¡¯m entertaining company.¡± I folded my hands behind my back, my fingers strangling each other. ¡°Might I resume it?¡± ¡°Very well. Tend to Bri Leith¡¯s grounds soon. I¡¯ll speak with Midir about your issue.¡± Bodb tapped his mirror. The colors of his form swirled into a blur until they settled into my reflection. I collapsed into my chair, holding my chest as my heart raced out of control and my panic subsided bit by bit. ¡°That was a close one.¡± Maya pushed my bed curtain aside. ¡°You need to school your emotions better.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t do great around jerks.¡± I went to retort, but a certain familiarity in her tone gave me pause. ¡°You¡¯ve met the High King?¡± ¡°Your mirror wasn¡¯t the first I tried to use.¡± ¡°How are you alive? Uncle Bodb hates humans.¡± ¡°Your sister bailed me out.¡± She lowered herself to the edge of my bed, then bolted upright. ¡°Wait, that guy¡¯s your uncle too?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Which means he¡¯s your sister¡¯s uncle.¡± ¡°Naturally.¡± I cocked a brow at her. ¡°Is it so shocking that we¡¯re connected to him by blood ties?¡± ¡°No. I¡¯m just realizing I¡¯m stuck in a telenovela.¡± Maya groaned and swiped her fingers through her bangs. ¡°I should get going, just in case your sister comes home early.¡± ¡°Yes, and I need to straighten my gardens. As long as I take care of the vines and rearrange the flowers, it should be enough. The trees behave themselves.¡± ¡°You¡¯re the one that does all the flowers?¡± ¡°Of course. It¡¯s thanks to me Bri Leith has the finest grounds in all Tir Na Nog.¡± ¡°I kind of remember seeing them when we snuck out the one time. You could host one of those backyard makeover shows. Seriously, look into landscaping once we get out.¡± I smiled at the compliment, my spirits lifting a moment before the reality of our near miss hit me. If Bodb investigated further into who could be visiting me, he would figure out the truth. ¡°We need to prepare for next time this happens.¡± ¡°There¡¯s shouldn¡¯t be a next time, right?¡± Maya started toward the mirror. ¡°Perhaps yes, perhaps no. If we want to succeed, we cannot be careless.¡± I pressed my lips together, dreading the words I knew must come next. ¡°I hate to impose this on you, but we need to spend some time apart, to be safe.¡± She stopped just short of my mirror, her hand resting on the frame. Her shoulders fell. ¡°You need to get your stuff straightened out and find the next step in that book, right?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± My stomach sank, uncharacteristic sadness falling over me that hadn¡¯t been there a few weeks ago. ¡°Three days should be enough.¡± ¡°Alright, that¡¯s not that long.¡± She offering me a reassuring grin. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll catch up on sleep or something.¡± ¡°What made you think I would worry?¡± She drew a circle in the air with her finger, encompassing my head in the gesture. ¡°That sulky face.¡± My cheeks became hot and I crossed my arms over my chest. As much as I wanted to deny her observation, she was right. ¡°I will be fine.¡± ¡°Seeya in a few days.¡± She offered a snicker and a mock salute as she slipped through the glass and disappeared. It was then the quiet of my quarters became palpable, when the empty space Maya once occupied felt wrong. It wasn¡¯t that I usually ached for companionship, my family supplied that plenty. Then I¡¯d found the book¡¯s secret and the curse of that very family¡¯s making. It had been nice, sharing things with someone unrelated to the entire situation, who listened without judgement and shared my motivation to see my task accomplished. Enough wallowing. I would see Maya again soon. It was three days. The extra hours meant I could dedicate more time to investigating the book rather than experimenting with human foods and music. When I expended too much energy on the book, I could catch up on tending my flowers. It was only later, when I realized how much I would miss Maya¡¯s company, that the next step in the spell revealed itself. Chapter 13 - Maya Three sleeps came and went. That fourth one, I only managed a few hours of actual rest and spent the other time pretending to snooze. All I had to do was wait for Rio to leave, then I could check in with Daire. Through the night, Rio studied each of her mirrors, stroking her chin at some, sneering at the others, but passing Daire¡¯s altogether. Rio came to her boyfriend¡¯s mirror last. She tapped the glass with the the tip of her nail. ¡°Bodb?¡± ¡°My heart!¡± The king¡¯s big voice busted into the cavern, bouncing off the walls. ¡°Have you reconsidered my offer to live here at Tara?¡± ¡°Are you ready to tell me the real reason you made it?¡± ¡°I long to have you closer. Why must you be so suspicious?¡± ¡°Ever since your chance encounter with Maya, you have summoned me every day, demanding my every hour.¡± ¡°You were begging me to spend more time with you, to the point of insisting I marry you. Isn¡¯t this what you wanted?¡± ¡°You do this every time I find someone else to occupy my time.¡± Rio threw her hands up in the air. ¡°First it was shunning the few members of court who could stand being near me. Then you asked me to cease lessons with Brigid.¡± ¡°Those pretenders were scheming to take advantage of your power, and associating too closely with my sister could have exposed our liaisons.¡± ¡°So what reason is it I shouldn¡¯t have a few nights away from you to spend time with my changeling?¡± ¡°You¡¯re acting every bit as unreasonable and ungrateful a shrew as Fuamnach.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you dare invoke my mother¡¯s name!¡± ¡°I have more right to invoke it than you. You hardly knew her.¡± ¡°All because your brother killed her.¡± Bodb growled and the next time he spoke his voice sounded like he¡¯d moved further off. ¡°Get over here. I refuse to continue this through a mirror.¡± Rio slammed both of her fists into either side of the mirror¡¯s frame. Dark particles buzzed around her hands and a crackling hum filled the rest of the cave. She leaned her forehead against the glass, her jaw tight and eyes squeezed shut. ¡°Are you coming?¡± Bodb asked. Rio¡¯s shoulders slumped and her hands drooped back to her sides, leaving dented copper and crumpled bulls behind them. The gray field around her hands faded away. She replied through gritted teeth, ¡°Fine.¡± I opened my mouth, the call for her to stay ready to burst out. Wait, what was I thinking? I had fun talking to her when she was here, and I could admit that. Her situation sucked, that was obvious. It didn¡¯t change anything. The sooner she left, the sooner I could check on Daire and my ticket out of there. I kept quiet. Rio disappeared through the mirror. I threw off the cover and sprinted to Daire¡¯s gold, ivy-wrapped frame. At the last minute as I raised my leg to step through, I glanced behind me at Bodb¡¯s mirror and its new craters. Should I have said something? Would it have helped? Guilt clawed at my stomach all the same. I¡¯d say something after I got back, ask how she was doing when we sat down for dinner, and maybe switch the questions on her instead. I thought of Daire, and walked into his mirror¡¯s shiny muck. * * * ¡°I read through pages and pages about Samhain feast traditions, how essential hounds are to Aos Si society, and arguments both for and against whether one should wear torcs around one¡¯s neck or arms.¡± Daire bent over one of his pages full of characters that looked like neat lines more than letters. While he sat on the folding chair in front of his desk, I lurked next to him. Daire traced his finger down the page of underlined rows. ¡°Then I finally found another message in the margins that hadn¡¯t been there before.¡± ¡°The next step in the spell?¡± ¡°Precisely!¡± ¡°Why didn¡¯t the writer put it on a recipe card?¡± ¡°If you¡¯d ever met Uncle Aengus, you wouldn¡¯t wonder.¡± Daire¡¯s grin quirked wider. ¡°A skilled magician needs a wily mind and an odd sense of humor. Aengus Mac Og has both in spades.¡± ¡°Great, a comedian who likes to complicate stuff.¡± I scowled at the foreign letters. ¡°Go on, translate the gibberish.¡± ¡°¡®Congratulations Daire,¡¯¡± he read. ¡°¡®You have made it this far. I can only assume you roped your mother into this scheme with Bodb Derg¡¯s edicts.¡¯¡± ¡°Those are the laws and oaths that kicked out humans and keep you guys from killing each other, right?¡± ¡°So you were paying attention during my history lessons.¡± ¡°Yeah, and you go on more tangents than my ninth grade algebra teacher about her dog.¡± I jabbed my thumb at his notes. ¡°Keep reading.¡± ¡°What is that saying about good things and waiting?¡± He smirked as I turned my sour face on him, and he read on. ¡°¡®The ingredients you need to enact the ritual can be found a few pages back in my lengthy account of the Tuatha de Danann¡¯s first arrival to Eire. They are four items of great significance. You¡¯re a smart lad, you can figure it out. However, be aware, this ritual is not meant to be easy, especially the last step, which will reveal itself after you have gathered the remaining ingredients.¡¯¡± Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. ¡°Of course it¡¯s hard.¡± I bit the end of my labret stud. Had he covered what that meant in one of his tangents? They all ran together. ¡°What are they and where do I get them?¡± ¡°Not listening to everything, I see.¡± He stacked the underlined page in with the rest. ¡°It¡¯s a well known story, that the ancestors of my kind arrived to Ireland riding upon winged ships shielded by grey storm clouds. We brought many things with us to the new land, but above all were the four treasures taken from each of the four islands we had journeyed from. They have come to be called Nuada¡¯s Sword, Lugh¡¯s Spear, the Stone of Destiny, and the Dagda¡¯s Cauldron.¡± ¡°Oh, that last one makes the food.¡± ¡°Correct! Tradition dictates that they are given to the four major regions of Tir Na Nog, with Tara always having the Stone of Destiny. I can get you access to Tara, but the stone is rooted to one spot. You¡¯ll have to fetch the others first, then bring them to the stone.¡± ¡°And I have to do all that under your sister¡¯s nose without anybody seeing me.¡± I groaned and let my forehead smack into my palm. ¡°Shit.¡± ¡°If only I was allowed to leave Bri Leith unescorted.¡± Daire hung off the back of his chair, red veins around his pupils. He massaged his eyes. ¡°Return tomorrow and I¡¯ll think of something.¡± I sighed and trudged across the room to his mirror. He might be exhausted but my mind spun with questions. Rio always took forever on her Bodb visits, though. My reflection in the glass blinked back at me, but I couldn¡¯t make my feet move through it. ¡°Is there something else?¡± Daire asked. ¡°Yeah.¡± I turned around and rested against the wall. ¡°What¡¯s your take on Rio¡ªI mean your sister?¡± ¡°She has earned a nickname after scarcely a month?¡± I shrugged, my cheeks heating up. ¡°It¡¯s easier to say.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve spent enough time with her to suss her true character out for yourself.¡± Daire yawned and stretched his long arms over his head, his muscles flexing under his sleeves. ¡°Riona was around long before my birth, before Bodb closed Tir Na Nog. From what I¡¯ve heard, my aunt escorted her to Tara, and she could already wield her power over iron. Fearing she would seek vengeance against his kin, Bodb let her join the Aos Si court on the condition she swear a series of oaths that would prevent her from killing or maiming any of the Dagda¡¯s line or their families. Father granted her a bit of land, but never formally acknowledged her as a legitimate heir due to the circumstances of her conception.¡± ¡°Another reason why she¡¯s so salty.¡± ¡°She doesn¡¯t like much of anyone. While her foul abilities make her someone most people tend to avoid, she¡¯s turned away the few that tried to befriend her. Even my Aunt Brigid¡ªwho tried to mentor her and still advocates for her to be involved in family meetings¡ªonly hears from Riona when she needs a favor. It seems the only social interaction she enjoys is tormenting me on a regular basis,¡± Daire said as he rubbed his forearm like it hurt even though it looked fine. Maybe he was remembering an old injury she¡¯d given him. ¡°Though that has paused thanks to your company.¡± ¡°Do people really only avoid her because of her magic? If she¡¯s the only one who can do it, I¡¯d think they¡¯d be impressed.¡± ¡°That doesn¡¯t change the common suspicion that she gained it from the Fomor, our oldest enemies. Many loyal to my family hate her for Fuamnach¡¯s crimes on top of that. A few see her as too prickly.¡± Daire folded his hands on his stomach and hiked his feet on his desk. His eyelids started to droop and his chin bobbed against his chest. ¡°Personally, we have never gotten along. Her jealous a nature sees to that. When I was too young to know better, I tried to connect. I showed her things I paraded to the rest of the family. All she did was throw barbs, much like Father, but with more venom. It was doomed from the start.¡± I stayed quiet as he relaxed in that pose and his breathing slowed. His glossy hair stuck up where it got caught between his shoulders and the back of the chair. His shirt hiked up as he slipped lower in his seat, and it rumpled around his belt. Even the bottom of his fitted boots had stains where dirt had caked on. When I couldn¡¯t sleep and had nothing to do but watch Rio pace around, I¡¯d never seen her lay down and nap like that. As Daire drifted off to dreamland, I got a taste of something familiar. With everything around me straight out of a Lord of the Rings remake, little tastes of my normal from him helped remind me why I had to get back. * * * I tiptoed through Daire¡¯s mirror after he woke up and moved to his frilly bed. The bright light of his ceiling dimmed to the flickering candles lining Rio¡¯s hallway. The incense tainted breeze trailing in from his skylight cut off as I moved into the stagnant air of Rio¡¯s burrow. Back to an empty hole until my roommate got done with her skeezy uncle/boyfriend. ¡°Maya?¡± I jerked around. There was Rio, paused in the middle of a step, one leg still inside Bodb¡¯s mirror. ¡°I see.¡± Rio¡¯s pupils thinned to slits and the gray around them darkened enough to blot them out. She flowed the rest of the way into the tunnel and folded her fingers together in front of her, knuckles whiter than the rest of her. ¡°I thought we were past this.¡± ¡°We¡¯re past me trying to escape through random mirrors.¡± I couldn¡¯t brush this off. She¡¯d caught me shoulder deep in the cookie jar with crumbs and chocolate smeared on my mouth. If I begged forgiveness, her bullshit detector would go off for sure. ¡°Yet you¡¯re still going through strange mirrors.¡± She glowered at her own reflection in the yellow-tinted glass behind me. ¡°Or did you figure out that was my half-brother¡¯s mirror?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not that hard to guess.¡± I knocked on one of the ivy leaves molded into the frame. ¡°I take it he told you something else in that other tongue of yours.¡± She rubbed one of her bracelets. A fidget or a threat? ¡°It¡¯s called Spanish.¡± How much did I want to balance that tightrope between fessing up and lying? ¡°He invited me over to talk about human stuff.¡± ¡°I thought you¡¯d take my warnings more seriously after last time. Why accept his invitation? He could have taken you to Bodb. He¡¯s loyal to him.¡± ¡°Because you¡¯re not here three fourths of the day, and I¡¯m left alone with nothing to do.¡± I forced myself back to before I started visiting Daire, when the empty walls had pushed in small enough that I swore I was crawling through a grave. I swept a hand over the burrow in all its humble, cramped glory. ¡°Prison inmates in solitary confinement get about the same treatment, only less space. If I¡¯m stuck here forever and you want to be friends someday, I need a life outside.¡± ¡°So you resorted to visiting Daire while I was away to stave off loneliness?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t care how annoying he is. I¡¯ll take what I can get.¡± Like a self-inflicted kick to the gut, breathing became an exercise of sucking in air through a pillow. I had a plan. It was half baked and hitting all kinds of roadblocks, but it was something. I still had to wait there while day by day my friends and family kept going like I wasn¡¯t missing. My throat tightened and my eyelashes stuck together from being too wet. ¡°I can¡¯t talk to Nate or Nico or any other friends. Can¡¯t see mom. No Abuela around.¡± Rio¡¯s fingers loosened around each other and her eyes lightened to a stormy shade. Of all the people who should have crossed over and wrapped an arm around me, she was the last one who had any right. It was a warm weight, jolting me out of my pile of thoughts. ¡°I have spent so long by myself down here, I had forgotten how important sunshine is for humans.¡± She pointed above her. ¡°Would it help if we took our meals outside from now on?¡± I sniffled and wiped my eyes. ¡°I thought we couldn¡¯t do that ¡®cause somebody would see me.¡± ¡°It may push the boundaries of my deal, but so long as we don¡¯t wander off my lands, I should be able to make this concession. I know you wish I had done it sooner.¡± ¡°What about the rest of the day?¡± ¡°I will remedy that with Bodb as well.¡± She started walking, pulling me away from Daire¡¯s mirror and guiding me in the opposite direction as the cot. It was the same track I ran most days up to the giant rock sealing the place. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t have to bear that pest¡¯s presence another day. He must have plagued you with twice as many questions as I.¡± ¡°Not really. He talked more than asked.¡± Giddiness and panic butted heads in my stomach. She bought my story. We were going outside for real without any sneaking around from giant snakes. But I¡¯d just talked her into closing off my only way of seeing Daire. Chapter 14 - Daire I stared at my empty mirror, awaiting a sturdy young woman with a violet fringed crown. Over three days had passed since Maya was supposed to meet me. I¡¯d fiddled with my stacks of transcription notes from Aengus¡¯ book and reorganized them ten different ways. When my legs became too stiff from sitting so long, I set the papers aside in their hiding place under my mattress and paced circles around my chamber. Even when I lazed in my bed after dizziness overtook me, my gaze wandered toward that portal. Three days turned to five before I realized she wasn¡¯t coming. I barged to my desk where Aengus¡¯ book lay shut. The gold knotwork inside the key on the cover resembled a jeering smirk, mocking me. Had it watched while I slogged through its meandering passages and wrote until my knuckles refused to stretch further than a claw? Had it laughed as it observed my steady progress and knew all along I would slam into this obstacle? The notes still predicted my demise like a grand prank my family had collectively planned. Would it brag over my failure to follow through on the margin notes, the jest¡¯s epic climax? ¡°See how you like falling toward oblivion!¡± I grabbed the book by its spine and pitched it at my door. Someone opened said entryway and stole the satisfaction of the cursed thing thudding to the floor. It careened into a calloused hand that whipped up to protect the new target: Father¡¯s face. ¡°That throw had good heft to it. You might have had potential with a sling if you weren¡¯t so soft.¡± Father traced over the ram and butterfly on the cover. ¡°What is this?¡± ¡°A book.¡± I sputtered as heat brimmed up my neck. Did he feign ignorance at what the tome held or had my uncle never told him about its existence? ¡°I¡¯m borrowing it from Aengus¡¯ library.¡± ¡°Then don¡¯t lob it about.¡± Father flipped through a few of the pages. His nostrils flared. ¡°Ah, one of his mystery records. Unraveling those glamours is always frustrating. Take more care with things that aren¡¯t yours, else someone will take them when you aren¡¯t looking.¡± ¡°What do you want?¡± I crossed my arms over my chest, tucking my trembling hands from sight. Aengus had written that only Bodb, Father, and himself knew about the Key¡¯s destruction, and swore an oath so thorough they couldn¡¯t even hint at it. Father still knew, though, still remembered when he permitted the death of his only son. If he could agree to that, I had no doubts he would foil my plans, should he discover them. ¡°What do you think?¡± Father snapped the record shut and set it back on my desk with its front facing down. My heart calmed a fraction. ¡°Fergal just finished giving his report for the month.¡± ¡°What does this have to do with me?¡± I turned my nose up at the taller man. A reprimand then. He wouldn¡¯t be as calm had he known about Maya¡¯s presence. ¡°Are you only now bothering to instruct me on running your empty household when you leave it behind?¡± ¡°You know full well what Fergal¡¯s report has to do with you.¡± ¡°Aye, my nursemaid enforcing your edict. I¡¯m sure he regaled you with tales of how I stayed inside my room, reading during his other patrols. Very dangerous to Mother.¡± ¡°That¡¯s enough of your insolence.¡± The bluster drained from Father¡¯s face and he smoothed back his circlet from his hair. ¡°How is Etain?¡± ¡°How do you expect? Unwashed, unkempt, tearing her tapestries to pieces. She spotted me and didn¡¯t even recognize me.¡± ¡°She has these forgetful periods.¡± ¡°They¡¯re worse when she¡¯s isolated.¡± ¡°All the more reason you have to keep your distance. She has to stay calm, unprovoked, else she might break out of Brigid¡¯s spell and harm herself.¡± Father¡¯s grip tightened over his circlet and he bent the soft gold ring. ¡°Danu knows how much this ridiculous feast will over excite her.¡± ¡°There¡¯s a feast?¡± Both of my eyebrows rose. ¡°What¡¯s the occasion?¡± ¡°Bodb sent the message out this morning. In a fortnight, he is formally announcing his stepping down and declaring me his heir.¡± Father curled his lip as he pressed his circlet back into its proper shape with his thumb. ¡°Everyone must attend, especially the reigning council monarchs. The true purpose is to gauge the other provinces¡¯ support. Better no one ever knew about this farce of a succession and we kept this business between us and the council. But our High King does love his political shows.¡± ¡°So Mother has to accompany Brigid.¡± My chest fluttered with both trepidation and anticipation. ¡°Perhaps the dancing will remind her of herself.¡± ¡°Brigid insisted that she supervise you as well.¡± Father jabbed his finger against my chest. ¡°If Etain so much as raises a hand to threaten you, I made her swear to send you home early.¡± ¡°I¡¯m considering doing that anyways.¡± And sneaking away to see Maya. ¡°What of Riona? Is she required to attend as well?¡± ¡°She is part of everyone, isn¡¯t she?¡± Father frowned and narrowed his eyes. ¡°Why ask after her?¡± ¡°If I become too bored, provoking her might prove entertaining.¡± I shrugged and hooked my thumbs in my belt. That hypothetical had come up at past feasts, when I¡¯d been in more vindictive moods. ¡°Then take one of your usual lads or lasses to bed.¡± Father strode further inside my quarters, tight fists clenched at his sides. He towered over me with a scowl that cowed mightier enemies on the battlefield. ¡°For this one night, listen to your urges of self-preservation. Indulge them, even. I will not have you stirring up Fuamnach¡¯s Fomor-touched spawn.¡± ¡°Where was all this concern for my safety all the times Brigid or Mother showed you the burns from her chains?¡± My nostrils flared as I raised my chin higher. ¡°You earned every one of those by not doing as told and staying away from her.¡± Father set his circlet into his hair, smoothing his glimmering locks from the edges of his rigid jaw. ¡°You realize that Fuamnach hated me for centuries, but always in silence. She only acted upon those impulses when I was foolish enough to insult her legitimacy as Lady of Bri Leith by marrying Etain and bringing her home. We need Riona to stay sequestered inside her hole, with nothing but petty remarks floating around her insidious mind.¡± Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. ¡°With her oaths, the worst she can do is run against you.¡± I stroked my chin as I ran through the possibilities. She very well could. Her direct blood tie to the Dagda¡¯s Brood made her immune from the loyalty oaths that prevented the other houses from running. Would she dare it though? With her sordid reputation, she would have to exhaust herself campaigning. It would take traveling from province to province, meeting each council representative in person¡­ That was it, the loophole I needed. My restrictions kept me from taking Maya to Ilbrec of Uliad, Cliona of Mumhan, and Finvarra of Connacht to fetch their sacred treasures. My sister could come and go as she pleased. If Maya accompanied her somehow, we had a chance. ¡°She¡¯s too clever to fight that losing battle.¡± Father nudged the edge of my chair back so it balanced on its hind legs, teetering between staying upright and tipping over. ¡°Yet even the slightest push from you, the embodiment of all that might have been hers, could drive her to find a different way to sabotage us. There would be no better time to strike than when she must change her loyalty oaths from Bodb to me.¡± He let go of the chair and let it land where it may. It fell into the ground and the crack of the wood crashing against the cobbled floor thundered between the domed walls. ¡°These years of peace, overturned. What¡¯s left of our race, torn apart by civil war or worse. All because you wanted to entertain yourself and inspired Riona to enact her vengeance.¡± ¡°You worry too much, Father.¡± I swiped away his concern with the meddlesome strand of hair tickling my face. ¡°It wouldn¡¯t be as grave as all that¡ª¡± ¡°Daire!¡± A familiar young face popped through my skylight, dimples in his cheeks and his pale ringlets bouncing where they hung. Uncle Aengus. ¡°Those wards were a veritable maze. A few of those twists could have fooled Manannan Mac Lir himself. You¡¯ll make a good accomplice next time I take him on.¡± ¡°Leave them intact when you leave, won¡¯t you?¡± Even as heat flooded my cheeks anew at the sudden praise, I hunched my shoulders to my ears. The energy emanating off of Father and my uncle crowded the air. They were far too close to the book about the Key and my corresponding notes. ¡°I was going to ask Father to leave soon so I could prepare for Bodb¡¯s upcoming feast.¡± ¡°It¡¯s weeks away. You have plenty of time to prepare.¡± Aengus crawled through and dropped into the room, his soft boots landing with a light couple of taps. His purple cloak fluttered after him and swirled around like it had life of its own. ¡°I was in the middle of reprimanding the boy.¡± Father¡¯s firm brow relaxed and his grim mouth softened into an annoyed line. ¡°I won¡¯t be long.¡± Aengus strolled toward my bed and peeked under the corner of my blanket. Not even he could sense my notes, I reminded myself. That didn¡¯t stop the fine hairs on the back of my neck from standing on end. Uncle Aengus dropped the cover and moved on from my bed to my mirror. ¡°Searching for something I lost. My mind gets so scattered.¡± ¡°What exactly would that be?¡± I edged toward Father and stepped into Aengus¡¯ eye-line, between him and the book. If he¡¯d left it, then I shouldn¡¯t be so worried about him taking it. But what if leaving it had exploited only a temporary gap in his oaths? What if he hadn¡¯t left it at all? No, he wouldn¡¯t mean me harm. Still, the loyalty among the Dagda¡¯s Brood ran deep. Despite that he had given me a chance, he was duty-bound to aid his High King. ¡°A book from my archives.¡± He shoved the looking glass¡¯ frame aside and found only a blank wall behind it. Then he slanted his gaze toward Father. ¡°Midir, you wouldn¡¯t have seen such a book, would you? Covered in pretty ivy knots, wrapping around a ram and a butterfly?¡± ¡°What is it? A record of mine and Etain¡¯s history?¡± Father crossed his arms over his chest and his biceps tightened. ¡°Macabre of you to archive that while the two of us are still alive.¡± ¡°It has more to do with the product of your union.¡± My uncle ventured toward my bed again and fell into the pile of pillows atop it. He winked at me before continuing to address Father. ¡°I need it for Bodb. He wanted to know something about the Key for when it passes to you at Samhain.¡± I leaned back against my desk and pressed the heels of my hands against its edge. The sharp brim of the wood bit, but my attention stayed riveted, flicking between my two elders. Father had seen that very design moments ago. Had he forgotten so quickly? All he had to do was turn around to find what Aengus sought. ¡°If I find a tome like that, I¡¯ll return it to you.¡± Father bowed his head, his expression a blank mask. ¡°Anything else?¡± ¡°No, I suppose not.¡± Aengus sighed as he sprang to his feet. ¡°I¡¯ll search around Bru Na Boinne another time.¡± I waved and forced a smile as Father and I exchanged farewells with Aengus. My uncle wrapped his cloak about his body and shrank, then sprouted feathers as he transformed into a swallow with a clear song. I focused on the skylight and waited for those little flapping wings to become a dot against the open sky and vanish as he flew away. When I turned back to father, his glower was back in place and a chill ran up my spine. ¡°It appears as though you stole this.¡± He grabbed the book and held it up. The knotwork on the cover smirked at me anew. ¡°If I did, you just made yourself my accomplice.¡± I curled my fingers over the lip of my desk, my nails boring into it. The situation had to be salvaged somehow. But I had to keep a tight rein on my panic. Father couldn¡¯t know how much I knew about my fate, about the spell Aengus weaved into those pages to save me. ¡°Why not tell him?¡± ¡°And openly expose that my heir is an ungrateful thief?¡± He snorted. ¡°What did you even hope to accomplish with this? Trying to escape your duties?¡± ¡°Perhaps, not that it would help.¡± I turned my glare on the book. ¡°You saw the empty pages.¡± ¡°If you were anyone else¡¯s son, you would be happy with your new position and your doting relatives.¡± Father tucked the book inside his belt and turned away. ¡°But you¡¯re mine, you¡¯re Etain¡¯s, and we¡¯ve never been known to give up easily.¡± ¡°Wait!¡± I grabbed his cloak. ¡°Don¡¯t bother taking the book. Let me give it back to him.¡± ¡°If you took it once, I¡¯m sure you can do it again.¡± Father tugged his garment out of my grasp and marched back the way he came. The door slammed behind him, its thud reverberating throughout my quarters worse than the toppled chair. I held my forehead, both my palms slick with cold sweat. The edges of my vision became lines of flashing white spots as my breathing picked up to match my heart and all the composure I¡¯d managed shattered. I collapsed to my knees with my mind swimming. That book was the only way to get the last clue. There was no telling how long gathering the treasures would take, but without knowing what to do after, how could I make it work in time? I squeezed my eyes shut. The darkness behind my lids stretched in front of me, and the rushing of air in and out of my lungs so fast made my body light. For a moment, I could almost imagine floating. Was that what death was like, hovering over an endless blackness for the rest of eternity? No, I wasn¡¯t there. Not yet. I forced myself to see, and absorbed the earthen walls of my chamber. The glowing stones cast soft light over the green and gold decor. The breeze¡¯s grassy perfume rushed through my nostrils and filled my chest. One of Mother¡¯s tapestries met my gaze. It was of of a matronly swan nipping at her hatchling, the baby nestled under her wing. Trapped in that cell of a room, Mother still fought for what control she had. Even if it was to her own detriment. Even if every battle she waged would end in her own passing, she strove for her freedom. I pushed myself to my feet. For once I agreed with Father about something. I came from a warrior who held onto his lover against all advice from his family, and an ancient woman who struggled against oppressive caretakers to decide her own fate. No matter if I disagreed with both their goals, their drive to fight for what they wanted ran through my veins. I had my notes and a loose plan to do the next step of the spell. If I had to, I would steal back that book when the time came. If I couldn¡¯t do that, I would find another way to finish Aengus¡¯ magic. ¡°Samhain will not be my end,¡± I swore aloud. And if there was anything an Aos Si did best, it was keeping oaths. Chapter 15 - Maya Another week came and went with no sign of Rio leaving. After I woke up each day, while I washed, Bodb¡¯s mirror glowed on and off like a flashing strobe behind its curtain. Rio sat with her legs folded under her and her hands resting in her lap, still and serene as a Buddhist statue. When I asked her what she was doing, she told me that instead of sleep, all Aos Si needed to recharge was to meditate sometimes. Apparently even though she could sleep, without a connection to the mortal world she couldn¡¯t dream, so it wasn¡¯t worth it. Her quiet sessions always ended when Bodb¡¯s mirror went dark. I went through my exercises out of habit, and she watched like when she pretended to be Queenie. Near the end of the week, she offered to give me a few combat lessons. We went through how to dodge and roll away from attacks. She took one of her bracelets, stretched it into a string of links, then swung it around like a whip. From there we alternated between cards and a chess-like board game she called fidchell. We ate dinner outside like she said and made every evening a little picnic. It was when I went to sleep, tired and laying in my cot, that I remembered I couldn¡¯t get too comfortable. Our dynamic had turned from kidnapper and prisoner to two people stuck together making the best of a bad situation. But I had to find my way back to Daire. I had to figure out a way to get those three sacred items so he could find the next part of his spell. Then I could get home, leaving the whole mess of old Irish gods, magic, and parallel worlds behind. Although, I might miss Rio when it was all over. A little. *** Before I knew it, the first part of the day was over and my stomach growled for dinner. Rio rolled away the heavy boulder at the entrance with one hand while cradling a basket full of food from her magic pantry. We ate in a clearing nearby. The forest was quiet except for the cool breeze trailing through the trees, making leaves swish together above our heads. There wasn¡¯t ever a squirrel skittering through the branches or any bugs crawling around between the grass. Not one hooting owl or chirping cricket broke up the nighttime silence. All the thick foliage and crowded trees were prettier than any parks back home, but it felt hollow without small noises to give it life. ¡°Still ducking calls from Bodb?¡± I popped a red berry in my mouth from the basket. When I bit down, the sweet juice exploded over my tongue. ¡°I talked to him while you were asleep, actually.¡± Rio peeled a strip of tender pork off for herself. ¡°I told him I had other plans.¡± ¡°Do you think we could see places other than your forest?¡± Guilt gnawed at my gut. The deadline to see Daire had come and gone. God knew how much time had passed back in my world in the rough month and a half that had passed in Tir Na Nog. I had to start being proactive. ¡°I know Bodb doesn¡¯t want other people seeing me, but maybe you could hide me using your glamour magic or something.¡± ¡°Oh, no need for that.¡± She paused to chew and swallow. Her mouth went tight at the corners like she was holding back a grin. ¡°What sorts of formal wear do you prefer?¡± ¡°Depends on what I need it for, I guess.¡± I shrugged. ¡°I have a pantsuit my Abuela gave me for when I interviewed at Nico¡¯s, but that¡¯s buried in my closet.¡± ¡°What are your feelings on dresses?¡± ¡°I like having something on my legs.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll have to produce some more masculine garb for you to try then.¡± ¡°Why?¡± I pinched my eyebrows together. ¡°Is there something special going on?¡± ¡°An impromptu festival at Tara. It¡¯s one of those affairs where the High King requires everyone¡¯s attendance.¡± A glint of trouble flared in her eyes. ¡°I want you to escort me.¡± ¡°You¡¯re asking me to be your date?¡± ¡°That word isn¡¯t quite coming through the spell,¡± Rio said, her head quirking to one side. ¡°Are you asking about a desert fruit or implying that we would be romantic companions?¡± ¡°Neither.¡± I tugged on my v-neck¡¯s collar as I got hot. ¡°I mean us going somewhere together, but as friends.¡± ¡°Ah.¡± Rio snickered. ¡°Then yes, I am.¡± ¡°I thought you weren¡¯t allowed to show me to other people.¡± ¡°Oh don¡¯t worry. I finally found a way around that.¡± ¡°Without pissing Bodb off?¡± ¡°Why should that matter? I¡¯ll protect you.¡± Rio jangled her bracelet. ¡°Besides, he¡¯s hosting the event. He¡¯ll be too distracted for it to matter. There will be dancing, mead, all of the succulent food you can eat. I can show you some of our animals. There¡¯s a boar and a bear who chase each other around and around.¡± I cringed, weighing my options. If everyone was supposed to attend, that meant Daire would be there and I could sneak away to fill him in on why I disappeared. Though riling up Rio¡¯s boyfriend gave him an excuse to give me more bruises. I rubbed my arm where the ghost of his grip still itched. ¡°But if Bodb will be there and you¡¯re showing me off in front of everybody¡­¡± ¡°Please come with me.¡± Rio picked up my hand in both of hers and batted her long, dark eyelashes. ¡°I have gone to these festivals every year and they always end in me sitting alone for the entire celebration. I want to enjoy myself this time.¡± ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll go.¡± I gulped as I squeezed her on reflex. ¡°But I need this hand to eat.¡± Rio let go and I stretched my tingling fingers. My mouth kept busy as I stuffed it with meat and grapes and mulled over the weird tickle running up my stomach. I could be coming down with Stockholm Syndrome again, clinging to the only familiar face I had in a foreign place. Ever since she and I had started things over, she¡¯d shown me a different side. She¡¯d more than made good on her promise to make sure I wasn¡¯t ever too alone. Sometimes, when my thoughts wandered, I¡¯d think that it might be nice to add her in on card nights. Then I remembered what she did. But then she would smile, and getting home wouldn¡¯t seem as urgent as before. I didn¡¯t bring it up though and rambled about how Nate¡¯s cooking was just as good as the food from her cupboard, even if it had more grease. She reminisced about fresh cream and how she would drink it when Irish people left it out when she was a kid. The moonlight made her hair shine the color of a Macintosh apple¡¯s skin. She leaned back on her elbows and lounged with her long legs stretched out instead of folded so neatly under her. I caught myself staring. The little space she occupied was all the substance that empty forest needed to come alive. *** When the day of the feast came, Rio and I must have gone through ten different outfits. Even though I said each one was fine, she found something else wrong with it. What she settled on looked like she took my hair color and made it into a medieval costume. The tunic-dress, pants, and boots were all the same shade of black as my roots. A violet cloak hung across my shoulders. Rio¡¯s finishing touches played off my piercings: a silver pair of cuffs on my biceps and the matching pin holding the cloak in place. ¡°Hmm, something is still missing.¡± Rio circled around me like she was an Italian designer and I was the mannequin wearing her next big fashion. ¡°Spirals perhaps?¡± ¡°No. I like this. It¡¯s good.¡± I hiked up the cloak and started toward the mirror that had been flashing in my periphery since the fifth experiment. ¡°If you keep adding stuff, we¡¯re going to miss everything.¡± ¡°Very well, if you insist.¡± She swept her hands over her usual dress, and the sheer, white fabric got an airy blue shimmer. Her bracelets lengthened as she tugged them. She detached sections of them and twisted webs of chains around her fingers, ankles, and hips. ¡°Why add more?¡± I asked as I looked her over. ¡°Is it not flattering?¡± Rio inspected the new jewelry, turning her wrists and ankles over. Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. ¡°It looks nice.¡± The extra iron brought out the steely undertones in her eyes, and those made my chest warm. ¡°But won¡¯t it make you scarier to everybody else?¡± ¡°That¡¯s the point.¡± She draped her arm around my shoulders and pulled the curtain away from our way to the party. The frame had upright rock pillars all around it and shined brighter when we came close. We stepped through together and the cool underground faded into a breezy evening with the smell of live fire hot on the wind. Rio waited a few steps in front of me while I soaked everything in. The mirror led to a giant open courtyard surrounded by towering stones and paved with mismatched rock tiles. I¡¯d never been to Stonehenge, but it had to look something like that in its prime. Reflective metal plates were molded into the bases of the monolithic columns, and Aos Si strolled in from them two and three at a time. The party¡¯s centerpiece wasn¡¯t the long table with its spread of roasted meats, piles of fruit, and barrels of tart-smelling wine. Instead, most people mingled around the blazing bonfire that made their long shadows dance with them. Rio¡¯s formal wear was simple compared to the sea of bright jewel tones and animal skins decorating the rest of her people. They loved their shiny ornaments: polished crowns, headpieces, intricate broaches, and open collars with animal heads on both ends. Once I recovered from the vertigo of color, I chased after Rio before I lost her in the horde of taller people. Before that I¡¯d thought her extreme height was an exception, not the rule. It made Daire easier to pick out, the shortest head of the bunch. He was sitting near the middle of the long table in a sleeveless emerald jacket with gold embroidery. The hunk of pork on his plate sat untouched while he side-eyed the ladies beside him. Both were familiar, especially the brawny Amazon on the copper side of ginger dressed in all reds and yellows. She was his mom¡¯s guard from the tiny cell. The one sitting between them was a walking skeleton in a lavender gown with a rose gold shade of hair only a high end stylist could make. It wasn¡¯t until I noticed how she viewed the world like a vegetable, through glazed over eyes, that I recognized her. Daire¡¯s mom, Etain. I followed Rio to the far end of the table and took the cushioned chair beside hers. She twisted both wrists, and two daggers materialized between her fingers out of thin air like when she¡¯d made the food cupboard. I got one, heavy and solid, and followed her lead. We carved off a chunk of meat each and stabbed whatever fruit we wanted from the platters. While I munched, I got a chance to really study the specific details of the gathering. One man played a jig on a tin whistle that managed to sound like a whole chorus of them. The mess around the bonfire split into couples and coordinated formations. They pranced around each other in the practiced steps of a line dance. Anyone else whispered and laughed to each other in little pockets at the other end of the table. They all kept inside the courtyard, though, leaving plenty of empty space for others to fill in. Hadn¡¯t Rio said the whole population was supposed to attend? ¡°Is this everybody?¡± I asked. ¡°There are a few stragglers who have yet to appear.¡± Rio cut into a pomegranate and split it open. ¡°The bulk of us have arrived, though.¡± ¡°Seriously? It looks more like a big wedding than a whole race of people.¡± ¡°There used to be more, not counting the lower castes and the humans we kept.¡± Rio popped a seed into her mouth and pursed her lips. ¡°I would say there were thousands before certain edicts and the sealing of the walls whittled that number down to hundreds.¡± ¡°Several hundred or a couple hundred?¡± ¡°The latter.¡± ¡°Shit, my senior class was ten times that.¡± ¡°Yes, and they will remain that small so long as we¡¯re trapped here. It would be nice to be able to explore the mortal realm again. The things you describe as basic are so different.¡± Rio huffed and ran her fingers over the edge of my cloak. ¡°Let¡¯s talk of happier matters. Are you certain you wouldn¡¯t want more embellishment?¡± ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s fancy enough.¡± I grabbed her hand and stopped it from tracing any more patterns. ¡°What about your hair?¡± Rio ran her other set of fingers through my bangs, smoothing them back while her nails brushed my scalp. ¡°I wish you would have let me braid some of this away from your face.¡± I swatted her arm away and my whole face heated up like a pressure cooker. A large shadow loomed over us. Rio¡¯s attention traveled up and she grinned sweet, like she might to an old friend, but her burnished eyes did nothing but judge. ¡°Lady Riona, I would like a word,¡± the shadow said, his deep voice matching his full, braided beard. He crossed his beefy arms over his barrel chest under his fur cloak. His open collar had a bear¡¯s head and a boar¡¯s head on each end. I gulped. King Bodb again, in the flesh. ¡°Your majesty, what an honor.¡± Rio bowed her head while I gawked. She applied a gentle pressure to the back of my neck and I bobbed my head once. ¡°What is it you wish to speak about?¡± ¡°Withdraw with me and we will continue from there.¡± Bodb started turning on his heel before Rio even answered. ¡°Why leave? I already made myself comfortable.¡± Ignorant friendliness laced her tone. ¡°Also, have you met my changeling yet? She calls herself Maya.¡± ¡°Were your grounds not to her liking?¡± Bodb sighed and ruffled my hair with those sausage fingers full of rings. He tugged it hard enough to make my eyes water. ¡°Surely she would be more comfortable there.¡± ¡°I¡¯m comfy right here, thanks for asking.¡± I scooted my chair closer to Rio as I massaged my scalp. ¡°You ordered everyone to come to this party anyways. I count too.¡± ¡°Charming, isn¡¯t she?¡± Rio wrapped her arm around my shoulders and her bracelet slinked down my arm. ¡°Haven¡¯t you taught her manners yet?¡± ¡°I was under the impression we were treating humans as equals now.¡± She gestured toward Daire and his mom, Etain. ¡°After all, your own brother calls his ¡®wife,¡¯ and she is given a place of high honor at the table with our kin.¡± ¡°Etain is an exception. This one has not earned that right.¡± ¡°She acts as my escort and personal adviser.¡± Rio¡¯s grip on me tightened as she raised her voice. Anyone within ear shot, including Daire, turned toward the sound. ¡°I thought you a better host than to insult my guest by refusing her a seat. After all, you permitted her entry.¡± ¡°I pointed out the oddity of her presence, nothing more.¡± The High King shifted between us and the gawkers. He lowered his voice so even I could barely hear it. ¡°And do you not recall the conditions attached to her?¡± ¡°I swore an oath that would last for as long as I was loyal to you, not that I would be loyal to you for all time,¡± Rio said in just as soft of a whisper. ¡°Stop this tantrum. You¡¯re attracting undue attention.¡± ¡°I won¡¯t be your shameful secret any longer.¡± She dropped the sugar, grave as a cemetery. ¡°From here on, my loyalty only belongs to those not afraid to admit the same.¡± Bodb¡¯s eyes darkened from a terracotta to a burnt umber. His natural glow brightened, spreading further out with the oppressive pressure of a thunderstorm. The ground shuddered under us. I clung to the arms of my chair and turned to Rio. ¡°You¡¯re safe,¡± she mouthed. ¡°Trust me.¡± ¡°Key Bearer, come to me!¡± Bodb bellowed. Further down the table, the little color in Daire¡¯s face drained. He clenched his jaw as he clawed at his chair, every muscle in his torso tight. Etain never flinched as her guard rubbed her back. The guard did throw an irked scowl Bodb¡¯s way and nudged Daire out of his seat. The whistles, munching, and dancing all stopped. Everyone¡¯s attention became fixed on Bodb, Rio, and worst of all me. Daire started to walk over, struggling over each step like he had to yank his feet out of sludge to reach us. I white knuckled my dress under my cloak to keep my hands steady. Rio had better know what she was doing. I wanted to go back to my world, but it was too late for Bodb to send me there in one piece. ¡°You violated the spirit of our agreement.¡± Bodb said, back to a barely-there whisper. ¡°I have broken nothing. Our very nature makes it so. You should have made a better deal.¡± Rio maintained her doe eyes and pitiful mask, but her answer came out as a hiss. ¡°Take her away from me and I will taint your legacy with the truth of your dalliance with the Fomor-tainted Lady of Irons. That is my oath.¡± ¡°Be reasonable.¡± Bodb held up his hand. Daire froze mid step, halfway to us. ¡°Renounce this nonsense and I will put her on a deserted isle. But if you persist, I will drop her in the ocean.¡± ¡°Dear uncle, how can you send her away?¡± Rio raised her voice and brought her arm around my waist. The chain hanging over my shoulder whipped across me like a seat belt. ¡°Did you not show mercy when I begged for a companion? Will you leave me to my loneliness?¡± The hum of murmurs floated over the tension between them. I caught bits and pieces of the crowd¡¯s speculation if I strained. A lot of questions: Why did Bodb allow a human in Tir Na Nog? Why would he give them to the Lady of Irons? Did he favor the Fomor-touched over the rest of his people? Was he showing kindness to an afflicted family member, or something else? ¡°Very well, poor child,¡± Bodb said, loud enough for everyone to hear. ¡°Keep a muzzle on your hound¡¯s mouth from now on. Remember, even my patience has limits.¡± I opened that mouth to say where he could shove his patience. Rio clapped her hand over it before anything came out. ¡°Of course, your majesty.¡± A few disappointed sighs followed his verdict. Some started a slow round of applause. ¡°Praise be to our High King¡¯s benevolence!¡± A man sitting next to Daire¡¯s empty place stood, raising his mug high. He¡¯d decked himself in tans and browns, making the gold borders embroidered into his clothes pop. His bright yellow hair had the same distinctive wave to it as Rio¡¯s and his effeminate cheekbones were identical to Daire¡¯s. Could he be their dad? ¡°Praise be to Bodb Derg!¡± came the resounding reply of the mass in front of us. ¡°I promise that I will not cast her back to the mortal realm. But you and I will meet later to finalize this deal, Lady Riona. Alone.¡± Bodb stomped back to his high-backed chair at the center of the table. ¡°That was way too close for comfort just so you could break up with someone.¡± I leaned in closer to Rio, hoping no one would eavesdrop. ¡°It exposed his hypocrisy and trapped him into an arrangement that keeps you safe.¡± She sat straighter and beamed at me as her chain bracelet slinked back to her arm. ¡°Okay, let¡¯s say you had it all under control.¡± My heart rate started to slow down but I couldn¡¯t shake that gut-twisting suspicion that the trouble was only getting started. ¡°You still embarrassed the most powerful guy in this place in front of everyone he rules. Won¡¯t he want payback?¡± ¡°You worry too much. I can handle him.¡± Rio smoothed my bangs away from my forehead, leaned down, and kissed it. It was a hardly a peck, but my skin sizzled where she touched. ¡°Your concern is always wonderful, though. No one has fussed over me this much since my mother.¡± My head reeled at the spontaneous affection, with too many questions about what it meant that I couldn¡¯t answer. It definitely shut me up. Chapter 16 - Daire The feast carried on after my uncle¡¯s confrontation with Riona about Maya. The Key stirring was always unsettling when he first activated it, a kind of acidic bubbling building in my chest. Once the initial shock wore off, my body filled with pent up warmth as if I had swallowed a clear spring day. When Bodb released the power to perform the command, a hollow withdrawal settled over me. Having that rear up all at once then fizzle in a matter of minutes gave me a dizzying whiplash. Riona touching Maya every chance she could only worsened my budding nausea. I had to lean on the dining table for support as I returned to my seat. ¡°Thank you for coming with Brigid.¡± I put my hand on Mother¡¯s arm, something to reassure her as I settled back in front of my plate. Mother stayed quiet and stared down at the empty table in front of her. ¡°I couldn¡¯t very well leave her alone with all of that thread laying about,¡± Aunt Brigid answered instead. ¡°With how fast her fingers work, she would¡¯ve woven a strong enough rope, tied the proper sized noose, and readied herself to jump by the time we returned.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t talk about her as if she can¡¯t hear you.¡± ¡°She can¡¯t hear me.¡± Brigid took a swig of ale from her flagon. ¡°You¡¯ve had her in a trance that deep?¡± ¡°With this many people? Of course.¡± Brigid shook her head. ¡°Her lucidity is waning, Daire. The only reason she has lasted this long is because she has an Aos Si¡¯s spirit inside this fragile form.¡± ¡°The isolation can¡¯t be helping that either.¡± I moved my hand from Mother¡¯s arm to her shoulder blade. ¡°Yet you continue to follow my father¡¯s orders.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not for her good, but for yours and Midir¡¯s.¡± Brigid moved her point of contact to my mother¡¯s leg, back out of sight. ¡°We always suspected she would become a danger, given enough time.¡± ¡°Not this soon, though.¡± ¡°Her memory is only a little younger than the Tir Na Nog itself, Daire, and her body is older than many Aos Si.¡± ¡°I just miss visiting her.¡± I ran a lock of Mother¡¯s hair between my fingers. Usually I would help her braid part of it so she could pin the rest into something beautiful before a feast day gathering. ¡°I can talk to her, tell her things no one else will understand.¡± ¡°You still have me if you wish for wisdom, Aengus if you crave for camaraderie. Midir especially needs your presence now that he can no longer see her either.¡± My aunt took my hand away from my mother and held it in her own. ¡°Lad, you have spent so many of your days closed up in mourning for her. I beg you, don¡¯t neglect the family you do have while waiting for Etain to heal when you know in your heart of hearts it won¡¯t happen.¡± I rubbed the gathering moisture from my eyes. I couldn¡¯t let it fall, not in so public a forum where my father could pass his damning judgments. ¡°Attention one and all!¡± Bodb¡¯s voice boomed over the chatter, song, and laughter flooding the courtyard. He raised his mighty arms skyward and silence spread out to the rest of the mass. I turned toward him, grateful for the distraction. ¡°I¡¯m sure many of you have pondered the purpose for this evening¡¯s feast. Beltane is long past and Samhain is still a couple of moons away. Yet here you are at Tara, already losing yourselves in her plenty. Before you become too lost, my good fellows, hearken unto my words, for they hold a great change for our kind. ¡°Loath as we are to admit it, we are ancient. I have ruled you through the humans¡¯ scourge, the Key¡¯s creation, and the ensuing years of peace that followed. Edicts were passed, oaths taken, and precious treasures sacrificed for the greater benefit of all. Yet here we stand, still united, still strong!¡± My aunt beat her flagon upon the table. Other pounding followed, from hands, pommels, and drinkware. Whoops and cheers rang out from the folk of the territories the Dagda¡¯s Brood ruled over, Aengus¡¯ and Brigid¡¯s lands. The Queens over Mumhan, Cliona and Aine, roused their Bean Sidhe attendants and subjects to holler, since Bodb hailed from that land originally. Among those who silently watched on were two of the voting council¡¯s members: dour Ilbrec, king over Uliad to the north, and the slovenly horselord Finvarra, king over Connacht to the west. ¡°Alas, it is with a heavy heart that in these times of peace and plenty, I feel my era has come to an end,¡± Bodb continued. The chatter dropped to a low drone. ¡°In my stepping down, I don¡¯t leave you with a gaping maw that will plunge us into chaos, but a candidate worthy to be my successor. He fought against the Fomor to free us from enslavement and against the humans that turned on us. I present to you Midir the Proud, King over Bri Leith and my brother of the Dagda¡¯s loins.¡± My father stood at his brother¡¯s right hand, smiling small and faint. His gold eyes cast no happiness nor pride out at his future subjects. He still clasped arms with Bodb in thanks. ¡°Long may he prosper!¡± My uncle Aengus instigated the first cheer, rising to his feet as he beat upon the stone table with the butt of his knife. Many of the women in the crowd hollered praises¡ªrumors circulated that he had retired Mother and would be courting again, as he had in his youth. Brigid¡¯s clear voice rallied the eastern provinces that her and Aengus ruled. Some of Finvarra¡¯s lot clapped their accord. The Bean Sidhe led the entirety of Mumhan into a chorus, joining in Aengus¡¯ chant. Ilbrec offered obliging applause, and his subjects followed suit. More seemed to favor Father over Bodb himself, a fresh change to stir up the monotony of the last thousand years. ¡°When next we meet for the start of a new year at this very spot, there will be an election.¡± Bodb locked eyes with all five monarchs on the council, no doubt reminding them of their oaths. ¡°May our leaders deliberate with great care. Our future rests in your hands.¡± Each monarch bowed their heads including Aunt Brigid beside me. ¡°Now, enough with politics,¡± Bodb said. ¡°Return to feasting!¡± A unanimous cheer followed. I took a deep breath as the gossip¡¯s volume rose, filled with surmising the exact reason why our leader decided to abdicate his throne. The fact that Bodb decided to hold the election this coming Samhain had to coincide with the note from the Aengus¡¯ book. Riona and Maya were my only chance, or else I¡¯d die as soon as my father took the throne. All I had left to do was enact the plan. This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. I rose from my seat and made my way around the table with jaunty steps. Upon approaching Maya and my sister, I cleared my throat. ¡°Two people wanting to pester me in one night. This is a high for a feast.¡± Riona frowned. Maya glanced over her shoulder toward me, but kept quiet. ¡°What do you want, little Daire?¡± ¡°A dance, actually.¡± I held my hand out for her. ¡°I¡¯d like to discuss a matter.¡± ¡°You can¡¯t do that with one of your other, more doting relatives?¡± ¡°They¡¯re too close to this particular issue.¡± ¡°Consider me intrigued.¡± Riona lofted a single curious brow my way, but squeezed Maya¡¯s shoulder. ¡°I¡¯m afraid I cannot leave this one alone in present company.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure I can handle both of you at once.¡± I held out both hands for them and winked toward Maya. Maya glanced between my offered palm and Riona for a moment as she considered. We hadn¡¯t had the chance to discuss anything. Had my sister unraveled the tenuous trust we¡¯d built in our meetings? It seemed an unspoken test, whether Maya would prove a reliable ally or not. ¡°You said you wanted to have fun this time, right? The dancing doesn¡¯t look so bad.¡± Maya stood and tugged Riona with her. ¡°Watch out. I¡¯ll step on somebody¡¯s toes.¡± The minstrel struck up a merry, fast-paced jig as I led both women to the dance area around the bonfire. Hardly the right mood-setter for an attempt at intrigue, but I brought my taller sister and her shorter changeling into the formation. Riona and I hopped, twirled, and weaved through the other couples as naturally as walking. Maya struggled to keep pace, but my sister and I managed to lead her well enough that she wasn¡¯t trampled by the other dancers. ¡°It has occurred to me,¡± I said once we joined the throng, ¡°that this new vacancy could be a tremendous opportunity.¡± ¡°How? Our current High King has already declared his chosen.¡± Riona kept a firm grip on Maya, guiding her as if the two were one partner rather than two. ¡°No one outside of the Dagda¡¯s brood can declare themselves his rival.¡± ¡°Our forefather¡¯s line is far more than Bodb and Father.¡± I skipped them into a tight circle, the three of us revolving with each other. ¡°Brigid and Aengus lost their higher political ambitions long before the walls closed.¡± Riona¡¯s lip curled as my favorite uncle¡¯s name slipped out. ¡°Perhaps a small chieftain with distant blood ties could aspire to the seat, but none would dare risk the High King¡¯s ire.¡± ¡°And if one didn¡¯t care what Bodb thought?¡± ¡°They may not, but the voting council does. It¡¯s impossible.¡± ¡°What¡¯s that got to do with¡ª¡± Maya stumbled over my foot as our circle switched directions. ¡°¡ªher?¡± ¡°A good question.¡± Riona spun under my arm, tugging on Maya to follow suit. ¡°It sounds as if you want to run.¡± ¡°In theory, it should be as simple as convincing the ruling council monarchs to change their vote.¡± I snuck a meaningful look Maya¡¯s way as I brought her back around. I could plant the idea, but she would have to manage persuading Riona to take her. ¡°In person would be best, arranging meetings and journeying to each province. It would be a grand trip. I could take in the sights, collect some new samples for my garden, see the sacred treasures¡­¡± Maya¡¯s eyes widened and she tripped back, landing rear first on the paved courtyard. Another couple careened toward her, but both Riona and I scooped her up as they passed. Suffice to say, I was confident she got my hint. ¡°You think you can be High King?¡± Riona resumed as we aligned back into position with the dancers. ¡°It makes sense, doesn¡¯t it?¡± The jig slowed and I stepped around my sister and her ward as the women stayed in place. ¡°I could govern my own abilities, indulge my obsession with the human world as much as I pleased, needing no one¡¯s permission but my own.¡± ¡°You do realize with that much power at your disposal, there will be an equal number of people coming after you for it.¡± She raked a scornful sneer down my physique, pathetic when compared to the likes of Bodb or our father. ¡°Your combat skills also have a rather poor reputation.¡± ¡°Yes, but as High King I could appoint bodyguards to take care of that.¡± The song wound down, nearly to its end as I stopped across from them. ¡°I¡¯m sure I could undermine Father well enough.¡± ¡°At least the anarchy that followed would be entertaining to watch.¡± Riona sprang a step to the right, then the left. I mirrored the motions. ¡°If he can do it, that means you can too, right Rio?¡± Maya clung to my sister¡¯s arm as she managed to time her hops only a fraction out of sync with us. ¡°There¡¯s a thought. Midir¡¯s Fomor-touched bastard running for High Queen. Even if she hadn¡¯t corrupted her nature with inferior magic, she has no family, no connections, and a personality more surly than Father¡¯s. She stands as much chance as snow in a volcano.¡± Challenge thrown, the song came to its end, and I dropped into the bow that came with it. Riona wore a thick layer of glamour over herself at all times, designed to resemble the soft glow of an Aos Si¡¯s innate aura. It contained her true nature: a twisted, ionized embodiment of her power over iron. It ate away at Aos Si magic, rotting everything around it in Tir Na Nog. That shield burst as the air around her darkened, charging like a thunderstorm readying for lightning to strike. It shrouded her fair skin and crimson hair in gray as it spread. The stone tiles under her feet cracked and the logs at the edge of the bonfire split. Couples parted out of her way, casting their derisive sneers and horrified whispers. Even Maya hurried to avoid the aura¡¯s touch, her bewildered gaze flitting between the decaying decor to the wary feast-goers. I alone stayed planted where I stood and risked the edges of Riona¡¯s power¡¯s deadly reach. It grazed the gold buttons closing my vest and made the fine hairs on my arms singe. She dared not send it any further, though, her hostile glower making her harmful intent clear. The oaths she¡¯d sworn to Uncle Bodb restricted her from doing anything more to me than her light bullying. I smirked in the face of her fearsome yet helpless display. Riona grabbed Maya¡¯s forearm and stormed to the nearest standing stone with a mirror, dragging my accomplice behind her. As soon as the two disappeared through the rippling glass, the damage left in my sister¡¯s wake repaired itself. The chipped courtyard became smooth. The broken, ever-burning logs on the bonfire were whole once more. Another tune brought the dancers back in line. Many exhaled in relief and laughed at the spectacle of the Lady of Irons¡¯ departure. I returned to my seat, only to find that Aunt Brigid had escorted my mother back to her cell in my absence. After so many weeks holed up, obsessing over how to change my fate, I came to the stark realization that I had done all I could. With my purpose ground to such a halt, all I could do was wait. Yet I still had a well of anxious energy whirring in my limbs. There had to be something else I could do, some minor task I could perform to better my chances of survival. But I had driven Riona back to her burrow, which left everything in Maya¡¯s hands. I had to redirect myself. There was always the option to leave the festivities and retire to my garden. The night blossoms would be in bloom and certainly in need of tending. Despite that the prospect attracted me, wandering those paths alone did not. Where was Uncle Aengus among the rabble? He had settled down on the outer ring of the courtyard, entertaining a minor chieftain with a cloak made of cardinal feathers. That chieftain had settled for a night with me once and cried my mentor¡¯s name during the throes of his passion. While I was happy he was satisfying his infatuation, it left me bereft of my usual confidant. Father sat unattended, brooding out on the festivities at Bodb¡¯s right hand. Aunt Brigid¡¯s remark came back to me about how he too suffered now that he had forbade Mother from seeing us. Inviting him wouldn¡¯t do any good, though. He had agreed to let me die, called me a thief, and taken the book with my escape plan. Family or not, he¡¯d proven he didn¡¯t care about his disappointment of a son. That left taking a lover, someone far removed from the Key and the Dagda¡¯s Brood. A Bean Sidhe attendant of Queen Cliona locked eyes with me. Her name was Aoife, and that night she had gathered her pale hair off of her neck and wore a translucent blue gown whose fabric imitated the ocean¡¯s waves. The way the garment hugged her narrow waist and waifish hips excited me enough that I approached. I asked after her mistress with the most dashing smile I could muster and she congratulated me on my father¡¯s nomination in her melodic voice. I told her of the night blossoms and she followed me as I led her through a mirror into my gardens. We did not look at the flowers for too long before our lips met and the evening progressed from there. First in the courtyard of the gardens, then the rest of it in my chambers. Chapter 17 - Maya When we walked through the mirror into the burrow. The packed dirt ceiling trickled lines of dust as Rio passed under it. The never-ending wax from the candles oozed to nothing, snuffing out their lights. Their metal holders rusted until they had holes like gaping wounds. Whatever spindly root threads her ionized field moved over shriveled up. The rot spread out from her, a creeping shadow eating away at the cavern from the inside out. ¡°What the hell¡¯s going on?¡± I yanked my forearm away from Rio and rubbed the sore spot where her nails had dug in. ¡°Why do you look like the Tin Man, and why does everything look dead around you?¡± ¡°Because that¡¯s what I am!¡± Rio paused with her back to me, stock still and her fists trembling at her sides. ¡°I am the Lady of Irons. I mean decay and destruction. I ruin everything and everyone near me unless I hold this in. No matter how deep I bury it, they still stare and jeer. Nothing but ridicule and fear. They say I deserve nothing, and it becomes truth.¡± Rio¡¯s murky force surrounded me. The edges of my cloak frayed, and the vibrant violet turned dull and moth eaten. My dress¡¯ rich color faded to match the dingy shirt I¡¯d come with. It hadn¡¯t affected anything attached to me, though. When it had grazed Bodb, his beard had singed and smoked. The worst the energy did to me was tint my skin a dark shade of taupe. When she had grabbed me, a magnetized static made my hair stand up. But I didn¡¯t burn. ¡°Woah, woah. Daire was a jerk, I get that.¡± I approached her and went deeper into the field. ¡°He¡¯s not worth beating yourself up over.¡± ¡°He¡¯s right, though.¡± She laughed, hollow and self-effacing. The gray cloud expanded. It grazed the edges of my cot and the fabric tore. ¡°He isn¡¯t the first to say such things and he won¡¯t be the last. They all hate me. Even the man I used to love can¡¯t stand to acknowledge me in front of others. How pathetic could I be to fall for that creature¡¯s horrible affection? Now when I can abandon that crutch, a spoiled little wretch has to go and remind me why I needed it to begin with.¡± ¡°Rio, look at me.¡± I touched Rio¡¯s shoulder and her skin was cool on my fingers. She turned down to me and stared, entranced. Everything had lost its color, but my hand stayed solid and alive against her. ¡°Daire¡¯s wrong. They¡¯re scared of you, but if they won¡¯t try to get to know you, they should mind their own business. Your family doesn¡¯t like you, and I know that stings. But they¡¯re not being fair to you either. One uncle kills your mom, your dad shuns you for a new kid, and your other uncle wants you to be his secret sex kitten. You¡¯re better off without all their toxic negativity.¡± The gray particles settled and withdrew into her skin as I talked. Her slitted pupils dilated and filled her irises as she leaned in, bringing me back to the early days of Queenie. It was like someone rediscovering the sky after spending years underground. How long had it been since somebody had given her a pep talk, or reaffirmed that she was worth caring about? ¡°Things are so simple with you.¡± Rio gave me a wistful sigh. ¡°The way you speak of me I could even win the High King¡¯s seat.¡± ¡°Why not?¡± I had her attention. Pouncing while she was vulnerable might feel dirty, but an opportunity was an opportunity. Daire¡¯s message was clear enough after their conversation during the dance. He couldn¡¯t actually follow through on running and getting those treasures if he couldn¡¯t leave his property. Rio could. ¡°Was I wrong about that?¡± ¡°No. I¡¯m capable of campaigning. However, the position is far more challenging than Daire described.¡± Rio¡¯s energy darkened her complexion but stayed contained. ¡°Bodb often confided in me about how he labored to keep peace between everyone. Even with the edicts in place that bind the Aos Si from killing each other, everyone is so bored, they must scheme and complain to pass the time. A High King or High Queen must balance between pleasing their subjects and maintaining a firm rule.¡± ¡°I still don¡¯t see a problem. That means you understand what the job needs.¡± ¡°I would have control of the Key, the ability to grant the Aos Si access to your world. Do you know how many sycophants and opportunists that attracts?¡± ¡°You called out Bodb¡¯s trash. If you can take him on, you can handle anybody.¡± ¡°And convincing the council to vote for me despite my malady?¡± Rio went to my cot and sank into it, her long legs elegantly sprawled in front of her. ¡°What miracle solution would you have for that?¡± ¡°How many people have to vote for you?¡± ¡°The majority of five.¡± ¡°Okay, so you need to win over three of them. Not so hard.¡± I plopped next to her. ¡°It¡¯s all about making them see you in the right way. Aren¡¯t your powers supposed to be something special that only you have? If they were really that bad, wouldn¡¯t you get rid of them?¡± Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! ¡°I couldn¡¯t if I tried.¡± She mulled over her palms where the last of the gray lingered. ¡°I gave up so much for this power to be able to avenge my mother. We shared such a simple happiness in the wilds together. Then Aengus tore it away. My father disowned me. The rest of them shunned me, taking their side.¡± Her fingers clenched, her nails digging crescents. ¡°For years, I scavenged and scraped my survival out among the forest. I searched until I found a way to bind myself with the one thing that could set me apart and make them respect me. It only made them jeer more. But to tell it true, I¡¯m not sure I would get rid of it, even if I could. It was the one thing that was always mine, the one part they could never take away.¡± ¡°So tell them that.¡± I pried her hands open and held them there. ¡°It taught you the value of hard work, how to turn a bad situation into an asset. You faced all that adversity and it made you strong. Your magic is part of that, no matter where it came from.¡± ¡°They don¡¯t tend to see it that way.¡± ¡°Your ex left a ton of people to die, then trapped the rest in a giant prison. Is having a special power worse than that?¡± ¡°Point taken. Still¡­¡± She glanced away and around at her cavern. The candles flickered as if nothing had burnt them down, and the packed walls stayed solid and whole. It was like the iron field had never even touched them. ¡°I have always managed better by keeping to myself. I was happier then, before I became involved with the rest of them. Even happier after you became my companion. I don¡¯t want to jeopardize it by going on a fruitless chase. I want to find the contentedness I once had again, that peace.¡± ¡°You know, all the reasons you don¡¯t want to campaign is exactly why you¡¯d be amazing.¡± I held her eyes with mine as I said it. Conviction overcame any guilty nausea. The Riona sitting beside me then could do anything if she only reached for it. Rio¡¯s thumb moved along the top of my hand. I¡¯d left mine on top of hers. Warmth spread up my chest and into my cheeks. Her heart-shaped face had a tenderness to it I¡¯d never seen and her mouth curved up at its corners into a permanent smile when she relaxed. I curled my fingers between hers. We were in a good place, right? She¡¯d shown a lot of progress treating me more like an equal than a prisoner. Stockholm Syndrome or not, I¡¯d gotten to know her and we got along. She hated Daire and he didn¡¯t want me telling her anything about his plan to bust me out. But the whole High Queen scheme was a way to bring her in on it so I wouldn¡¯t have to keep hiding. We could work together and somehow stay in touch. ¡°Plus, that way you could take me home.¡± Rio¡¯s frown spoiled her serenity. She tightened her grip and squeezed tight like I¡¯d slip away. ¡°You still don¡¯t like it here?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not as bad now, but I miss my job, my friends, my mom.¡± I gulped down the lump in my throat. If I walked into Nico and Nate¡¯s place and came face to face with Mom, how bad would it cut when she didn¡¯t recognize me? ¡°I still want to go back. And if you won, you¡¯d be able to help me get there, right?¡± ¡°You¡¯re right. I would sorely miss your companionship, though. It has been a boon.¡± ¡°You could still visit. We could start new without all the kidnapping baggage. And you¡¯d be making the rules, so nobody could say you couldn¡¯t.¡± ¡°What you¡¯re asking is as impossible as convincing Bodb to send you back to your life.¡± Rio paused, focusing on our locked hands for a solid minute. She wet her mouth in the way someone does when they¡¯re thinking of how to phrase bad news. ¡°And there¡¯s something else you should know¡­¡± ¡°Yeah? What is it?¡± Rio¡¯s shoulders went rigid, her easy posture going stiff. She turned to the hall of mirrors. ¡°Everything okay, Rio?¡± ¡°Someone calls.¡± ¡°Who?¡± ¡°It¡¯s Bodb¡¯s magic summoning me to figure out the particulars of the deal we started.¡± Rio stood and her skin brightened to its normal white glow, her hair lightening to the color of strawberries instead of apples. She pulled her hands out of mine and smoothed back my bangs, fussing with them as she spoke. ¡°Negotiating will go on for quite some time so I can seal up any loopholes he could use against us. I won¡¯t be around for a long while.¡± ¡°Be careful.¡± I bit back the urge to ask her to stay. My gut twisted with the silly sixth sense she wouldn¡¯t come back the same. She was grown, though. She could take care of herself. ¡°Don¡¯t let him catch you in anything.¡± ¡°Rest assured, I will return and we can resume our discussion. Until then, feel free to roam my woods as you please. The boulder will be light enough for you to roll away now that I have dispelled its wards. Keep a good eye out. If anyone approaches you, show them this.¡± Rio took my forearm and rolled her chain bracelet¡ªone of the pair she always wore¡ªfrom her wrist onto mine. The muscles in her wrist tensed like she had to pry the thing off. When it slipped onto my hand I hardly noticed the extra weight. ¡°What¡¯s this thing do?¡± I held it up and twisting it around. The dark links absorbed the light shining on them, staying a matte shade. ¡°It¡¯s a gift.¡± She rubbed where the bracelet used to be. One moment her skin had blue and yellow bruises, then her fingers ran over the spot and the marks disappeared. ¡°It shows that you¡¯re mine. It will protect you.¡± ¡°Like a property marker?¡± ¡°It serves as that kind of protection from others, yes, but my intended meaning is different. Once I watched two maidens about to be married, but to men on opposite ends of Eire. They weaved identical tokens for each other and exchanged them. Their hope was that after they had gone their separate ways, the other need only to look upon the woven band they wore to know the other still thought of them.¡± She held up her other arm that wore the other chain bracelet. ¡°I think of it like that.¡± ¡°I can deal with that.¡± I rubbed a couple of the links, the metal making my skin buzz. She left me with a quick goodbye, then a warm peck on my forehead and freshly finger-brushed hair. I watched as she walked into the boar-headed mirror and disappeared behind the black curtain. The glass turned to a flat brown void behind her. Chapter 18 - Daire My companion and I wasted the following day in dozing silence until much later that night. I woke to find an unexpected visitor invading our peace. ¡°Daire, we¡¯ve got a¡ªwoah!¡± Maya barged through my mirror. Upon seeing my company and our state of undress, she clapped her hand over her eyes. Her disgruntled frown remained. ¡°Is that Riona¡¯s human changeling?¡± Aoife turned up from the crook of my neck, her thin pupils growing round and curious. ¡°I heard about her at the feast. I sense she has a small bit of Eire¡¯s blood coursing through her, but she¡¯s so brown and her language is so strange.¡± ¡°This plain, particularly wide young woman is indeed the changeling Riona brought back with her. She goes by Maya.¡± I sat up and my muscles were numb from laying in one place for so long. ¡°And this is Aoife, a lovely Bean Sidhe of Mumhan. You would know her as a Banshee, a fearsome harbinger of death and destruction.¡± ¡°They really think of us like the Morrigan now?¡± Aoife asked, tone full of enchantment rather than offense. ¡°Why does she shield her eyes? Do you think us hideous, Maya?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure it¡¯s quite the opposite.¡± I stroked down Aoife¡¯s side. ¡°One look at your lovely thighs rendered her blind with awe.¡± ¡°I so missed that generous tongue of yours.¡± Aoife ran her fingertip over my bottom lip. ¡°He doesn¡¯t have time for anymore X-rated territory, lady.¡± Maya staggered forward and groped her way around edge of the bed until she found the covers. When she tossed them at us, they landed atop Aoife¡¯s hind quarters and little else. ¡°I don¡¯t want to be a killjoy, but I¡¯ve got to talk to him about something private.¡± ¡°It¡¯s no trouble. This was an entertaining ending to the evening. You should come around when next I visit.¡± Aoife swung her legs over the side of the bed. She skimmed her palms over her shoulders to her knees, her glamour manifesting an ashen gown. ¡°Shall we do this again come Samhain?¡± Odds pointed to no, either on account of me being dead or gone to the mortal world with Mother and Maya in tow. I would hate to disappoint her. ¡°Let¡¯s leave that a surprise.¡± The Bean Sidhe offered me a teasing wiggle of her hips as she glided past Maya and stepped through my looking glass, back to her home in Mumhan. ¡°Put some damn pants on, Daire,¡± Maya barked. ¡°My arm¡¯s getting tired.¡± ¡°Should I care about your prudish sensibilities, in my own quarters no less?¡± ¡°Do you have pants yet or not?¡± I willed my glamour to cloth my lower half, and a pair of forest green, linen trousers took shape over my legs. ¡°I have covered my magnificence. How goes convincing my sister to campaign?¡± ¡°I spent the rest of last night trying to make her feel better after you embarrassed her.¡± ¡°Not well, then? Give it a few days. She¡¯ll come around. If not, we will have to arrange something else.¡± ¡°That¡¯s the other issue.¡± ¡°There¡¯s another issue?¡± ¡°She threatened your uncle, that Bodb jerk.¡± Maya¡¯s bunched shoulders fell and she pressed her eyebrows together in concern. ¡°She broke up with him that night and said she¡¯d tell everyone about their secret relationship if he didn¡¯t let me stay with her.¡± ¡°Wait.¡± I rose to my feet. ¡°Her and the High King were lovers?¡± ¡°Oh yeah. He¡¯s been stringing her along for years.¡± ¡°Are you sure?¡± ¡°Yeah. She left to nail down the rest of the deal they made, but she hasn¡¯t come back yet.¡± ¡°She has to know what this will do to his reputation if it¡¯s made known. And the timing couldn¡¯t be worse this close to the end of his rule.¡± I rubbed my temples as I thought through the ramifications of that offense. ¡°Aos Si value appearances above all else. With any other woman, even one connected by blood, the threat wouldn¡¯t have meant much. Riona, however, is Fomor-touched. This ongoing affair would besmirch every single mention of him in our recorded history.¡± ¡°What¡¯s he going to do to her?¡± ¡°He could have been upfront with his meaning. They could still be negotiating the finer points of the contract.¡± ¡°I checked on the mirror she went through.¡± Maya pointed behind her at my mirror leading back to Riona¡¯s abode. One of my sister¡¯s chain bracelets rattled on her wrist. ¡°The glass part was blank.¡± ¡°That means he¡¯s trying to eliminate the problem.¡± I started to pace, to plan, no longer able to remain stationary. ¡°He can¡¯t kill her. He made everyone, including himself, vow that they would not kill another Aos Si. She cannot touch him because of the thorough oaths the family forced her to make so that she couldn¡¯t act on seriously harming us for any reason. With her at his mercy and hidden away, the possibilities of what he could do are endless.¡± ¡°We have to get her back.¡± Maya turned turned on her heel and charged for my mirror. ¡°Where are you going?¡± I grabbed her arm, stopping her progress. ¡°Bodb is in Tara, and you cannot go there from here.¡± ¡°Rio¡¯s got a mirror we used to get to the feast, which I¡¯m pretty sure was in Tara. I¡¯ll use that.¡± ¡°You can¡¯t march on the gates of our capital alone.¡± ¡°Then start throwing out ideas.¡± Maya advanced on me instead and jabbed her finger against my breast. ¡°Your plan depends on her gunning for Bodb¡¯s job, and she can¡¯t do that if she¡¯s trapped with him doing God knows what to her. She¡¯s in trouble. We have to help her.¡± ¡°I realize that. But this situation is more delicate than you realize.¡± I goaded her toward my mattress. ¡°Sit and we¡¯ll think of a way that will not get you killed and her in even more trouble. Does anyone else know about this?¡± ¡°Of course not.¡± Maya lowered herself onto a pile of cushions. ¡°I wasn¡¯t even supposed to tell you.¡± ¡°That could be an asset. What we need is an alternative way into Tara that leads inside the fortress itself.¡± I resumed pacing as my thoughts swirled. ¡°We need something only my family has access to.¡± ¡°That idea¡¯s out. Your family hates her.¡± ¡°Aunt Brigid doesn¡¯t! She might be able to grant us access and persuade Bodb to release my sister.¡± I nipped my lip. There was an inevitable complication. ¡°But she¡¯s the only one watching my mother.¡± ¡°Of course she is.¡± Maya glowered at the nearest pillow and struck it. ¡°You guys don¡¯t have a treatment center or a hospital she can stay at for a few hours?¡± ¡°There aren¡¯t any other healers Father trusts to handle her.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have to be a doctor, not for everyday stuff. Mom¡¯s nurses taught Abuela and I a lot of easy techniques to help her, and basic ways to restrain somebody if she got violent.¡± Maya sighed, hunching over and holding her forehead as if a weight of consternation fell upon her. ¡°Damn it. I could supervise her while you and your aunt go for Rio, but it means I can¡¯t go help.¡± ¡°Then you¡¯ll have to trust me to do it in your stead.¡± I gulped at our impending meeting with Aunt Brigid, at seeing my mother. What state would Mother be in? How lucid? What possible effect would Maya have on her? We had to know, though. I had to face her. ¡°Let¡¯s be off.¡± * I led Maya through my home¡¯s domed common areas, halls, and rounded courtyards until we came to the modest wooden door to my mother¡¯s cell. I approached it first, reaching for the handle. The last time I¡¯d entered that way was the visit where Mother tried to kill me. Would I find the same blind panic in her sallow face, an identical desperate edge in her pleas as when she closed her fingers around my throat? I balked and jerked away. ¡°You go first.¡± ¡°Why?¡± I merely tilted my chin at the door. ¡°Fine.¡± Maya nudged me out of the way and rapped her knuckles on the wood. ¡°Who calls?¡± Came my aunt¡¯s muffled reply. Maya glanced my way, seeking direction. I waved toward the door, eyebrows up with expectation. She rolled her eyes. ¡°Daire and I need to talk to you, but he¡¯s scared to come in.¡± ¡°Then he may state his business himself.¡± Brigid¡¯s tone shifted, stern for all its cordiality. ¡°Your voice was strange at first, but now I recognize it from scraps I heard at the feast. My nephew knows he doesn¡¯t need to send his sister¡¯s human changeling to deliver messages.¡± ¡°You hear that?¡± Maya asked under her breath. ¡°Stop being a chicken.¡± I wet my lips to speak, but any words caught in my throat. Brigid wouldn¡¯t keep Mother in a deep, unaware trance in the privacy of her room. In that state there was no telling what she would do if she heard me. She hadn¡¯t recognized me since I stopped visiting in the few times I had encountered her. Had Mother forced herself to forget me? Would my absence make me fade from her memories? ¡°He¡¯s not listening.¡± Maya tried pulling the handle. The door stayed stuck in place. Brigid must have locked it. ¡°It¡¯s about Riona. She needs help.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure she needs a great many things, including for me to leave my post for such a farce. Bodb has already told me that she manipulated him into allowing you entry to Tir Na Nog.¡± Clearly the High King had spoken with his sister since the night before. ¡°It stinks of a greater scheme.¡± ¡°Yeah? He tell you how and why?¡± ¡°I couldn¡¯t believe anything you said differently, child. He cannot lie to me, unlike you.¡± Maya kicked the door with her fists tight and trembling. The start of frustrated tears winked in the whites of her eyes. ¡°Return to your mistress before I summon her sire. He won¡¯t be so merciful.¡± I should have known better than to send a stranger to Brigid instead of myself, a beloved and trusted family member. If Mother made me so paralyzed, I couldn¡¯t rely on her as an alternative to Maya for help. Riona ferrying Maya to each of the treasures was my only solution. And what of when I wanted to escape to the mortal realm? My intention had always been to bring Mother along. I swallowed my hesitation and found my words. ¡°She speaks the truth. Riona didn¡¯t send her. I did.¡± ¡°So you¡¯re with her?¡± My aunt¡¯s mood lilted up with interest. ¡°And this is not some elaborate ruse so you may visit Etain?¡± You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. ¡°I swear that the sole reason I brought the changeling to you was to ask for your aid in rescuing Riona from a dire fate.¡± My Aos Si blood tugged at my words as I labored over my phrasing. Only something explicit would convince my aunt I had no ulterior motives, yet I couldn¡¯t hint at my true intentions for seeing Riona safe. The handle clicked as my aunt¡¯s locking mechanism shifted out of place. Brigid opened the door a crack and peered through. ¡°What trouble is my niece in, and who got her into it?¡± I waved toward Maya. She launched into her tale, recounting in her crude way how Bodb and Riona had carried on as secret lovers for years. The end came in a rush: Bodb¡¯s refusal to make the relationship public, the confrontation at the feast, Riona¡¯s ensuing threat, and that the mirror to the High King¡¯s quarters being sealed off. My aunt listened, stone-faced, keeping her stoic vigil on the other side of the door. Her aura stayed a warm glow with its orange color never shifting. Once Maya¡¯s story concluded, Brigid turned to me. ¡°This girl makes many outstanding claims, things that could taint the whole of the Dagda¡¯s Brood if true. Do you stand behind her testimony?¡± ¡°I stake my life on it.¡± More literally than she knew. ¡°Then I see why you came to me,¡± Brigid said. ¡°Midir and Aengus would have left Riona to Bodb and cut down the changeling where she stood. By far the neater solution, but it would be disastrous in the long term.¡± Maya rubbed her neck. ¡°Lucky me.¡± ¡°This poses a perplexing conflict.¡± Brigid¡¯s nose wrinkled as she checked behind her, no doubt at Mother. ¡°I must address this, but I have vowed to to take care of Etain, and she should not come to Tara. Likewise, you shouldn¡¯t be alone with her, Daire.¡± ¡°We figured that out, already.¡± Maya raised her hand. ¡°Leave her with me.¡± Brigid¡¯s nostrils flared at the idea, and her aura darkened to red. ¡°Maya has experience caring for a relative with a similar condition.¡± I stepped between her and Maya. ¡°We can trust her with this task.¡± ¡°If you¡¯re vouching for her, I suppose I can risk it.¡± Brigid stepped through the rest of the way, filling the small doorway. She crossed her arms over her chest as she addressed Maya. ¡°Bodb will not be fond of you after this, and it would be best that you avoid him whenever possible from now on if you value your life. Is that understood?¡± ¡°I figured,¡± Maya said. ¡°What do I need to know to take care of Etain?¡± ¡°The calming spell over her is less effective the longer its duration, or if she becomes startled by something. This one should last through my absence, longer even.¡± ¡°If it wears off?¡± ¡°That¡¯s hard to predict. I have taken away her loom and anything she could use as a weapon. She might prefer to sleep. Should she engage you, play along, but do not provoke her.¡± Maya offered her thumb to Brigid, a common enough gesture from her culture meaning ¡°affirmative¡± in that case. My aunt lofted a perplexed brow. ¡°Sounds good.¡± Maya let her arm fall. ¡°Hurry back.¡± Aunt Brigid moved aside and Maya edged through to take her place. I leaned over further and peeked in. The room was supposed to be cluttered with half-finished tapestries and bundles of thread piled about the floor. All that remained inside was a chair, a bronze wash pitcher, and the bed. Brigid hadn¡¯t left a single project left to occupy Mother. It made the room seem larger, barren, hollow. Mother lay in her bed, despondent with her hair already forming tangles. Memories still tugged at me. She loved to dance on feast days, gathering flowers from my gardens to weave herself a crown. We had schemed together to orchestrate my favorite prank. It should have ended in the two of us dumping a bucket of water on Aengus as he walked into a room. However, Father walked in first. She¡¯d run at my side as we escaped to the grounds. Aunt Brigid shut the door behind her. She clasped the handle and her magic emitted a soft click. ¡°Are you sure you need to lock it?¡± I asked, too low for Maya or Mother to hear. ¡°What if they need to get out?¡± ¡°We won¡¯t be gone that long.¡± ¡°I hope you¡¯re right.¡± I took a deep breath and squared my shoulders. ¡°Shall we liberate my sister?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± Brigid replied as she led me down the hallway, ¡°and hope she has learned her lesson about tangling with our High King.¡± * Aunt Brigid and I used my mirror to travel to her seat of power, Cill Dara, in the province of Laigin. While Bri Leith had its rolling hills and underground estate, Cill Dara was a place of interlocking trees and high climbs. My aunt designed her domain to be something lofty. The largest trees weaved around each other into a palace crowned by leaves caught in eternal autumn. Open hallways made from intertwining branches stretched across one platform to the next. Furniture grew from the floor itself and every metal decoration or tool hung from a stick. Anywhere a wall or ceiling might be was open so nothing kept out the light of the heavens or a crisp breeze. Brigid moved from platform to platform, ever upward to the topmost boughs of the central oak. The chamber we headed toward was her personal sanctuary and workshop. It had a massive stone hearth built into the trunk of the tree where smoke rose from the fire that burned within. So long as that flame stayed lit, her magic protected the whole of her estate. Beside the hearth lay her tools: hammers, tongs, a water trough for smelting her projects. Her medicinal nook had a shallow garden for herbs and crisscrossing shelves for the scrolls that held her collected knowledge. We stopped at her mirror whose frame bore her emblem of smithing hammers over a wreath of her favored element. My reflection made me seem haggard with a crimped tunic, sunken cheeks, and extra creases under my eyes. I turned away from it and adjusted my glamour. ¡°What¡¯s our plan going forward?¡± ¡°I will pay our patriarch an impromptu visit and distract him while you busy yourself exploring Tara.¡± Brigid slicked a few stray hairs I¡¯d missed away from my forehead and pressed them into my braids. ¡°How well do you know its inner workings?¡± ¡°I found ample time to study them while the family gave Bodb counsel.¡± When I had come of age to wield the Key, Bodb insisted that I attend those meetings so that I could learn my duties. More often than not, they debated about topics beyond my reckoning and Mother had led me on merry adventures about the capital grounds. ¡°Search for Riona then, either in his quarters or the prison.¡± My aunt pressed her glowing hand to the surface of the mirror, making the rest of the glass shine in kind as she opened the portal. ¡°I hope this is a trick, for Riona¡¯s sake.¡± ¡°What will you do?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll conceal you from his sight while I question him.¡± Brigid took down her favorite crafting hammer, her chosen tool of creation and destruction. It had a plain bronze head and a grip with a handsome farmer and a young warrior carved into it. ¡°Perhaps pummel some sense into him, depending on how he answers.¡± ¡°Will it come down to a confrontation?¡± ¡°Bodb aspires to diplomacy, but a brute¡¯s heart still beats in his breast.¡± That didn¡¯t bode well for my sister. While my eldest uncle couldn¡¯t kill her, his rage might drive him to punish her to the brink of it. ¡°What do I do if I find Riona?¡± ¡°Free her, of course. Then deliver her back to me. Once we reach that point, either I cover your escape or the bargaining begins.¡± ¡°Is there any way I can stall this longer?¡± I stared into the shining portal before us, sweat gathering on my brow. I had faced the Lady of Irons¡¯ foul disposition plenty of times, but never the High King¡¯s wrath. ¡°Would you rather leave this task to me, little nephew?¡± Aunt Brigid offered my shoulder a comforting squeeze. ¡°Tend your gardens, have a lesson with Aengus, pay Midir a visit. You did your part by bringing this problem to my attention.¡± She wasn¡¯t wrong. Brigid was the strongest woman I had ever known in mind, body, and spirit. She had a lingering fondness for my sister despite years of being scorned by that niece. If anyone could dissuade Bodb from his course and rescue Riona, it was her. Even with those qualities in my favor, they may not be enough to overcome her love for her kin and king. Her sense of honor bound her to Bodb as much as Father and Aengus. If it came to an ultimatum between her cherished brother and her estranged niece, my fate would be sealed. ¡°No.¡± I forced my trembling hands to still. ¡°I will see this through.¡± The two of us emerged from the first of four mirrors at the head of the chamber¡ªthe other three bore the crests of Uncle Aengus, Father, and Tara itself. My uncle had chosen what equated to the throne room to conduct his affairs. A massive domed ceiling rose above a room that sloped into the main seating area like a Grecian amphitheater. Long tables framed the open center, which had once hosted dancing and impromptu war games. Red and gold banners warmed the imposing walls, and antler-made chandeliers cast jovial flames over the hall. The atmosphere befit a warband¡¯s homecoming celebration. In the dawn of Bodb¡¯s rule, it had hosted many such events. In the twilight, it served as a cheerful mask for a maze of abandoned rooms that ran deep under Tara¡¯s sacred hill. Bodb waited at the highest backed chair in the room, the only one made of solid gold and draped with luscious pelts. The Dagda¡¯s club rested inside his belt, a stone behemoth as large as a grown man, whose dormant magic rumbled at the whim of violence. ¡°Dear, beautiful sister!¡± Bodb strode to meet Brigid, his club dragging along the floor and scraping with each step. He closed his massive arms around my aunt in a great embrace. She returned it in kind and clapped him on his back loud enough to send echos through the room. I hadn¡¯t seen my aunt notify Bodb of our visit, yet there he was. Had he been monitoring the mirrors? ¡°I thought to surprise you.¡± Similar suspicions flashed across Brigid¡¯s puzzled frown as she parted from her brother. ¡°Are you expecting someone?¡± ¡°Awaiting an important delivery, actually. What brings you to my humble domain?¡± ¡°A matter of great import. Disturbing accusations have reached me about liaisons between you and Midir¡¯s eldest.¡± My aunt¡¯s spell had wrapped about me like a cloak during a chill, concealing me as she¡¯d said. None but her would have caught my lip curling at one possible implication of her phrasing. Could she have been more vague? ¡°Perish the notion.¡± Bodb cringed. ¡°That child has never been my lover and never will.¡± ¡°Which surviving spawn of Midir¡¯s is it you have never lain with?¡± Brigid pat her hammer, smaller than Bodb¡¯s club, but no less thrumming with power. ¡°Do indulge me with their name.¡± ¡°So someone is spreading rumors of me laying with the Fomor-touched.¡± All humor drained from Bodb¡¯s expression, his eyes hardening to resemble clay chunks. ¡°Who? Is the changeling running loose?¡± ¡°I have taken care of Riona¡¯s human lass, for the moment.¡± Brigid approached the High King, not bothering to bow or lower herself before him. ¡°Her testimony may raise questions. You can confide the truth of it to me, brother. Remember, the Dagda¡¯s blood is thick¡­¡± ¡°¡­but his brood is thicker. I do trust you, dear sister.¡± Bodb stooped as he sighed. For a moment his broad body seemed gray and frail as if it were too much effort to hold up his glamour for that single span of time. ¡°They aren¡¯t unfounded. The walls were sealed, my wife had been lost, my pledged and natural children either snuffed out or spread to the winds. I saved as many of the Aos Si as I could, yet the survivors spurned me for what they lost. Then there Riona was, this young thing desperate for anyone¡¯s kindness and completely alone in a world not her own. For that blink, I saw her need and it took me in. The more attention I paid her, the more she conformed to please me. That kind of desperate affection is a heady thing.¡± ¡°Brother, we all felt that way at one time and took different measures to alleviate it. Even the wisest among us has their vice.¡± Brigid wrapped her arm around her brother¡¯s fallen shoulders. ¡°But this dalliance with Riona has grown too volatile for you to continue. You summoned a human into Tir Na Nog to please her. The outburst at the feast will be the first of many. Release her into my care and free yourself.¡± ¡°Then what do I have?¡± Bodb flinched away from his sister and took a step back as she mentioned taking Riona away. ¡°I showed her such favor, but in the end she refused to show any gratitude. She humiliated me and had the gall to demand more. If Riona or her changeling goes free, this hangs over my head for the rest of my life.¡± ¡°Did you make a deal to guarantee her silence?¡± ¡°Of course I did,¡± Bodb replied. ¡°That changeling is not bound by any oath, though, and now I cannot bind her without binding Riona. No, letting them go is too risky. She has told you already. How long until her testimony spreads?¡± ¡°Then I vow to dispatch the changeling, should she try to tell anyone else.¡± Brigid kept her words low, crooning, as if she were taming a cornered boar. ¡°I will keep a watch on Riona as well. I am your family, the kinswoman who turned against my own beloved husband when I saw you oppressed. I have fought at your side through countless conflicts. Even after the masses have shown how fickle their devotion is, I remain at your side.¡± Bodb contemplated Brigid, his murky irises shifting between warm amber and rigid umber. ¡°I still have no certainty that the changeling will not let the secret slip. My ever crafty sweetheart may even orchestrate such a scheme to use that. I have no choice but to keep them both close to protect myself.¡± A cold dread prickled up my spine. If my uncle held Riona, it only made my plans to fetch the items far more difficult. If he had his mind set on imprisoning both her and Maya, though, it became impossible. My best chance lay with them being free. With my aunt¡¯s initial tactic going awry, I had to find the way to Bodb¡¯s quarters and the prison before the situation escalated to violence. The banners about the hall stretched from the ceiling to the floor. One of them concealed the entrance to the lower levels, but which? ¡°And what of when Riona escapes you? Vengeance will fester in her heart even more and she will ruin us.¡± ¡°The closer she stays to me, the more her heart will soften until it¡¯s mine again.¡± ¡°This obsession will be your downfall.¡± My aunt curled her hand over her hammer¡¯s grip and the aura surrounding her flared a deep crimson. ¡°If you won¡¯t liberate yourself, then I must step in.¡± I edged away from the siblings as the tension in their mutual stares mounted. How had I remembered where to find the secret door as a child? Three hops from the throne and seven around, then find the stairs that go deep down. That would make it behind the fifth banner on the eastern wall. Brigid¡¯s cloak unfurled with her skirts into a massive span of wings. Her glossy hair melded into the rest of her garb as she sprouted a fine layer of orange and gold feathers. One flap sent her up among the many antlered chandeliers. The former goddess whose followers had worshiped her for her forge loosed a stream of flame from her mouth with white hot edges. The fire surrounded Bodb, seeking to engulf him. He hefted his enormous club over his head as an impromptu shield. The burst parted to either side of him. ¡°Fetch your sister!¡± My aunt screeched down to me before resuming her onslaught, held aloft for as long as the attack spewed forth. Bodb¡¯s battle cry made the benches and tables stationed throughout the hall tremble. He swung the club in one great arch and a wave of pure power crashed from it at my aunt, cutting her inferno in twain. Brigid thrust her minuscule hammer upon the empty air. A barrier shimmered before her. The force of the club¡¯s swing slammed against it, forcing her back. She winced with the strain it took to hold the protective spell. I rushed toward the eastern wall to its middle banner and the door I knew waited behind it. Waves of heat and magic radiated from their battle as it raged. The glamour Brigid had used to conceal me fractured as the energy shifted into her attack. From there, I was on my own. Chapter 19 - Maya Etain didn¡¯t sleep for long after Brigid left and I settled in. She stayed quiet and watched me like a suspicious stray to somebody holding out a scrap of food. I introduced myself and explained how I was stepping in for Brigid for a bit, then turned some basic questions on her. She kept her answers to universal small talk while she studied me. It wasn¡¯t until I asked about her family that she got chatty. She jumped around in her stories and it took a few before I got the characters straight. When Etain talked about Daire as a kid, his growing up seemed ideal: devoted mom, uncle like a big brother, aunt like a father. It gave him room to turn into anyone he wanted. I got a real good idea why Rio hated his guts. Sometimes she slipped, though, where she talked about her only kid like she was describing someone else. One minute she had a special son, obsessed with gardening and mommy¡¯s attention. The next, she got a headstrong daughter who loved history and wanted to be a queen. As we talked longer, the way she saw me shifted where I went from some temporary guard to that nameless daughter she had to fuss over. ¡°You should find a sweetheart of your own.¡± Etain rubbed her skirt in her lap. ¡°It¡¯s not good for a maid of your age to go without companionship.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have time for one,¡± I said, though Rio flashed through my mind as a prospect. ¡°I tried a couple times, but it never got serious. Too busy working, taking care of Mom and Abuela.¡± ¡°Your father would do that, were he here.¡± Etain got a grumpy pout. So far, she¡¯d made that face when she forgot something. ¡°What happened to him? Did he die in a war?¡± ¡°No.¡± I shrugged. ¡°My dad died in an accident when I was born. We did pretty good on our own, though. Abuela cut hair and Mom tried a lot of different jobs until I was old enough to take over her last gig waiting tables.¡± ¡°Your lord must have been very generous to allow the three of you to live so well without demanding that you marry.¡± ¡°Our world has changed a lot since your day, that¡¯s for sure.¡± My knee bounced as I looked around the empty room. The only light came from one single tiny window. ¡°Sure hope Brigid gets back before night hits. I bet it gets spooky here when it¡¯s dark.¡± ¡°Brigid gives me light until I fall asleep.¡± Etain kept playing with her skirt, rubbing back and forth, back and forth, like knitting. Mom fidgeted like that on the bus when we had to go places, one of her anxious tics. ¡°I need it to work, but I sometimes wish I didn¡¯t. I like the dark.¡± ¡°Me too. Sometimes, if I¡¯m stressing harder than normal, I¡¯ll close my eyes and try to empty my head so it matches what I see. No bills, no customers, no worries, just peaceful nothing.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Etain copied what I described as I talked, pressing her eyes shut. Her hands relaxed in her lap. ¡°Sweet nothing.¡± I let the quiet stay. She seemed like she needed to soak in some peace from someone neutral. While my mom and Daire¡¯s had some things in common, mine wasn¡¯t Etain. Mom¡¯s happy place was when she had the naked sun shining on her face. A couple winters ago, both Abuela and I had one of those rare days off at the same time, and us and Mom could go out to do something special. Mom was pretty stable at the time and hadn¡¯t had an episode for a few months. Abuela put on a t-shirt and packed some sandwiches while Mom and I put on our bathing suits. I covered mine with some shorts while Mom wore a floral sundress. The three of us headed out in Abuela¡¯s car back before it broke down and drove all the way past Nico¡¯s Tavern to the beach. Any crowds were thin that time of year and the water was pretty cold, but Mom and I swam for most of the day until our skin pruned. Abuela sat on shore, guarding the sandwiches while watching the waves lap back and forth. Mom had laughed so much. Not anymore, though, not with Abuela gone and Mom forgetting everything. What if Brigid and Daire couldn¡¯t get Rio back? Would I lose her too? ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Etain blinked at me and leaned over like she wanted to come closer. I must¡¯ve made a noise. I muscled through a smile. ¡°I¡¯m just thinking about my mom back home.¡± ¡°I miss my parents.¡± The daze over Etain broke for a second, her knuckles twitching. ¡°Though I¡¯m not quite sure who they were.¡± Was that a bad subject? Did that tic mean Brigid¡¯s magic sedation was wearing off? The door handle rattled. ¡°More company?¡± Etain¡¯s face lit up in a childlike smile. ¡°Lady Brigid, I must ask if you have seen Lord Daire and a young woman pass by here,¡± a deep, familiar voice asked. It reminded me of snakes but I couldn¡¯t place the face. ¡°Brigid had to step out,¡± Etain replied. ¡°A good day to you, Fergal.¡± I stayed quiet and listened. Call me paranoid but the ¡°young woman¡± he was talking about might be me. Why would a stranger be looking for me without Rio around? ¡°A good day to you as well, Lady Etain,¡± the visitor said. ¡°Who is with you? Lord Midir wanted a watch on you at all times.¡± I waved at Etain and put a finger on my mouth to shush her. ¡°Your master need not worry about his captive,¡± Etain said with a sneer. She turned it on me as I flailed around, warning of a whooping if I kept it up¡ªshe did it almost as good as Abuela used to. ¡°Someone is here.¡± ¡°Who?¡± ¡°Brigid sent her. That is all you need know.¡± The person behind the door went quiet a long second. ¡°And you haven¡¯t seen Lord Daire?¡± ¡°No, not for quite some time. Is that all?¡± This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. ¡°Yes. Thank you, my lady.¡± Heavy footsteps headed away from the door until they disappeared altogether. ¡°Who was that?¡± I leaned toward Etain and kept my eyes peeled on the door. ¡°He¡¯s a guard of this household.¡± She turned up to the window, her perfect posture slumping. ¡°He often patrols nearby, keeping out the little swan.¡± ¡°A swan?¡± I hadn¡¯t seen any of those birds since I got to Tir Na Nog, but she could be talking about something I didn¡¯t know. ¡°Let¡¯s think of a better lie for next time. How about you say Brigid¡¯s here and she¡¯s too busy to talk.¡± ¡°No one can lie in Tir Na Nog.¡± ¡°You can if you¡¯re human. I¡¯ve done it tons since I got here.¡± Etain mulled over that one for a good minute. A long shadow flashed over Etain¡¯s face, interrupting the sunlight pouring in. I moved to the door while my paranoia turned to panic. ¡°What was that at the window?¡± Etain wrinkled her nose. ¡°Yet another visitor?¡± ¡°It could¡¯ve been a bird, right?¡± ¡°Not unless someone flies over.¡± ¡°A cloud?¡± ¡°Skies are always clear in Bri Leith.¡± I tested the door handle. It didn¡¯t budge. ¡°Your caregiver locked us in.¡± It was probably more magic so neither of us could try to pick it. I practiced those breathing exercises Mom¡¯s latest therapist gave her for anxiety attacks. In, count to four, hold, count to four, out, count to four. ¡°Let¡¯s sit on the bed together, away from the window. What do you think?¡± Etain scooted over and made room for me on the edge of the mattress. I sat next to her and watched the window. The too blue sky was clear, and the grass peeking in around the edges of the slit only swayed. No more shadows or weird noises. My heart rate dialed down a bit. Etain started trying to knit her skirt again. She must¡¯ve picked up on my nerves. ¡°I¡¯m getting a drink.¡± I pointed over at the brass water pitcher. It was for a distraction more than being thirsty. ¡°You want any?¡± Etain shook her head as I walked to the pitcher and its bowl. Compared to the wood set Rio had left for me, the copper one had a lot more heft to it. Someone had polished it enough that it reminded me of the mirrors in Rio¡¯s hole. I squinted into the copper and picked out Etain¡¯s reflection. She sat there, watching me. The covers around her jerked. A blonde man with a scaly, pale green cape appeared behind her. It¡¯s then I remembered where I heard the voice at the door from. He was the guard that almost caught Daire and I spying on Etain. He covered Etain¡¯s mouth, and white smoke came out of his fingers. His attention stayed on Daire¡¯s mom, checking her silent gasp as she clawed at his arm. I had a fraction of a second to make a plan and even less to react. The pitcher seemed heavier in the moment. I switched the handle from my left hand to my right. The room had as much space as a ritzy walk-in closet. It wasn¡¯t that far between me and the bed. Please hit him, not Etain. I spun around and rushed the bed, swinging the pitcher at the guard¡¯s skull. Clang! The guard collapsed onto the bed. Blood oozed from under his hair. The pitcher had a baseball sized dent in the bottom. Daire¡¯s mom scrambled away, her hair drenched from all the water that had splashed on her. ¡°We¡¯ve gotta get out of here before he wakes up.¡± The door and the window were our only options. Two teen-sized girls blowing out their shoulders wouldn¡¯t cut it against a door made of solid wood and with a locked latch. But the slit was set too high on the wall for someone to climb by themselves. Two people, though¡­ ¡°Fergal?¡± Etain leaned over the unconscious man. ¡°Why would he¡­?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t touch him.¡± I flapped at her to follow along as I went to the gap. ¡°Come on.¡± She edged over to me, checking over her shoulder at the guard. I stood across from her and put my hand up to the top of my forehead, then slid it across to hers. Our heights came out even, give or take a centimeter. ¡°Okay, we¡¯ve got to climb out this window,¡± I said. On cue, Etain tilted her chin up toward it. I gave her a second, then redirected her to look at me again. ¡°I¡¯ve got a plan for doing that. Just do what I say, alright?¡± ¡°What first?¡± ¡°That a girl.¡± I laced my fingers together like a stirrup and bent low enough that she could step into them. ¡°Put your foot here. Then I¡¯ll lift you up.¡± Etain gathered her skirt high as she followed my directions. ¡°Now climb out.¡± I boosted her to the window ledge. She reached, tugging on tufts of grass until she pulled herself out half way. Her dress smacked me in the face, and I dodged a flailing leg as she shimmied the rest of herself up. Good. One down. The next part would be tricky if she didn¡¯t have enough upper body strength to lift me. The guard groaned. ¡°He¡¯s waking up!¡± I didn¡¯t bother whispering as I grabbed for the folding chair I¡¯d sat in earlier and propped it against the wall. It wobbled when I climbed onto it. I stretched toward Etain anyways. Inches from the window. So close. ¡°Etain, you¡¯ve got to grab me and pull me up,¡± I said my every word having a shrill pitch as panic bubbled up in me. ¡°But you¡¯re larger than me.¡± ¡°Just¡­ Just grab my arms.¡± I glanced behind me at the guard. He¡¯d sat up and started massaging his head, still woozy. ¡°Hurry.¡± Etain knelt and took hold of me, but her cow-eyed calm wavered. Sitting on the bed, she¡¯d been in a haze like she was going along with a weird dream. Her grip spasmed and she squinted down at me as if struggling to focus, someone half asleep trying to wake up. Brigid¡¯s happy spell was wearing off. ¡°You¡¯re doing good, Etain.¡± I clamped down on her elbows. She had to snap out of it, but how? ¡°Stay with me. What if I was Daire and I was in trouble? Your little boy, remember?¡± ¡°But you¡¯re not¡­ He¡¯s not¡­¡± The guard shouted something that didn¡¯t make it through Daire¡¯s translation spell. It sounded like a cuss word. From Etain¡¯s stories, she¡¯d had another child, but something tragic happened that meant she wasn¡¯t around anymore. ¡°What about your other kid? Your daughter?¡± Daire¡¯s mom went stiff, her pupils narrowing. The last of Brigid¡¯s magic fog cleared away. The guard¡¯s boots pattered against the stone floor behind me. ¡°Pull me up!¡± Etain braced herself and dragged me forward. A pair of arms yanked on my legs. I kicked back. My foot connected and something cracked under it. The guard grunted and recoiled, holding his nose. I thrashed at the wall, and my toe got caught on a wide crack between its blocks. My foot stayed put as I pushed off. Etain heaved me the rest of the way. Both of us breathed hard as I crawled over the edge. Etain didn¡¯t let go. ¡°They¡¯re coming for you, Tainy.¡± Etain hauled me to my feet, squeezing tight. ¡°We have to run.¡± There was a wall of trees over the hill not too far away. Rio¡¯s woods. If we made it there, maybe I could find my way back to Rio¡¯s burrow. ¡°I know somewhere.¡± I started toward the forest. Etain bolted ahead of me like it was a track meet. Even though she acted like a sedated old lady with dementia, she had the same build as a cheerleader. She led us up a steep slope through knee-high grass. I sprinted as far as the top before my adrenaline induced endurance gave out. ¡°We mustn¡¯t tarry.¡± She scanned the empty sky. ¡°Midir¡¯s men could be upon us any moment.¡± She was looking up? Wait. Those guys could transform into animals. That meant birds, flying. I found my second wind and pumped my legs harder. My chest burned with every gasp for breath and a stabbing pain pulsed in my side. We got to the next incline and my knee buckled, sending me rolling. ¡°To your feet!¡± Etain skidded to a stop. ¡°They mustn¡¯t catch us.¡± I hacked on my own spit as I got to my knees. Excess pollen sent me into a sneezing fit. Ahead of us, I could pick out minuscule breaks in the tree line. Behind us were the rainbow clusters of flowers and artfully arched trees surrounding Daire¡¯s home. The unmowed meadow swayed like the waves of a green ocean. I had to keep moving. It wasn¡¯t that much further. I pushed myself upright. A skinny shadow rose from the rustling grass. Etain tackled me and shielded my body with hers. I landed on my back and stared into the slit eyes of the threat. A giant snake head undulated over us, its body as thick as five pythons. Its scales had the same gray-green pattern as the guard¡¯s cape. ¡°They can¡¯t take you.¡± Etain held onto me and wrapped her arms tight. ¡°Not again.¡± The grass flattened under the snake¡¯s body as it coiled around us. Chapter 20 - Daire Tara, under my uncle¡¯s rule, had become a secretive maze of doors, mirrors, and stairs. Exploration was a strong suit of mine as a child, and I had a fair memory for how to find my way through it. I only hoped the fortress hadn¡¯t shifted any of its paths since I¡¯d gained my maturity. I set out to inspect Bodb¡¯s bedchamber first since it was closer than the prison. As I passed through the halls leading to the living quarters, the wall-folk were as stationary carvings. They all seemed suspended in a passive sleep, unaware and uncaring they might have duties to fulfill. A spearman had paused in mid-leap. Flirtations between a noble lady and her suitor froze with them open-mouthed and laughing. The only one who could order them to cease like that was Bodb. I stopped short at the bottom of the final stairwell before my destination. Bodb¡¯s quarters were part of a long row of identical chambers lining the hall. Did it lay six or eight doors in? Was the direction I came from the correct perspective to count from? Soft footfalls approached at the other end of the corridor. I opened the room closest to me and withdrew into it. The canopy bed¡¯s curtains were drawn shut, the plain furniture unadorned and the hearth dark. Protocol kept the guest quarters a blank slate so that anyone staying in them could glamour the place to fit their tastes. The absence of any decor assured me it was not already occupied. I went to close the door behind me while the stranger passed by. It remained a mystery how anyone else had entered Tara¡¯s underbelly from below, unless Bodb himself had granted them a passage. ¡°Do you get how many people are going to want to kill you because of this?¡± a very familiar voice said in colloquial, American accented English. ¡°At least six for her. One very pissed off Lady of Irons for me. Did you see the chain on my arm?¡± ¡°How could I not?¡± Another replied in the Aos Si tongue, a subtle hiss to his words. Fergal? Why had he gotten a hold of Maya? And why would he be that far from Bri Leith with her? ¡°Its foul magic burned me far too much while tying you.¡± ¡°Then take us back. Let us go. I know how to keep my mouth shut. And who¡¯d believe Etain if she blabbed?¡± Maya prattled on. ¡°Why even risk it?¡± ¡°Those of lower position submit to those above them. When one¡¯s High King asks you to fetch something, one does it out of duty. Your kind used to understand that.¡± ¡°So Bodb¡¯s the bastard who put you up to this. Don¡¯t you work for Daire¡¯s dad? The Midir guy? I bet he won¡¯t like you dragging his wife into this.¡± ¡°I should have gagged you before you woke.¡± I dared to peek out and opened the door a crack. Fergal carried Maya under one arm and cradled Mother in the other. Maya¡¯s hands and feet were bound with a tight cord made from a snake¡¯s shed skin while my mother hung limp against Fergal, unconscious. ¡°I¡¯m surprised you didn¡¯t magic my mouth shut, already. Plenty of your people tried it,¡± Maya continued. ¡°A waste of power when a rag would suffice.¡± Fergal set Mother down with reverent gentleness. Once she was out of his grasp, he turned a scowl on Maya. He shoved her front first into the nearest wall and held her there by the back of her neck like some misbehaving hound. ¡°Take this as your punishment for not separating yourself from kindly Lady Etain and cooperating.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not my fault she bit you when you pried her off.¡± ¡°She wouldn¡¯t have needed to if you hadn¡¯t taken her when you fled.¡± He fashioned a strip of white linen from the air. ¡°You¡¯re just bitter I got the jump on you when you tried knocking her out the first time,¡± Maya retorted. Fergal wrapped the rag around Maya¡¯s mouth so it pressed in harder than an excessive bit for a horse, then tied it off behind her head. Anything my human accomplice said after that turned to a garbled mess of syllables. Fergal dropped Maya and she landed in an unceremonious heap. She groaned and a muffled slew of curses followed. Fergal started tracing over the planks of the door in front of him, tapping points in a pattern too calculated to be random. Bodb¡¯s quarters were the eighth room from the stairs, I remembered. It was upon that entry my father¡¯s guard drew his arcane combination. I had to tell someone about Bodb¡¯s subterfuge, but who? Brigid still skirmished with him in the front hall. Aengus would rush to my and Mother¡¯s aid, but I had doubts Bodb would listen to his youngest sibling in his paranoid state. That left summoning Father, the High King¡¯s trusted successor, who had the only hope of aiding my aunt through strength as well as sense. I ducked back into the room and took out the mirror Brigid had given me weeks ago from my belt pouch. The situation left me no choice but to attempt using it in the dark. If I illuminated the mirror to see it better, Fergal might notice the light shining under the door. It was enough risk scrying Father so close to someone who was trained to detect my magical signature. Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. I felt around the edge of the mirror and called up the looking glass in Father¡¯s library. It glowed a soft gold, then pulsed as I awaited an answer. Maya screeched from the hall. Fergal must have finished opening Bodb¡¯s quarters. Father¡¯s face appeared in my mirror. ¡°Why are you calling?¡± ¡°Because I just caught my nursemaid, Fergal, kidnapping your wife for our High King.¡± I glared at his bored tone. ¡°Is that not serious enough for you to take notice?¡± ¡°Where is she?¡± Father leaned in, knuckles going white as he gripped his desk. There was the reaction I needed. ¡°Being carried into Bodb¡¯s bedroom,¡± I said. ¡°Open your mirror.¡± Father stood, lifting his mirror with him and making the angle from which I saw his side tilt. I should have suspected that he would try to come through immediately, but then he would find Maya and interfere. There was a simple trick Uncle Aengus had used on his mirror once to keep Father from barging in to fetch me back to Bri Leith. Perhaps I could replicate it. What were the Ogham he used? Rowan for protection. Alder for strength. Oak for stability. I wrote each character upon the frame so it would hold its small shape and Father couldn¡¯t fit through. Father pawed at his glass, obstructing my view with his palm. His hand slid away a moment later and he growled. ¡°Boy, stop being insolent for once and let me through!¡± ¡°Use the main entrance. Aunt Brigid is already waiting for you.¡± I shrugged and didn¡¯t resist flashing him a triumphant smirk. ¡°Also, come armed. Bodb is in a mood.¡± ¡°What kind of scheme have you trapped your mother in?¡± Father snatched his sheathed sword from nearby. ¡°Stay where you are until I¡¯ve fixed this mess.¡± ¡°No. I¡¯ll handle Mother.¡± ¡°Daire¡ª¡± I wiggled my fingers in farewell and tapped the mirror, cutting off his connection. His sour visage disappeared. With Father on his way, Maya and I stood a better chance of escaping with Riona and Mother. Bodb might overwhelm my aunt by herself, given his experience and position over her. Against Brigid and Father however, the battle would rage to a standstill and afford us more time. I checked Fergal¡¯s process, peering outside once more. He had the door to Bodb¡¯s quarters propped open with his foot as he dragged Maya inside. She wriggled and thrashed, kicking out with her bound feet. If he sealed the room, she would be trapped there. ¡°This is a surprise, finding you here in the halls of Tara.¡± I bolted from hiding and shoved my fidgeting hands behind my back. ¡°With my unconscious mother, no less¡­¡± ¡°Lord Daire?¡± Fergal started and showed me his empty hands. ¡°Have no worry, little lordling. I was about to deliver Lady Etain back to her quarters in Bri Leith.¡± Maya went rigid and gawked up at me, as shocked as Fergal. ¡°How did she come to be here in the first place?¡± I strolled closer and nudged Maya with my toe. ¡°And with my sister¡¯s changeling too? You are busy.¡± ¡°The changeling was an errand for the High King.¡± Fergal sneered over his shoulder as he narrowed his green eyes down at his quarry. ¡°A good thing as well. She was cavorting with Lady Etain in a manner I found most suspicious. Unfortunately, your mother had one of her fits and thought this girl was your lost sister. I had to subdue her until I had delivered Riona¡¯s wench.¡± ¡°Ah, so Bodb asked Father to deliver Riona¡¯s changeling and Father ordered you to do it?¡± Fergal clenched his jaw. ¡°Well?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°So Father isn¡¯t aware you¡¯re doing this?¡± I quirked my head to one side as if the answer was not obvious. Aos Si society had a militaristic hierarchy that held it together. At the top of it all was Bodb, but his authority was only as strong as his Lords. My father kept his household in check by demanding that those under him served no other, even the High King. Anyone caught doing otherwise was treated to a harsh punishment and ejected from Bri Leith as a traitor. ¡°That could only mean Bodb ordered you himself.¡± ¡°What do you want?¡± Fergal asked. ¡°I¡¯m already here with my esteemed aunt. I will deliver Mother home.¡± I knelt and hefted up my mother into my arms. ¡°And you will leave me alone with the changeling.¡± ¡°Really?¡± Fergal grimaced between Maya and I. ¡°Is that why you were cavorting with her? Your taste in lovers is your own, but in front of Lady Etain?¡± ¡°Perhaps I want to barrage her with questions since she¡¯s the only modern human I have ever met.¡± I rolled my eyes for emphasis. ¡°What business is it of yours?¡± ¡°If she outwits you and escapes, it¡¯s my hide not yours.¡± Fergal loomed over me, knowing full well my rank and blackmail was worth nothing in a fight. ¡°We have no idea what spells and ideas Fuamnach¡¯s spawn has been filling her with.¡± ¡°I have enough Aos Si blood in my veins to handle one human girl.¡± I lifted my chin and assumed the haughty authority I had learned from every other Aos Si noble, covering myself in the same lazy mannerisms. ¡°Besides, it¡¯s also your hide if Father finds out about your divided loyalties.¡± ¡°Fine.¡± Fergal offered me a short bow. ¡°I swear I will leave the door open and be on my way.¡± ¡°And I swear, from this point on, not to reveal that you serve anyone else but Midir the Proud.¡± That oath didn¡¯t take into account that I¡¯d already told my father about his guard¡¯s crime. It would be pleasant not having to worry about Fergal¡¯s meddling anymore, but I kept those thoughts to myself. Fergal sped away, back to whatever secret portal he had been permitted to come through. I set down my unconscious mother and rushed to Maya¡¯s side. She made hinting grunts and jerked her chin at her wrists. I glamoured a sharp silver knife into my palm and sawed through the shimmering cord binding them. Maya¡¯s hunched shoulders loosened as she rolled the gag down her neck. The tight linen had rubbed the corners of her mouth raw. ¡°Please tell me you didn¡¯t let him get away clean.¡± ¡°I may have mentioned something about Fergal to Father before this little rescue.¡± I slashed the second cord around her ankles. ¡°Good.¡± Maya looked over my serene mother as she rubbed the angry red marks on her wrists. ¡°Is Etain alright?¡± ¡°She should be. Fergal has been with my family long enough to value her as the Lady of Bri Leith. He wouldn¡¯t do her any serious harm.¡± I hooked my arms behind Mother¡¯s back and under her knees as I picked her up from the floor. ¡°What about you?¡± ¡°Just a couple-dozen new bruises. What else is new?¡± Maya massaged her side as she stood. ¡°How¡¯s Rio doing?¡± ¡°You shall see for yourself when I find her. Coming across you and Mother was an all too happy accident.¡± ¡°You know where she is?¡± ¡°No, but Bodb is distracted for the moment and I know my way around.¡± I walked ahead of her, beginning our long trek deep into the bowels of Tara. ¡°If she¡¯s not in his private quarters, she¡¯s not likely to be in any of these abandoned guest rooms. That only leaves the prison.¡± Chapter 21 - Maya Daire and I took turns carrying Etain. We went through five floors, ten mirrors, and three twisting hallways. There had to be hundreds of guest bedrooms. The ones hanging open were bland and dark. Some places stored rows of embossed armor, round shields, and pointy helmets. Others had piles of all things sharp, anything from swords as long as my arm to spears taller than Daire. One area was about the size of a high school gym with a faded chalky circle in the middle and bleachers around it. What I didn¡¯t find was other people. No family, no guards, not even a servant. Dracula¡¯s haunted castle had more life than Bodb¡¯s abandoned maze of a home. Daire stopped at a thick door with big brass latches. Most of the walls we passed had different figures and scenes chiseled into them: hoity-toity elites in slinky gowns, gruff fighters marching into a battle, huge hunting dogs chasing even bigger wolves. The walls on either side of that room were empty. The air around it stank like too crispy bacon in one of Abuela¡¯s cast iron pans, juicy but burnt. It was my turn to hold Etain. I kept my distance as Daire inspected the door. He tested the handle and pushed. It swung open easy and the old hinges squealed. The overcooked meat smell slammed into me, and I had to hold my breath to keep my eyes from watering. Inside was a circular pit and more naked walls. An open concept grill with glowing coals gave off dim illumination. Metal pokers and tongs stuck out of it. The tips of the tools were still red hot, and something recent sizzled on them. I made out a wood table nearby with handcuffs nailed into its corners. The grill¡¯s light shined off dark splatters all around it, most of them staining that table. Daire pinched his nose and went further in. ¡°What is this?¡± I followed him, coughing as the awful smell filled my mouth. ¡°A torture chamber.¡± Daire tapped one of the splatters and squinted at it. His pale finger tip came away red. ¡°And this blood is still fresh. I think we found my sister.¡± ¡°Rio!¡± I shouted. My voice bounced to the ceiling. Etain groaned in my arms and rubbed her nose. No one answered. ¡°These places are usually kept above the prison.¡± Daire scuffed different spots on the floor with his heel. The noise came back solid against the packed dirt. Then he hit something with a hollow thud. He kicked a layer of soil away and found a wood panel. A trap door. ¡°Here, a hidden hatch.¡± I itched to throw that panel up, but Etain started waking up right then. She shifted and blinked at the world around her with a groggy confusion. Daire held out his arms for his mom, and I passed her over. I got to digging through the dust. When I found the crack between the board and the floor, I crammed my fingers into it and flung it open. A staircase spiraled down. The steps disappeared into a black hole. We followed the stairs, me in front and Daire shining behind me. When I reached the bottom, he brightened up the place. The prison wasn¡¯t like anything I knew that had guards patrolling barred cells with black batons. It was more like a cavern with wide arches to support its low ceiling. The dirt floor and dank clay walls made it so primitive. More shackles hung around us, and everything was smeared with moldy brown smudges. But the air had a coppery tang where every breath tasted like a battery. There was Rio, slumped in the darkest corner where Daire¡¯s glow didn¡¯t penetrate. Her electrified field surrounded her, the thickest I¡¯d ever seen it. It hovered over her like a sleepy storm cloud. I rushed into it and knelt in front of her. As soon as I entered the particles, they came to life, all excited and clustering around me. Rio hung from a pair of cuffs nailed into the wall. Both thumbs on her limp hands were broken out of joint, and one of her index fingers was twisted in the wrong direction. Every part of her looked like a rotted peach. Where her skin wasn¡¯t blue and green with new bruises, she had bloody black sear marks. They covered the soles of her feet, the undersides of her thighs, her arm pits, even the tender places where her elbows bent. The only part of her that monster hadn¡¯t touched was her heart-shaped face. Her sickly white cheeks were streaked with muck and dried tears. ¡°Oh Rio.¡± I cupped her head and tried stirring her awake. She stayed limp, dull, and cold. I checked under her chin. A faint pulse fluttered along her artery. Thank God. ¡°She needs a doctor. If she¡¯s this messed up on the outside, her insides won¡¯t look much better.¡± ¡°She¡¯s an Aos Si. Given time she will recover.¡± Daire pulled away from Rio¡¯s mist as it whipped out at Etain. ¡°However, her body will heal itself better if we take her to where her power is strongest.¡± ¡°Little swan, where are we?¡± Etain clung to Daire¡¯s neck and flinched at the buzzing particles that had tried snatching her. ¡°Who is Tainy with?¡± ¡°The dungeon underneath Tara. And she¡¯s freeing Riona, Fuamnach¡¯s daughter. Do you remember?¡± Daire lowered Etain to stand on her own, but he kept her close with an arm around her waist. To me, he said, ¡°You have to pry open her bonds. My sister¡¯s magic will make them brittle enough for you to manage. I can¡¯t enter her aura, not without seriously hurting myself.¡± I gritted my teeth and yanked at the rusted chain holding Rio¡¯s arm to the wall. The hard clay around it cracked. Another hard tug and it tore out. The other chain gave on my first try. Rio fell to the side without the shackles holding her up. I wiped my sweaty palms off on my pants and heaved the woman upright. Squatting in front of her made it easier to haul her on my back and support her under her knees, piggyback style. My neck was thick with sweat. I had to wipe off a misty patch threatening to drip in my eyes. That deep in Rio¡¯s energy, the space around me got thicker. Moving through it was like struggling against molasses. I¡¯d moved in it before and it hadn¡¯t been so heavy. It made carrying her dead weight harder, but my knees stayed steady. Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. Daire guided Etain to the trap door and he kept both of them a decent pace ahead of me. ¡°Is that woman well?¡± Daire¡¯s mom asked. ¡°No. She¡¯s not even moving.¡± I panted as I tried not to jostle Rio too much. Balancing her while hiking up the curving stairwell made both of us wobble. She stayed limp and dull, not a twitch or a quiver anywhere. ¡°Tell me there¡¯s a court system in this place for that bastard.¡± ¡°That would be our reigning council if an offense is severe enough,¡± Daire said. ¡°This incident will never reach their ears if the other members of my family have anything to say about it.¡± ¡°So they¡¯ll punish him themselves? He¡¯s got to pay for what he did.¡± ¡°They will most likely broker a truce, then make everyone take oaths that ensure no one mentions the matter, and be done with it,¡± Daire explained. ¡°That¡¯s the best justice she will see against Bodb, at least until the election. Even then, the Dagda¡¯s brood will uphold his legacy for the sake of the realm¡¯s order. Without it, they believe Tir Na Nog will collapse into civil war, and there are not enough of us left to survive that.¡± ¡°How¡¯s that fair?¡± ¡°It isn¡¯t. But under the circumstances, we must accept it.¡± I shut up as I soldiered on the rest of the way. Sucking air kept me too busy to waste anymore of it on how Bodb needed to pay. The way back went so much slower. My throat got dryer than a night of open-mouthed snoring after the first floor. Both legs ached and agitated my shin splints. When we stopped at the top of the second floor, I had to force my feet to move. They throbbed too much to get going again without a wall to lean on. By the third floor, keeping a firm hold on Rio made my fingers stiffen into hooks. I couldn¡¯t try to flex them if I didn¡¯t want to drop her. I¡¯d done longer stints unloading new food from Nico¡¯s van into the kitchen with a lot less sleep. It should¡¯ve been nothing. What was wrong with me? Too sweaty. Too tired. Too much. Daire and Etain¡¯s shapes blurred together and swirled into one person. A thirty-something blonde lady surrounded by a halo of light led me instead. She had a pale green maxi dress and hummed a poppy beat I couldn¡¯t place. Mom? Was she taking me home? ¡°Mom, wait up.¡± My knees buckled. I collapsed and Rio tumbled out of my slippery palms. She rolled and settled in a heap. I wheezed, coughed. My eyelids had figurative barbells stuck to them. So heavy. I slumped over and let my eyes close, blotting out Mom and her halo. Sleep. Rest. ¡°Maya?¡± Who was that? Mom? ¡°Something¡¯s amiss. Wake up!¡± Someone shouted. It was too deep to be Mom. No, it was a guy, someone I knew. He had a posh accent. Not Nico or Nate. I groaned as I opened my eyes and all the murky brown and gray color returned to the world. The maze of hallways and stairs, following Daire and his mom, getting Rio away from her ex. It all rushed back in a groggy mess. Etain leaned in, peering through the dense fog and edging closer to it. ¡°Hold on.¡± Daire thrust his arm in her way. ¡°Let me see first.¡± She pursed her lips like he¡¯d just sassed her. For the moment she went along with it. Daire crept to the edges of Riona¡¯s field. Thin wisps licked at his shirt, and smoke rose from where they touched. The densest, darkest patch still gathered around me, even though I¡¯d lost contact with Rio. Daire grabbed the nearest torch and held it up as close as he could without Rio¡¯s magic snuffing out the fire. I tried to push myself up and only made it to my elbows before I ran out of gas. How was Rio doing? Maybe the fall had startled her awake. I looked over her. None of the bruises or broken fingers had faded, but her face radiated a soft, flickering light. ¡°She looks a little brighter.¡± I got my hands under me and managed to sit. A cramp in my lower back made me stop there. ¡°How¡­ How far is it?¡± ¡°How do you feel?¡± Daire asked. ¡°You appear as sprightly as death.¡± ¡°Honestly? About that bad.¡± I gritted my teeth, waiting for the latest wave of pain to pass. ¡°She weighs more than she looks.¡± ¡°She shouldn¡¯t.¡± Daire knelt to my level. ¡°Try to leave the aura.¡± ¡°We don¡¯t have time for this.¡± I shook my head. ¡°I¡¯m just tired. It¡¯ll pass.¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t have this weakness before we found her. Examining you won¡¯t take more than a moment.¡± I bit my lip as I crawled away from Rio to Daire. The dense particles followed me, shifting and expanding as they clung. They hummed louder the further I went from Rio until it grew into a whine. ¡°She can¡¯t die, right?¡± I checked over my shoulder. Rio lay in the same place she¡¯d fallen, a broken doll some kid had thrown out. Her energy cried on. What was going on with her? ¡°It doesn¡¯t normally make noise, does it?¡± ¡°This is the first I¡¯ve ever heard it. I sense something on her. Stay there.¡± Daire trotted closer to Rio where the particles were thinnest. Right then they seemed to like me better than the person they came from. He skirted the edge of the mist and cupped his hands around his eyes like someone trying to see further into a tinted store window. While I couldn¡¯t watch how his expression changed, his glow narrowed and sifted its way to his sister. He must have been feeling for something on her. What was he looking for? Daire stayed until his skin started to broil. He broke away and rubbed the blistering burn on his nose, breathing through hisses. ¡°We have to hurry.¡± Daire snatched Etain¡¯s hand and stared at me like he was about to say I had cancer. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± I slogged back to Rio and used the wall to get my feet under me. Next came the hard part. I sucked in a deep breath and heaved her back onto my shoulders. My knees shook, threatening to give out again. Daire glanced down at Etain. He seemed uneasy, like he couldn¡¯t say what he wanted in front of her. She had been staring with new interest into Rio¡¯s aura as soon as she saw how bad I was. When I¡¯d visited, Brigid had removed everything Etain could use to hurt herself. She probably had close calls with self-harm in the past. Daire confirmed my suspicions by squeezing his mom¡¯s hand tighter and tugging her away from the field. He must¡¯ve thought she¡¯d fling herself in with me where he couldn¡¯t pull her out. ¡°Bodb puso un hechizo en Riona. Su poder la mantiene dormida.¡± Bodb put a spell on Riona. His power is keeping her asleep. Daire gave me a fake smile as he explained. ¡°La magia de Riona te est¨¢ drenando. Creo que est¨¢ tratando de despertarla. Si la magia contin¨²a, te matar¨¢.¡± Riona¡¯s magic is draining you. I think it is trying to wake her up. If the magic continues, it will kill you. I stumbled to one knee, all the warmth draining out of my body. Any smart person would leave Rio there and reassure themself that they had done their best every night when guilt set in. I looked over my shoulder at Rio¡¯s face resting listless on it. It wasn¡¯t the face of a kidnapper anymore. She was a friend in trouble. I pushed any thoughts about pain down and forced my legs to lift me back up and carry her. Abuela once said our family survived by being too stubborn to give up when we should. I set out to prove her right. ¡°V¨¢monos.¡± Let¡¯s go. Chapter 22 - Daire We walked on further and further, gaining progress toward the throne room¡¯s hidden door. Maya refused to stop at any of the remaining staircases. Her winded coughing echoed through the halls behind me. I checked over my shoulder and caught her wobbling more than once before she corrected herself against a wall. She didn¡¯t fall again¡ªnot yet¡ªbut her arms shook, her knees shivered, and a weariness glazed over her dark eyes. How she still stayed upright while carrying someone leeching her life away was a testament to her endurance. What had Bodb done to my sister to keep her pliant? What magic I had sensed had a seal upon it and wouldn¡¯t go away unless the High King himself removed it. That would be a problem if we wanted to make a quick escape. Mother still held my hand and followed my lead with a wary faith. Did she comprehend that I meant to take her back to her prison? How would she react? Did she contemplate diving into Riona¡¯s dark aura so it would suck her into death as well? Her expression stayed a diplomatic mask just like when she was caught in the public¡¯s eye. For the moment, she stayed compliant. I thanked whatever deity watched our progress for that small mercy while my head ached trying to figure out how to save Maya. We turned the final corner into the last corridor and approached the stair heading to the hidden entrance. The torches were scant there with only a couple serving to illuminate our way to the main hall. Riona¡¯s aura licked at their light, dimming their flames. I cast a last look to Maya. ¡°This might be a good opportunity for a rest. I don¡¯t know what mayhem we must sprint through after this.¡± She only panted in reply. Riona¡¯s aura obstructed what view I had maintained in the brighter light from before. Mother¡¯s hand tightened on mine and her masked expression shifted with uncertainty. What was going through her mind? Manic intellect shined in her eyes with no hint of Aunt Brigid¡¯s dulling trance. How did she perceive me and Maya and our trek? We were a means of escape, that much was clear. Her attention edged toward the door above us. If I let go of her hand, I might lose her. A thick thud came from inside Riona¡¯s mist. Maya¡¯s silhouette slumped to a heap on the ground. ¡°Maya!¡± I jolted forward while still gripping Mother. She wrenched away, out of my grasp. Her neutral mien fell and her true suspicion showed as she walked up the first steps. Maya¡¯s breath was a wheezing whisper. Her body stayed as unmoving as Riona¡¯s. If I didn¡¯t keep a watch on Mother, she might flee. If I didn¡¯t attend to Maya, she would die. Either way I¡¯d lose one. No. I was an Aos Si. I wielded power neither of them had. I had to act fast, but how? Mother was watching me, and what tenuous trust she¡¯d put in me started to unravel the further she slipped away. If I cast a quick spell to pacify her like the kind Aunt Brigid used, it would snap. But I couldn¡¯t count on her recognizing me. Even if she did, the attempt on my life proved she¡¯d lumped me in with Father. It was folly to beg her to stay and rely on the vain hope that she would remember she loved me once. Did that mean all of the faith I had in her was for naught? The rational course made me ready the spell, something quick I could fling at her before she had a chance to run. I held her doubtful stare. Mustering the spell took longer than it should. The magic still boiled in my palm. Perspiration gathered on my brow when it should have been a simple matter of summoning my power. I didn¡¯t have time for my magic to fail me. Mother¡¯s clear, keen gaze penetrated mine. A lifetime of warm smiles, concerned crooning, bold resistance, and vulnerable confessions flooded back. Out of everyone, I alone hadn¡¯t conspired to trap her and held the conviction that her true self was still there inside of her jumbled memories. I saw how Brigid¡¯s spells served their purpose, how Father¡¯s intentions were to protect us from her skewed perception, how Aengus could do nothing to reverse her deterioration. But I had confidence in her. I always had. How could one incident shake that? ¡°Mamai, stay.¡± The spell snuffed out right as it was nearly finished. ¡°I need you to stay with me.¡± ¡°Where are you taking me?¡± She had reached a quarter of the way up the stairs. Her focus darted between the obscured Maya and Riona and the door so close at her back. She settled on me. ¡°I¡¯m trying to help you, but I need to help her first.¡± I pointed into the dark cloud. ¡°She¡¯s important, and she¡¯s in trouble.¡± ¡°How will you help? By delivering me back to Midir?¡± Mother shuddered and shook her head. ¡°I want to go home. Let me go. Let me see my family again. ¡± ¡°Mamai, I am your family.¡± ¡°You¡¯re his son.¡± ¡°Yours too. Remember?¡± The pleading edge turned to begging in my voice. ¡°I¡¯m the little swan, the one who tells you stories and grows you flowers. I used to visit every day. I still want to.¡± She froze and narrowed her eyes at me, on the verge of a revelation. Her neck twitched as her thoughts transitioned and she rubbed her forehead as if it pained her. Was she remembering? Did she want to? Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! ¡°Trust me, Mamai. I have a plan to take you away from Tir Na Nog, to take you back to Eire, but I have to help her first.¡± I gulped down the lump rising in my throat as tears stung my eyes. ¡°Just stay. Please.¡± Mother bit her lip, still unsure, but she didn¡¯t hike up the steps any further. She pointed back to Riona¡¯s droning aura. ¡°You should help them.¡± ¡°And you?¡± ¡°Worry about your friend.¡± It was the best assurance I would get with her in that fearful state. I turned my back to my mother, praying to anything that I would find her waiting for me when I looked to the stairs next. Maya lay crumpled next to my sister. The density of the energy around her made it difficult to tell whether her chest rose and fell with her breaths. The buzzing of Riona¡¯s cloud made it difficult to even hear. I crouched at the edge of the aura as close as I could come to Maya without reaching in. Oh those burns would sting. Riona needed someone to drain, if my logic was correct. Could I provide an alternative? But I couldn¡¯t trade places with Maya. My sister¡¯s aura would repel me as much as it would consume me. No, it had to be Maya¡¯s burden to bear. But perhaps I could lend her some of my reserves since hers were spent. ¡°Maya? Are you still conscious?¡± I asked into the mist. She coughed and her silhouette shuddered. ¡°Maybe.¡± ¡°Good. If you let yourself slip, I fear you might not wake.¡± I reached toward her. ¡°Make your way here. Take my hand.¡± Maya crawled on her elbows toward me, arm over arm, wheezing as she went. The muscles of her neck were tight. Her entire body tensed and coiled with effort. Only a little further until she reached the edge of the cloud. Her stamina faltered. She sagged to the ground and stretched her fingers toward the break in the aura. It followed her and coated her forearm in a thick layer. No. The aura would interfere with my ability to pass my energy to Maya. Touching it when it was that thick would be as foolhardy as trying to take something from inside a boiling cauldron. Could I thrust myself into that, not knowing if it would help her? Maya¡¯s hand fell limp. She was fading. I pressed my palm on hers. While gathering the power I needed, I felt nothing. That reprieve proved short. White hot pain rushed up my arm. Burns ate away at the thin flesh around my fingers. I cried out and flinched away, dropping Maya. My hand came away an angry red. A fine layer of puss-filled blisters ran along the top of it. The throbbing ache jumped before its pace settled to match my racing pulse. The power I¡¯d gathered lingered under the surface of my wounds, unspent. Did I have what it took to do this? Surely the merciful thing would be to let this girl pass. I could find another way. I could coerce Mother into cooperating with me. If she could stay lucid enough to do so, I stood a chance of success. I hadn¡¯t even considered the alternative of asking my family yet. Leveraging all of my pathetic desperation into pleading with Father, Brigid, Bodb, and Aengus might make them reverse their decision and let me continue to live. As for the deal Maya and I made¡ªthat if she helped me, I would take her home¡ªit remained unfulfilled. Right then she was technically helping my sister. I could use that open loophole to avoid my obligation. Maya was close enough that I could pick out her every feature through the dark mist. Her eyelids drooped as she struggled to stay awake. Her hand laid there, open and waiting. She stared up at me with unflinching and trusting dependence. I was her best chance. Whether I wanted it or not, she was also mine. I slapped my hand back in hers. The pain started much sooner that time. The popping boils and burns climbed higher under my sleeve. I grabbed my elbow, straining to keep my arm steady. My power trickled into Maya as a drip when it should have flowed like a waterfall. Concentrating to get what little energy I could into her took all of my will. But how? I had done the same thing with my plants time and time again when they needed my vitality. It shouldn¡¯t be that difficult with a physical anchor. Or was Riona¡¯s aura interfering that much? The pain numbed at first but pulsed anew with each new wave. I gritted my teeth so hard I feared they would crack. Maya inhaled deeper and made audible grunts. What little I was supplying her must have taken the edge off of her weariness. Her grip on me tightened, even as escaping slime from my exploding blisters made it slippery. ¡°I can¡¯t¡­ I can¡¯t take much more,¡± I said, my voice carrying somewhere between a whimper and a hiss. The magic I spent on her was so little. It felt the same as one of Aengus¡¯ lessons where he asked me to perform a complex feat. The blisters had made it up to my elbow. Each fraction the burns crawled, the desensitized state of my flesh broke with fresh pain flaring anew. Thick tears dribbled down my cheeks as my tolerance waned against the most excruciating thing I¡¯d ever experienced. I realized then why others feared my sister and her potential. Binding her terrible power with vows and shunning seemed a grand alternative just then. ¡°Daire! That¡¯s enough.¡± Mother scurried alongside me and pulled back on my shoulders. She said my name without scorn. She remembered me, acknowledged me. A new wave of horrible sensation interrupted my reverie. The tips of my fingers began to blacken. Still I clutched onto Maya. I had to see her roused before I gave in. ¡°Wha¡­ Your arm!¡± Maya¡¯s exclamation came strong. Her stunned gaze darted up to me. That expression had a renewed alertness to it. It was as if I had startled her awake from a deep slumber. She let go first, not I, and drew her arm back into the buzzing energy. The cool air lapped against my bare wounds, and my skin stung at the raw exposure. I hugged the ghastly appendage to my chest, speaking through a clenched jaw. ¡°Can you carry her again? We¡¯re nearing the last leg of the journey. Something was keeping me from giving you much more than that. We must deliver her somewhere safe, then get you far from her until we figure out how to break Bodb¡¯s enchantment.¡± ¡°We¡­ We can¡¯t just leave her like this.¡± Already, Maya¡¯s speech gave way to strained pants as she stood and heaved Riona onto her back. ¡°We must focus on getting away to a mirror first.¡± I wrapped my functioning arm around Mother¡¯s waist and goaded her toward the stairs. If her lucidity lasted, we might make it. Mother gingerly took the portion of my elbow untainted by Riona¡¯s power and used it to guide my forearm to her for inspection. ¡°Oh, little swan. This is your half-sister¡¯s doing, isn¡¯t it? Let¡¯s take you to Brigid. Then your father will hear of this. If he doesn¡¯t take action this time, he will receive far worse than a scolding, I assure you.¡± I took the moment to squeeze Mother close and revel in her fussing as we climbed the stairs. Maya followed after. She managed to keep pace while pausing every few steps and catching her breath. I went through the door first, Mother in tow. Maya appeared with my sister behind me shortly after. We emerged into the main hall to find it in utter chaos. Chapter 23 - Maya The second I followed Daire through the last door, the floor wobbled under us. I fell back on my butt, barely keeping a hold of the comatose woman riding me. Daire pushed away the cloth covering the exit. A literal fissure had opened the floor and split the room down the middle. At the front of the crack was Daire¡¯s dad. Midir glowed bright and his brown cape billowed behind him like Superman. He waved his hands at the chunks of floor the impromptu earthquake had stirred loose and they swirled in the air. Daire¡¯s aunt, Brigid, bolted around the room as she used a little hammer like a flamethrower and spewed fire at Midir¡¯s rock tornado. At the middle of the molten slabs was Bodb, wrapped in a cocoon of black clay. He stuck out of the top from the shoulders up. His beard furiously twitched as he jerked around. The sides of the mold fractured until another layer of rocks covered it up and Brigid¡¯s blaze melted them on. A young skinny guy with curly blonde hair dressed in all sky blues and lavenders stood off to the side. He drew glowing circles of Celtic knots and lines of weird symbols in the air faster than I could follow. The sequence he finished flashed and reappeared on the heap trapping Bodb. ¡°Aengus, I know you¡¯re more capable than this!¡± Brigid shouted as she zipped around to seal the next gap. ¡°He¡¯s our High King and our brother,¡± the young guy said, another one of Daire¡¯s relatives. He drew a new pattern in the air and put it on top of Brigid¡¯s latest patch job to Bodb¡¯s container. ¡°Why is this even necessary?¡± ¡°He refuses to listen to reason,¡± Brigid said. ¡°And he refuses to explain why he would use one of my men to steal my wife,¡± Midir added, flinging more rocks into the mess. Etain shrank into Daire at the sound of her husband¡¯s voice. Daire rubbed her back with his good arm as he watched his family¡¯s melodrama play out with a frustrated scowl. I couldn¡¯t spot an opening for us to run to the mirrors clear across the room. Between the overturned tables, toppled chairs, and elements wheeling around, we¡¯d have to be Olympic sprinters to get through without anyone noticing. Rio moaned from my shoulder. The gray particles around me thinned some. ¡°Sit tight, hun,¡± I whispered, tilting back for her to hear better. I leaned against the inside of the door frame. The boost Daire gave me had already started to fade. ¡°We¡¯ll be out soon.¡± ¡°It hurts,¡± Rio rasped. She squinted her eyes open. ¡°Everything hurts.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll be okay.¡± If only speaking my wishful thinking into that fantasy world would make it come true. But we had to get through her relatives first before I passed out again. Then came convincing her ex to take his sleep spell off her. Anything after steps one and two depended on if I lived through them. ¡°Our youngest knows where his loyalties should lie.¡± Bodb¡¯s arguing bellowed like he had a loud speaker wired to his vocal cords. He¡¯d need it for someone to hear him over all the racket from the ground shaking and fire roaring around him. ¡°He doesn¡¯t side with some tainted outcast against me!¡± ¡°I came to make you see reason and abandon this folly before you shame yourself past repair.¡± Brigid¡¯s volume rose to match her brother¡¯s. ¡°Do you want to be recorded with the likes of my late husband, branded as a failure? Do you remember what lengths I went to in order to repair my own good name after he passed?¡± ¡°She has been mine for centuries and my legacy has held.¡± Bodb broke through a part of the hardened sediment and spells holding him down. ¡°It can be so again.¡± The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ¡°I have no idea the reason the two of you are even arguing. I only desire an explanation for where my wife is.¡± Midir¡¯s scooped his hand through the empty air and an enormous load of rocks floated over him. ¡°Stay still and stop spitting vague accusations.¡± ¡°I second Midir.¡± Aengus made twisted light trails with all ten fingers and sent them weaving around the boulders like a maniacal orchestra conductor. ¡°Let¡¯s discuss this in a more civilized manner.¡± ¡°First, brothers, we must calm his paranoid ravings in the only way that will make him listen.¡± Brigid tucked her hammer back into her belt and took in a deep breath. When she blew out, an inferno engulfed the room, aiming for the hovering stones, and sending them straight at Bodb¡¯s head. Daire hugged Etain to his chest and barricaded her against the wall we hid behind. I hunched as close as I could beside him with Rio. The heat from the blaze radiated over us in waves. Sticky, fresh sweat poured down my neck and soaked through my shirt. I had to cover my mouth and muffle my coughs so I didn¡¯t breath in the stifling air. When the world around us felt more dry than crispy, Daire and I peeked around the curtain. Every earthy hunk had molded into a Bodb-sized coffin: an oblong black dome with wavy layers like volcanic rock. Midir sighed as he bent his knees and supported himself on them. Brigid fluttered back down with her brothers, her shoulders bunched and anxious. ¡°Will you talk now?¡± Aengus asked into the ominous stillness. The dome rumbled and a gigantic club crashed through it like a bat through a car window. All three of the High King¡¯s siblings groaned together. ¡°This lull may be our only opportunity. Wait here for my signal.¡± Daire propped the door open more and ushered Etain on the other side of it. ¡°What¡¯s happening, dear one?¡± Rio bent so close her lips brushed against my ear as she whispered. Neither Daire or Etain looked over. ¡°A lot,¡± I said, lowering my voice. The figures fighting beyond the curtain turned to blotchy smudges as they went in and out of focus. Not again. ¡°Brigid teamed up with your dad and other uncle, and the three of them are trying to trap you-know-who in the throne room. He just broke out of their latest try.¡± ¡°So I¡¯m still at Tara.¡± She groaned and hugged my shoulders. While she sounded sharp and alert, her elbows quivered worse than my knees as she clung on. ¡°Last I remember, Bodb put a sleep on me. I feel it still, tugging at my mind, a weight. This aches too much to be a dream¡­¡± ¡°Daire thinks you¡¯re using me to refuel and wake up.¡± My fingers slipped and I lost my grip on one of her legs. Her weight became too much and I had to take a knee to stay upright. ¡°I don¡¯t know how.¡± ¡°And you¡¯ve carried me all this way from the prison? That must be why I¡¯m conscious.¡± Rio¡¯s soft tone got an edge of panic. ¡°If that¡¯s the case, so long as Bodb¡¯s sleep is on me, my power will leech from you.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll try to keep this up as long as I can, at least until we get you out of here.¡± ¡°No. Your energy is waning. We must resolve this now before either of us slips away.¡± ¡°How?¡± I asked. ¡°That depends on what I have to work with. There is you. Daire is still with us, but he has too many protections.¡± Rio¡¯s eyes got big and she purred in the back of her throat. She only made that Queenie noise when she had an idea. ¡°And is that his mother I spy?¡± ¡°Yeah, but she helped me. Both of them did.¡± I kept talking in a rush. I wasn¡¯t an idiot, and knew how much Rio hated them. But Etain had thrashed against that giant snake trying to bust me out. Daire had held onto me, recharging me, even though his arm had got third to fourth degree burns. ¡°Etain got caught while trying to protect me. Daire found you and his arm¡¯s a mess because he¡¯s been keeping me awake.¡± ¡°You sound worried about my intentions, dear one.¡± Rio nuzzled her cheek against my hair. ¡°Do you trust me?¡± All sorts of red lights and alarms went off. I¡¯d gotten plenty of warnings against doing that. Daire lectured me that I shouldn¡¯t get in that deep with Rio. My own practical logic said I had to resist the Stockholm Syndrome that had already set in. Past experience told me she¡¯d stolen me away from everyone I¡¯d ever loved and that she was an ancient immortal being who¡¯d deceived me plenty before. Should it matter that she¡¯d shown me a vulnerability she hadn¡¯t show anyone else, that she was worth so much more than the way other people treated her? I¡¯d always rooted for her when she wanted to take on the world. Even while I worked to escape her world, I knew deep down I¡¯d miss her if I made it back home. ¡°Yeah,¡± I answered, the truth coming out. ¡°I trust you.¡± ¡°Then let me take care of this.¡± Rio smiled into my neck, sweet and warm. ¡°I¡¯ll need to borrow control of your body for a moment.¡± ¡°Go for it.¡± I braced myself for the inevitable numbing, and the sensation of being absolutely helpless. Even though I should have asked a million qualifying questions, I took a leap of faith instead. Chapter 24 - Daire We would only have a moment to dash across the throne room when the time came. Bodb crashed through the top of his obsidian prison, shattering the layers upon layers of earth heaped on him. Aengus readied another spell while Father sent his power back into the fissure. Aunt Brigid filled her mouth with fresh red flame. With them so focused on continuing their battle, we could slip by, even if I had to drag Maya most of the way. I turned to my companion. ¡°There¡¯s our chance. Be ready to¡ª¡± Maya rammed into me. My sister¡¯s very familiar power seared into my side. I yelped like an injured hound and reeled back. The entire left side of my tunic was blackened. More red burns throbbed under the charred fabric as smoke rose from that side of my face. I lost my grip on Mother. Maya moved with the stilted agility of a marionette under the fingers of a master puppeteer when she slung her arm around Mother. While her eyes showed apology, regret even, the rest of her snatched her prey into Riona¡¯s aura. A group of the specks clustered within Maya¡¯s palm into a rough knife. She brought it to Mother¡¯s neck. Riona¡¯s silhouette rose behind her changeling just before her aura obscured all of them in its black mist. ¡°Let her go!¡± I charged into the field. The solid barrier I hit ate through the rest of my sleeve on impact. ¡°She¡¯s done nothing to you. Leave her be!¡± Father turned from piling more boulders that Bodb would smash through. His attention darted to me, then settled on the mass of Riona¡¯s power. Anyone could pick out Mother¡¯s bright gown in that darkness, and how Maya¡¯s shape held something to her neck. His immense stones fell to the room¡¯s new ditch as Father released them. ¡°Aengus, the changeling has Etain. Behind you!¡± Aengus whipped around toward me standing helpless outside Riona¡¯s barrier. His innate glow brightened to its full potential and stretched into swirling spell knots and lines of Ogham that laid in wait. He directed them to the Dagda¡¯s club that Bodb swung with such fervor. It turned against its wielder and slammed across his chest. Bodb flew back as his weapon pinned him high against the nearest wall. He writhed against the club, but Aengus¡¯ spellwork held firm. While such a position made Bodb an ideal target for the oncoming blaze my aunt sent his way, the flames deflected against a sudden warding glyph. They looped over her head and fell upon her rather than her higher ranked brother. Brigid cut through the blast with a strike of her hammer. Only then did she notice Riona¡¯s presence. ¡°Clever, using the changeling as a walking loophole to your oaths. But if you truly intended her to kill Etain, you wouldn¡¯t have waited so long for us to pause our skirmish.¡± Aengus searched behind Mother and Maya for the source of the swirling shadows around them. ¡°You have our undivided attention, little vixen.¡± ¡°You would do well to watch your tongue, kin-slayer. If no one interferes, either my companion¡¯s hand will kill Etain or Bodb¡¯s sleep will.¡± Riona¡¯s voice filled the room, sounding much stronger than her weakened condition. ¡°Won¡¯t you explain for our audience?¡± ¡°Well the knife needs no explanation.¡± Aengus raised a quizzical, near mocking brow at my half-sister. ¡°As for Bodb¡¯s power, it is upon you, but you are far from asleep.¡± ¡°That¡¯s enough banter, Aengus.¡± Father turned his stern glower on his youngest brother and former foster son. ¡°Her power is countering Bodb¡¯s enchantment by feeding on the mortal,¡± I said in a rush. ¡°We won¡¯t have much longer until it starts to drain Mother.¡± ¡°Very good, little Daire.¡± Rio¡¯s particles thinned around Maya and Mother. The caster herself stayed concealed. ¡°Do peer closer if you aren¡¯t convinced.¡± ¡°I shall.¡± Aunt Brigid moved in front of Aengus, blocking Riona¡¯s view of him. It was the wisest course since he was more likely to provoke her ire than encourage negotiation. ¡°Daire¡¯s assessment is accurate. The changeling¡¯s life energy is nearly spent.¡± ¡°Yes, and Maya is still young, on the cusp of her prime.¡± Rio¡¯s field clamped back around Maya and Mother like a shark¡¯s jaws on a bleeding seal. ¡°Think of what exposure will do to a woman as aged as Midir¡¯s pet?¡± Father walked up and took his place beside Brigid. He clutched the pommel of his sheathed sword. ¡°What is your business, Fomor-touched?¡± ¡°The removal of this curse and the safety of my human companion and I until Samhain Eve. All of you are to pledge the same oaths that I made to Bodb concerning this family for both Maya and me. None of you will trespass on my lands. Bodb in particular must additionally vow not to come near us. The same goes for the use of any intermediaries to bring us any harm or take either of us against our will. In return, Maya will not kill your waif.¡± ¡°And you¡¯ll return Etain to me,¡± Father added. ¡°Of course,¡± Riona said, the devious smile plain in her honey-sweet tone. ¡°What kind of competitor would I be if I didn¡¯t allow you time to play with your toy before I crush you?¡± When Riona said ¡°competitor¡± it should have given me a triumphant reassurance. I couldn¡¯t muster it under those circumstances. If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡°No, he can¡¯t have me!¡± Mother grabbed for the knife and tugged it toward her neck. Maya¡¯s arm stayed stiff against Mother¡¯s attempts. The woman still thrashed so much that it was only a matter of time before she managed to impale herself. ¡°I won¡¯t go back. Kill me!¡± I rammed against the barrier again. It only succeeded in roasting my wounded shoulder darker. Hovering on the edge of the particles afforded me a better view of Maya and Riona than the rest of my family. My sister seemed to support herself against her changeling, her hunched posture shuddering. In the stairwell I had sensed a thread of Maya¡¯s energy through the toxic aura. Nothing emanated from her now. The only force keeping her upright was her mistress¡¯ power. ¡°I¡­ I give my oath.¡± I knelt, too desperate to consider that Father was watching. Mother¡¯s well being was worth more than avoiding his scorn. ¡°You have my oath as well.¡± Father looked between his siblings. ¡°What say you?¡± ¡°Your terms reek of vengeance and lack balance.¡± Brigid crossed her arms over her chest. ¡°Release Etain and allow us to remove the sleep upon you. Then we can negotiate new terms as a family, something fair to you.¡± ¡°Always the kindly voice of reason, Brigid.¡± Riona¡¯s confident glamour over her voice held, despite how she swayed against Maya. ¡°Alas, you cannot speak for your brothers or undo the damage they have wrought. My terms stand.¡± ¡°Is this gamble worth your girl¡¯s life?¡± Aunt Brigid tried. ¡°That depends. Is your stubborn diplomacy worth breaking Midir¡¯s spirit?¡± Riona countered. ¡°What about little Daire¡¯s?¡± My aunt met Father¡¯s pleading eyes and glanced to me on my knees. Brigid had done so much to support her kin after the walls closed and took us all in like ailing chicks. She had counseled Bodb and served as his diplomat while Tir Na Nog settled. When Aengus isolated himself for years, failing to find a way to resurrect all those the Aos Si had lost, Brigid assisted him to make sure nothing went awry. It was her alone that took pity on her estranged niece and taught her how to control her explosive power over iron. Then Mother¡¯s condition worsened to its present state. Brigid left her great oak in Cill Dara to care for Father and I as much as Mother. If there was anything she could do to preserve her family, she would. ¡°Mark me. This will not end well for you, Storm-Child.¡± Brigid let her arms drop to her sides. ¡°I will submit.¡± ¡°I suppose that means I will too.¡± Aengus sighed, running his fingers through his mess of wispy hair. ¡°That leaves one.¡± Riona turned up to Bodb. ¡°I forbid you running and refuse these outrageous, unfair demands.¡± Bodb sneered and hawked a great heap of phlegm down at his former lover. The spittle landed on her barrier, sizzling and steaming away on contact. ¡°All I have to do is wait for your magic to run out of victims to be rid of the remaining humans in the realm. Then I may send you back to your slumber of penance. I see no reason to cooperate.¡± ¡°So you¡¯ll let our dalliances ruin the tenuous relationship you have with your successor?¡± Riona¡¯s aura shifted, clustering more around its master. Maya¡¯s true weakness began to show as my sister¡¯s control slackened. My friend¡¯s frail grip trembled. Mother flailed against her captor with renewed vigor. The tip of the knife nicked her cheek. ¡°Would Midir think your legacy so precious after it cost him his only love?¡± ¡°Brother, whatever quarrel you have with her, settle it later,¡± Father begged. ¡°Remove the sleep and surrender to the oath-taking.¡± I could only watch on. If I spoke up, Bodb might dismiss me for my age, my status, or the part I played in carrying Riona from the prison. According to his knowledge I wouldn¡¯t even live past Samhain. He hadn¡¯t listened to Aunt Brigid. Father and Aengus were my only hope. ¡°You don¡¯t know what you ask, Midir,¡± Bodb protested. ¡°Haven¡¯t you taken enough family from me already?¡± Father¡¯s voice cracked as he shouted the plea. ¡°Have I not been loyal? Leave me my wife!¡± ¡°This is only until Samhain.¡± Aengus lowered his hand and his spell faded from around the club. Bodb landed on his feet, and the ground rumbled as he caught his weapon in both hands. ¡°Let her have this time to play politics, then you may resume the feud after the election. Whatever this is about can wait that long.¡± Riona¡¯s breathing shifted, becoming labored and wheezing. Maya¡¯s eyes fluttered and her body seemed to hang there rather than stand of its own volition. No, not again. ¡°Maya, stay awake!¡± I cupped my hands around my mouth so she might hear me better through the mist¡¯s droning. She didn¡¯t respond. Mother stopped her violent writhing and went still. She assessed Maya¡¯s languid state and began pulling her arm from the girl¡¯s grasp. ¡°So you¡¯d have me play the fool to her ploy, Midir?¡± Bodb watched on as Riona¡¯s dark aura faded from near black to deep slate gray. ¡°If you stall any further, I refuse to replace you.¡± Father pointed to Riona as she grinned, to Maya¡¯s sallow complexion, to Mother as she worked to free herself. ¡°Take the sleep from my forsaken bastard and swear to her terms. And so help me, if Etain dies because of your refusal, I will see that whatever intimacy you seem to have with the Fomor-touched comes to light. I will learn your secret and see that our siblings help me spread it.¡± Aengus offered Bodb a helpless shrug and an apologetic smile. Everyone knew that his supreme loyalties were with Father because of the bonds the two had forged over their lifetimes. Brigid lifted her chin and acknowledged the threat, even though she didn¡¯t offer a spoken promise to see it through. ¡°Very well.¡± Bodb dragged the Dagda¡¯s Club behind him as he stepped over what was left of the ruined furniture and passed through the mounts of stone leftover from Father¡¯s attacks. Black streaks stained the walls overhead from Brigid¡¯s onslaught. He approached the edge of Riona¡¯s barrier and thrust the club into my sister¡¯s aura. The ancient weapon crackled, it¡¯s wood peeling away as my sister¡¯s power ate at it bit by bit. Bodb tapped the crown of Riona¡¯s head with the round end. The knife in Maya¡¯s hand dissolved right as Mother reached for it. Maya herself stumbled back, her flesh returning to its natural dusky shade. She caught Riona before either of them collapsed and hiked my sister¡¯s arm over her shoulder. Mother whipped around and buried her fingers in Maya¡¯s shirt. New tear trails painted streaks in her cheeks, mixing with her bleeding cut. ¡°Don¡¯t make me go back. It¡¯s always dark and I get so confused. They never let me outside. He won¡¯t let me see my daughter or tell me where she is.¡± I submitted myself first, staying knelt before Riona and repeating the oaths she recited. Each member of our family followed suit and awaited her satisfaction before moving on. While Riona¡¯s ploy had saved herself and my accomplice, the means to her end had too high a price. Her meddling was a bad omen for the future of my plans. I couldn¡¯t afford such an unpredictable complication, yet I needed it. Maya handled Riona with a gentle attention one would give someone they cherished. She seemed to have a noble heart, earnest and eager to help when she could. It must have been her pity that inspired such care. That was how I convinced myself to ignore the ominous signs that made my gut twist. Chapter 25 - Maya Rio kept the iron particles thicker around us as I helped her walk through one of the mirrors at the front of the throne room. She directed me to the one with the pillars on its frame. We came out to that courtyard from the feast. All of its standing rocks still had blank reflective inserts, showing us a three hundred and sixty degree perspective of the courtyard. Rio let down a gap in her field enough to set her palm against the glass. The frame grew a fox head at the top with chains twisting down from it. Our reflection morphed to a dark curtain swaying with the breeze from our side. Rio grunted as we stepped through into the burrow. The second we were both through, her full weight dropped on me. Her energy floated around us thinner than at Tara. I carried her by her waist to the cot in the back and laid her down. Some of her bruises were more green and yellow than black and blue. Her scorched burns had new red and pink edges. She held her stomach more like a sick kid than a woman who¡¯d been nearly beaten to death. ¡°We should¡¯ve stayed and gotten your aunt to look at you.¡± I brought the water pitcher and knelt beside the cot. The blanket I usually slept on was right there, so I dipped a corner in the water and dabbed it at Rio¡¯s burns. ¡°She didn¡¯t seem that bad.¡± ¡°I only need rest.¡± Rio swatted me away and hissed when one of her dislocated fingers bumped my hand. ¡°Aos Si don¡¯t heal as slowly as humans do. I have no need of Brigid¡¯s abilities.¡± ¡°How long will this much damage take?¡± I took her wrist and pressed the cool fabric back into her palm. ¡°A few days. Ah!¡± She groaned when it touched her open wound. ¡°Perhaps a week, depending on how my internal parts are damaged.¡± ¡°Damn it! Bodb got off too easy for this.¡± If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. ¡°He will get what he deserves for it, dear one, I assure you.¡± Rio turned up to me, her jaw tight. ¡°Answer me this. Do you think Daire trusts you?¡± ¡°Um, yeah. I¡¯m pretty sure.¡± I focused on cleaning her up. Looking her in the eye might make me give away Daire¡¯s secret. ¡°I mean, at least enough to believe me when I ran to him and told him you were missing.¡± ¡°I want you to pay him regular visits then.¡± Rio¡¯s breathing shifted, becoming tight and controlled. ¡°Tell him you have changed your mind and are interested in his help. I have guaranteed our physical safety as much as I can, but I cannot protect against a ploy to spoil my campaign. If you befriend that welp, get him to tell you things. Then I might gain an edge against Midir in the election. I¡¯ll be starting late, so I need every advantage I can find.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not mad I asked him to help?¡± I ran my fingers up and down her forearm without thinking. I¡¯d done it to comfort Mom when she was sick. It just came natural. ¡°It seems not. If you hadn¡¯t known where to find him, then I would still be trapped at Tara.¡± Rio followed my hand as it moved. Her pupils dilated to big circles like she¡¯d found something interesting. ¡°Without you to play my nursemaid.¡± ¡°I¡¯m glad it all worked out.¡± I laid Rio¡¯s hand across her stomach and set the blanket aside as my cheeks got as warm as my chest. ¡°I should probably let you rest. Maybe I¡¯ll get a leg up on figuring out how to calm Daire down after seeing me almost kill his mom.¡± ¡°Not yet.¡± The three fingers that still worked on her hand dug into my shirt. Her eyes had lightened to a stormy grey, but they turned pitch black. The buzzing field thickened around us as it whined. ¡°Stay. Please.¡± ¡°Alright. I¡¯m here.¡± I set my palm on her forehead and raked back her hair. At first the motion went slow, awkward. She closed her eyes and leaned into it. Queenie used to do that when I scratched her behind her ears. ¡°I¡¯m not going anywhere.¡± I waited and talked to her like nothing had happened, like nothing had changed, and nothing was wrong. My heart beat harder every second I sat there. It could¡¯ve been guilt that I was going to leave her when the election was over, if Daire and I could pull off his plan. It might¡¯ve been fear that a dangerous part of me didn¡¯t want to. Chapter 26 - Daire I ran to Mother to inspect her well being. She looked upon me like an attacker, a stranger, and bolted away. She¡¯d recognized me before. Then just as quickly she¡¯d forgotten and lumped me in with Father¡¯s lot. The revelation slammed into me like a herd of cows on full stampede. Father flew in front of her with his arms spread open to catch her and cut off her path of escape. Mother diverted her course away from him and turned on her heel toward my waiting aunt. She didn¡¯t hesitate to charge into Brigid¡¯s protective embrace, pleading with her as she had Maya only moments earlier. Brigid stroked my mother¡¯s hair and nodded wordlessly along with her. A calming power passed over the weeping woman. Mother¡¯s eyes began to gain that passive, glassy sheen once more, but all wit and sharp intellect did not subside with her wild fear. She jerked in Brigid¡¯s embrace and struggled against it. My aunt placed her hand on Mother¡¯s forehead and forced more power through her. Mother collapsed into a deep sleep. ¡°Everyone gather round and take a seat.¡± Bodb clapped and four clay mounds rose up from the rubble of what had been his earthy cocoon. They were shaped as seats and made a semi circle in front of his grand throne. ¡°We have much to speak about.¡± ¡°And much to lay to rest.¡± Brigid handed my limp mother over into Father¡¯s waiting arms. I took the curved mound beside my uncle Aengus and slouched against my knees. He patted my shoulder as he sat down. Father set himself on my other side, cradling Mother in his lap. ¡°We could have avoided this entire mess had you only kept your paranoia in check and let Riona keep her changeling.¡± My aunt chose to stand at the end of the row. She gripped her hammer even after she tucked it into her belt. ¡°Better still, that you never took her as a lover and given her permission to fetch a human to begin with.¡± ¡°Cease your harping, sister,¡± Bodb spat. ¡°You had your turn to reign and we became slaves. You have no place criticizing my rule.¡± ¡°Enough from the both of you,¡± Aengus said. ¡°Riona is running and now there is nothing we can do to keep her from it. Brigid was right to call this a mess. Now it falls on us to clean it up.¡± ¡°Finally, a voice of reason.¡± Bodb set his club against the arm of his throne. ¡°Nevertheless, she is still right.¡± Aengus glared at the eldest of the four. ¡°None of this explains why my wife was caught up in this,¡± Father said, his tone even once more. He tightened his protective hold on Mother as he cast a questioning gaze to Brigid. ¡°Daire should not have been here either.¡± I raised a brow at my father as if something had addled his wits. Concern from him without a single reprimand? ¡°I stored the changeling with Etain for leverage, should the situation go awry.¡± My aunt¡¯s eyes flared bright red and her body stood out like a beacon as the remnants of her battle frenzy faded. ¡°Then, of course, an agent of Bodb must have retrieved the girl, and Etain latched one of her fantasies to her. Is that what you witnessed when you fetched them, Daire?¡± ¡°That¡¯s about the sum of it,¡± I confirmed with a quick nod. My vow to Fergal remained unbroken, since I was only confirming Brigid¡¯s conjecture. ¡°You have an agent in my household?¡± Father scowled at Bodb. ¡°I had to keep a watch on the Key.¡± Bodb¡¯s guiltless expression didn¡¯t flinch. ¡°You¡¯re the one who should check the quality of those who serve you better.¡± ¡°So that means Fergal was conspiring with you all along then,¡± Father muttered. ¡°I¡¯ll take care of that snake in my household when I return.¡± ¡°As Aengus said, these oaths have rendered us helpless to directly stop the Lady of Irons.¡± Bodb tugged at his beard and his unsettled mustache quivered. ¡°We are assembled as a council, not bickering siblings. There is no question that Riona won¡¯t curry enough support to defeat Midir in the election. However, there is still the possibility she will stir up enough old grudges to undermine his rule for her petty revenge.¡± ¡°She will certainly win Connacht if she dangles that girl in front of Finvarra.¡± Aengus folded his fingers together in his lap. ¡°She has already proven she can use her changeling to slip through her oaths as well. No telling what else she could use the human for.¡± ¡°Like slipping secrets.¡± Bodb dug his nails into the handle of his club. ¡°The girl cannot be bound by her word. She is dangerous.¡± ¡°Much as it could have been avoided, I have to agree. It is worse if Riona has gained so much of the girl¡¯s loyalty.¡± Brigid gestured to my mother. ¡°She showed a promising compassion to Etain when they met. Yet, mere hours after, played accomplice in a ploy to kill her.¡± ¡°That was not done with Maya¡¯s consent.¡± I bit my lip when all four of their intense attentions turned on me. My stomach churned with nerves as I hurried for an explanation. ¡°I have interacted with her before when Riona has left her alone to wander. She is willful, with a very strong sense of modern morality. Riona has more than likely lost what progress she made in taking control of her body, especially for those ends.¡± ¡°You sound very sure of the girl. Did you make a little friend in hopes that you could study her up close?¡± Aengus teased with a smirk, though it did not make his eyes twinkle as they should. ¡°I had to take part in retrieving her for Riona. Maya sees me as a familiar face.¡± I flicked the implication away. ¡°I saw no harm in entertaining her. Nothing more than that.¡± ¡°We could use that.¡± Bodb bent forward with interest. ¡°If the changeling¡¯s loyalties are truly shaken, as you say, then you can prey on that. Persuade her to confide Riona¡¯s next moves so we may subvert them.¡± ¡°Neither of them are that dim.¡± As much as a vengeful part of me longed to foil my sister, playing spy might sabotage my own plans for Maya. ¡°Surely that strategy would only work once before one of them caught on.¡± ¡°Riona¡¯s fondness for the changeling will blind her to the possibility of betrayal. Her affections make her overlook most wrongs,¡± Bodb said, his tone final. ¡°As for the changeling, if you play your role right, then she will go along with the scheme.¡± This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it ¡°I really don¡¯t¡ª¡± ¡°It¡¯s not a request.¡± Bodb shushed any further protest on my part with the way his pupils narrowed to slits as his aura spread out from his throne. He turned that penetrating gaze on my father next. ¡°Now, the only question that remains: how to undermine Riona? Midir, since you are my successor and it¡¯s your blood putting that in jeopardy, lend some of your good sense.¡± ¡°This would be so much easier if we could kill her and be done with it,¡± Father grumbled. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with taking the changeling as a royal hostage?¡± ¡°Were you listening to the oaths you just swore?¡± Aengus rolled his eyes. ¡°You couldn¡¯t if you tried.¡± ¡°The four of us could devise a way around them,¡± Father said. ¡°Trick her into giving the changeling into our hands of her own free will, only implying than outright stating ¡®if you displease us, your human dies.¡¯¡± ¡°Do you suggest we arrange this by possessing Etain¡¯s body in the same manner as Riona used her human?¡± Brigid proposed, a motherly warning. ¡°That is a viable option,¡± Bodb said. ¡°No!¡± Father and I said in unison. That softened my aunt¡¯s stern expression some. Father continued speaking after a pause. ¡°The only reason she didn¡¯t die today was because I plead with you for her. You and your agents are not welcome anywhere near my wife until my election. As for ideas, with Daire acting as our spy, the best choice left to us without breaking our vows is to expose her weaknesses. We need to prove that her words are meaningless by provoking her true nature.¡± Bodb nodded along. ¡°Go on, Brother.¡± ¡°One of us will have to lead the offense.¡± Father glanced at each of his siblings with consideration. ¡°The one who elicits the strongest reaction.¡± At first, all of them turned toward Bodb. He shook his head. ¡°My oaths forbade me from coming near her.¡± ¡°With good reason,¡± Brigid added. ¡°Too recent,¡± I said. ¡°She cannot even bear to hear Uncle Aengus¡¯ name without her chains twitching.¡± ¡°Very true, Daire,¡± Father said with a note of impressed surprise. ¡°He also has a superior ability of creeping under someone¡¯s skin and finding the perfect place to prod. It made him especially troublesome to raise.¡± ¡°How else could I guilt our father into providing the means to secure your wife?¡± Aengus snickered Father¡¯s way. ¡°As Daire said, I qualify for the task. Since my old foster parent and future liege wishes it, I¡¯ll do it without complaint. Looks like my protege and I will be teaming up again, eh Daire?¡± ¡°I welcome the chance.¡± I lifted my head and smiled a bit. My prior nerves settled some because of my notions that my uncle had left me the Key¡¯s book. I would continue to keep my dealings to myself, but it was reassuring to know I had an untold ally among the other men in my family. ¡°Call me when you¡¯ve pried something out of your little friend then.¡± Aengus winked at me before making a flourishing bow toward Bodb. ¡°Is that enough of a plan, your majesty? May I retire back to my bed and the company I was entertaining before Midir dragged me away? If I stay gone much longer, I fear they will wear each other out before I can rejoin them.¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯m satisfied.¡± Bodb thumped his club against the ruined floor while shooing his siblings away. ¡°This council is dismissed. Be gone.¡± ¡°Aengus¡¯ philandering aside, I must settle Etain into her room before she wakes.¡± Aunt Brigid sighed as she approached Father. ¡°It will take longer to work her through this until she is stable enough to receive the trance.¡± ¡°You take some time for yourself, sister.¡± Father rose and readjusted Mother¡¯s position in his arms. ¡°Make sure Cill Dara is in order, perhaps even finish one of your blades. Danu knows I am indebted to you enough from all the days you spend keeping Etain for me.¡± ¡°She will likely be violent,¡± Brigid said, though she glanced to the mirror that led back to her domain with its twin hammers wreathed in flames. It had been some time since she had stayed the night there. ¡°Are you sure?¡± ¡°I will be gentle in restraining her.¡± Father gave his sister a self-effacing smile that made his mouth lean to one side more than the other. ¡°It isn¡¯t my first time dealing with her anger, after all.¡± ¡°If you insist. I will return tomorrow to relieve you.¡± Brigid offered Father a grateful nod and hurried away to her mirror. I pushed myself to my feet. How would I balance between my family¡¯s demands, my own urgent agenda, and Maya¡¯s unknown loyalties? My accomplice would never willingly place a knife to my mother¡¯s throat. Riona did also have considerable influence over her. It would be reckless to ever forget that. I began to go toward the appropriate mirror that had Father¡¯s ram-headed sigil atop its gold frame surrounded by a small army of chariots. ¡°A moment, Daire,¡± Father said to my back, more of a soft demand than a request. He came up beside me in a few long strides. ¡°You have observed your mother¡¯s deteriorating condition enough to have a firm grasp of it, correct?¡± ¡°Moreso than you.¡± I did not stop to speak with him. He kept easy pace with me. ¡°If you seek to know her state, ask her caregiver. Believe it or not, Aunt Brigid has stood behind your order to bar me entry.¡± ¡°I cannot trust all of her observations.¡± Father tucked a tangled clump of Mother¡¯s hair behind her ear and ran his thumb over her rosy cheek. ¡°Brigid believes Etain should be allowed to pass on. Aengus stands with her. Bodb allows me to keep her alive from pity. You are the only other who desires to keep her here, even in her present state.¡± ¡°So what is the goal of this inquiry?¡± ¡°To ascertain how to settle her.¡± Father peered away from me to his mirror as he stopped in front of it. ¡°She has never complained of loneliness or darkness before.¡± ¡°She¡¯s never had to deal with those,¡± I said, halting with him. ¡°Company always kept the worst of it at bay.¡± ¡°She has Brigid to satisfy that, along with all of her other needs.¡± Father shifted his weight from foot to foot as if he longed to pace in place. ¡°There is a window for the sun to shine through. She has a loom to keep her mind occupied.¡± ¡°I have only ever seen her come back to herself when she walks with me in the open. The change in atmosphere seems to stimulate her. It brings out parts that room and Brigid¡¯s spells suppress. Surely you have noticed before while watching our strolls.¡± ¡°Yes, but without those safeguards she makes attempts to escape, to hurt herself, to hurt you.¡± Father¡¯s right eye twitched out of place, out of sync with the other. That old injury tended to act up when he became restless. He rubbed it back into place with the heel of his hand as much as he could with Mother¡¯s head resting on his arm. ¡°She will only become worse.¡± ¡°She seems no better for your precautions.¡± I didn¡¯t resist sneering. It figured the moment he showed a hint of uncertainty, his pride would send him running back to his original conclusion. ¡°Do you understand how much more risk she might be under if someone were to back Riona now that she is running?¡± Father pushed. ¡°That¡¯s what Brigid is there for, is she not? To protect Mother? Perhaps you might even take over that mantle if you were not so ashamed of the woman you call wife.¡± ¡°I witnessed the Aos Si in our prime and have watched us wither to the pittance we are now. You didn¡¯t feel family, friend, and foe alike screaming and scraping at the walls of Tir Na Nog as they sealed. Every child I ever raised, save you and Aengus, has died. I bore through it because I still had my hope, my Etain. And now she fades despite my best efforts.¡± Father stared at Mother with an expression so forlorn she might as well have been a corpse. ¡°What you name ¡®shame¡¯ I call survival. ¡®Tis better to numb yourself than try at such a hopeless cause.¡± ¡°Are you so caught up in your past that you can¡¯t see what you still have? I too have watched Mother lose more of herself day after day. But she¡¯s still here. Stop hiding from her and see. Something only becomes hopeless when you stop trying.¡± ¡°Oh to be young and under such delusions again.¡± He shook his head and turned away from me. No matter how tired his dismissal, it still brought the familiar sting of his tone. The evident disinterest within it made my throat tight as a boy and my attitude bitter and biting as a young man. ¡°Believe me when I say I no longer harbor such delusions about you.¡± I stormed through the mirror ahead of him and didn¡¯t bother to check his face to see if my remark landed. I had more important matters to worry about, like reconciling how my human ally in my fight for survival had so recently held a blade to my mother¡¯s throat without flinching. Chapter 27 - Maya Even after I ran out of subjects to babble about, Rio held onto my hand and closed her eyes while I pet her hair. She made her breathing deep and focused. The ionized field around us thinned and shrank into her as she calmed down. Even though my legs went numb, I sat there with her. I stayed. ¡°That¡¯s enough.¡± Rio let go of me and folded both her hands on her stomach. ¡°Be on your way.¡± ¡°You sure?¡± She smiled. ¡°Yes.¡± I stood up on my wobbly legs and shook them to get their blood flowing again. Rio laid there in peaceful rest, her exposed skin still looking like old fruit. But I had to tear myself away and face Daire. He¡¯d helped me, and he deserved the truth. I¡¯d have to confess and take a risk on him. Wasn¡¯t that what he¡¯d already done for me? I walked down the hall to the ivy-framed mirror and stepped on through. The moon shining into his room added to the glow of the ceiling¡¯s crystals. I found Daire sleeping at his desk, using his folded arms as a pillow. The little star flowers there¡ªlily vines, Kerry Lilies, whatever they were called¡ªdrooped over his head like they were tired too. None of his flowers ever wilted, though. And how long had he been there? I went over and patted his back. He groaned and squinted up at me. The sharp angles of his face seemed starker, and he had the same dark circles under his eyes as I had when I didn¡¯t sleep enough. ¡°Hey, that¡¯s going to kill your back.¡± I gently turned him to the center of his room. ¡°Come on, get to the bed.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been like this since coming home from Tara.¡± He twisted his back, and his spine popped in three different places. ¡°I think a full day constitutes enough sleep.¡± ¡°Tell that to those bags,¡± I muttered as I leaned against the lip of Daire¡¯s desk and ran my thumb under his eye. I¡¯d never seen him with any signs of wear like a normal person, like me. ¡°Speak for yourself.¡± He covered a yawn with his hand and held his forehead. Was he suffering from some kind of headache or hangover? ¡°Mine are old, and I had a very injured person to watch last night.¡± Speaking of injured people, I inspected the rest of him. His green shirt had full sleeves and all of its gold embroidery intact without any holes or splotchy parts. The faint scorch I¡¯d noticed on his cheek when he¡¯d rammed against Rio¡¯s shield had faded. ¡°How¡¯re your burns anyways?¡± ¡°The lighter ones have righted themselves.¡± He rolled up his sleeve and showed off the arm he¡¯d used to pass me extra juice and keep me awake. It was still red with a few broken blisters and flaking skin, but could¡¯ve been a bad sunburn. A big improvement. ¡°This one is on its way.¡± ¡°What about your mom?¡± ¡°Unchanged. I doubt she¡¯ll even remember the incident.¡± He squeezed my hand with his damaged fingers. ¡°And you? I can hardly believe Riona used such invasive magic on you, no matter the circumstances.¡± ¡°It¡¯s the first time she¡¯s asked permission, so it¡¯s not as bad as when I first got here.¡± I gave him a stiff shrug and checked my nails for any dirt under them. Maybe treating it like nothing meant he wouldn¡¯t freak out at me. ¡°Wait, you let her do that?¡± ¡°I let her use me, yeah.¡± ¡°Did you know how she intended to use you?¡± ¡°No, but by the time it happened, I saw where she was taking it.¡± I raked back my bangs, harder than I had to. I¡¯d gone over how to explain it in my head. Every way I¡¯d phrased it missed something. It made sense to me, but I couldn¡¯t blame him for not seeing it the same way. ¡°I didn¡¯t think she would actually go through with it, like a bluff.¡± ¡°The fact it could come out of her mouth meant she wasn¡¯t bluffing.¡± He let go of me like I was a hot stove and scrambled to his feet. ¡°Look, I don¡¯t agree with what she did, but I can¡¯t fault her for it either.¡± I sighed and forced myself to look him in the eye. ¡°If killing your mom was the point, then she wouldn¡¯t be alive. It was easy to predict you guys would cave, and Rio used that to save our lives and make sure we were safe from Bodb. It was smart.¡± ¡°She manipulates you into almost killing an innocent woman and gains your approval? What wiles has my sister been using on you?¡± His skin glowed brighter, like when he¡¯d looked for magic on Rio at Tara. Was he checking me for a wire? I stuck it out and waited while he did his examination. The light settled back over his skin and his tense shoulders relaxed an inch. ¡°It¡¯s just me.¡± I said. ¡°No Rio.¡± ¡°That¡¯s the problem,¡± Daire said, his eyebrows pinching together. I was a mystery puzzle without a picture on the box and he was the stubborn person solving me to prove he hadn¡¯t wasted his money. ¡°She may have gone through an ordeal, but we were on our way out without her intervention. We could have separated you from her and regrouped. I would have found another way to wake her. Make no mistake, she has had an appetite for vengeance against my family since before I was born. Do not underestimate the stubbornness of a Aos Si with a grudge. Even if she has shown you a softer side, no amount of kindness from you will sway her from completing her revenge.¡± ¡°Did you know she wasn¡¯t going to campaign before this?¡± I pushed off the desk and crowded into his space so he had to look down at me. My way of seeing things wasn¡¯t totally in the right, but none of this was. I¡¯d made a choice in a no-win situation, and it panned out. He couldn¡¯t guilt me for doing my best. ¡°She wanted to be left alone. The only reason your plan to get out of here is still on is because of her grudge. Her stunt guaranteed I can go get the treasures you need without getting killed by your twisted family. And Etain is still very alive and rotting in that little cell, as miserable as ever. So yeah, maybe I am in Rio¡¯s corner on this one.¡± Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. Daire held his stomach like he wanted to throw up. I was right and he knew it. ¡°You sound as if you¡¯re defending a lover.¡± ¡°Not the point.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re becoming fond of her.¡± ¡°So what if I am? What does that have to do with anything?¡± ¡°It complicates everything.¡± Daire grabbed both my shoulders. His tone had the same worry I¡¯d get from Abuela when she saw me getting into trouble, the same concern Mom had when she told me she wanted to help take care of me. ¡°She is an ancient, supernatural trickster you have known for little more than a month. She¡¯s still responsible for stealing you away from everything you know and love. Yes, she has hidden depths, but you have only just begun to explore them. It¡¯s not a rabid animal¡¯s fault it¡¯s been caged. That doesn¡¯t mean it won¡¯t hurt you when you try to care for it. You cannot take her to dinner with your family and see a Saturday night picture show afterwards. If you stay with her, she will cling to you until there¡¯s nothing left.¡± ¡°That¡¯s my business, not yours.¡± I edged a more comfortable distance away from him. ¡°Do you still want to get back to the life you left? See Jennifer?¡± ¡°If I didn¡¯t, I wouldn¡¯t visit you and play ¡®spy¡¯ for Rio.¡± My head pounded as I tried to follow the tangled mess of secrets and information I had to keep track of. ¡°Now I¡¯m a double agent, and those always get caught.¡± ¡°My family has me playing informant toward you as well.¡± Daire clenched his jaw as he shifted his weight to his other foot. ¡°All while I have to figure out a way to prevent myself from dying and somehow keeping my mother intact enough so she will have a chance of surviving in the human world a mite longer. She may not even live through crossing over. But all I can seem to do is sit here waiting and orchestrating. I¡¯m trapped in my own home when I would rather be the one out there doing something.¡± ¡°That means we still need each other. Yesterday has to be water under the bridge.¡± I held out my hand. We¡¯d made a deal, and he was still my best shot at getting out, with or without Rio. ¡°We need to keep going ahead. No bad feelings toward each other about what your sister did.¡± ¡°So long as you agree to better question her requests from here on out.¡± He shook on it, and looked at the gesture with more reverence than I expected. ¡°And don¡¯t let your budding feelings distract you from your mission.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a deal.¡± I let my arm drop. ¡°Now we should figure out how to make this James Bond thing work.¡± ¡°Indeed.¡± Daire walked to his bed and plopped on the edge. He made a little flourish in the air and I braced myself for something to pop up under me or shove me into a chair. Nothing happened. The chair I expected only shivered a little. Daire grit his teeth with strain and frustration, sweat gathering on his forehead. The chair hopped. It didn¡¯t look happy about it. I finished the job and dragged the seat the rest of the way. Daire fell back against his mountain of pillows with his eyes wide and scared. He panted harder than before. ¡°What happened?¡± I bent over him instead of sitting. He didn¡¯t usually have to try that hard, did he? ¡°You lose your mojo or something?¡± ¡°Something to that effect.¡± Daire managed to lift himself up and fold his legs in front of him. He fiddled with a clump of his hair. It was the same pretty blonde except for a few wiry white streaks. Had those always been there and I¡¯d never noticed them? ¡°Do you dye that, or are you having a gray day?¡± ¡°You mean gray hairs?¡± I nodded. He grabbed his chest and his breathing sped up like he was ready to hyperventilate. ¡°Daire, relax. Even I get them sometimes.¡± I knelt on the mattress beside him. ¡°They pop up now and again for everybody.¡± ¡°Not for me.¡± He plucked out one of the white hairs and held it up in front of him. It was thin and brittle, the same kind Abuela covered up every time she dyed her roots. His shoulders went so stiff they shook the longer he stared at that hair. Pretty soon he¡¯d have a full blown panic attack. ¡°Aos Si don¡¯t age past their prime. This shouldn¡¯t be happening!¡± ¡°Easy.¡± I pushed on both of his knees, giving him something else to feel and focus on. ¡°Fold your legs like this. Tuck your head. That a boy. Now slow, deep breaths. Good. Keep going. Just focus on a pillow. Focus on my voice.¡± I kept talking him through how to breathe: in for four, hold for four, out for four. It was amateur stuff from the therapist that had helped Mom before. He held onto me, white knuckled. What had that comment triggered? Minutes passed. His rigid posture drooped as he sucked in air. ¡°Okay,¡± I started. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± ¡°The Key.¡± Daire whimpered as his attention wavered to the limp flowers edging his desk. Terrified tears started in his eyes and clumped his blonde eyelashes together. ¡°I¡­ I¡¯m dying.¡± ¡°How? What do you mean?¡± My first guess for the grays had been that he was half human and had to deal with the same little annoying parts as me. But if he hadn¡¯t had them ever, and he¡¯d been alive as long as everybody else in that place¡­ ¡°When the Key vanishes, so do I.¡± He closed his fist around the gray hair in his hand and crushed it. ¡°I didn¡¯t think it would start already. I thought I had more time.¡± ¡°Shit Daire, you should¡¯ve told me that part.¡± Right when I thought our situation couldn¡¯t get any worse. But he was barely holding it together, and I owed him big for saving my life. It was time to return the favor. I forced his fist open and nudged his face away from it to see me instead. ¡°We¡¯ve got a plan for fixing this. It¡¯s going to work.¡± ¡°But¡ª¡± ¡°It¡¯s going to work.¡± I¡¯d repeat it as many times as I had to until both of us believed it. ¡°Before that, you¡¯re alive and we¡¯ve got now to focus on. One step at a time, alright?¡± All he managed was nodding along. He gulped, and his quivering chin tightened up. He searched my face like he was drowning, and I was the one who decided if he survived or not. I¡¯d felt that lost and weak at Tara. The end was coming and I¡¯d tried so hard to resist it. Was that how I¡¯d looked when he took my hand through Rio¡¯s toxic cloud? ¡°You trust me?¡± I asked. ¡°I don¡¯t have much choice, do I?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have to stick by you. I could try to figure something out with Rio instead. Or maybe I stay here and learn to live with it. But I want to go home and see Mom again. You¡¯re my best bet. I chose you.¡± I cupped his face between my hands, keeping his attention on me and only me. I¡¯d been supporting my family my whole life, and doing the same for him had never come easier. ¡°If you can¡¯t find some other spell or ask your family for help, then you can give up and accept you had a good, long life. Do you want that?¡± ¡°No.¡± Daire sniffled and swallowed hard. ¡°I want to stay with Mother. I want to show Uncle Aengus that I can save myself. I want to prove to Father that he¡¯s wrong about everything.¡± ¡°Then what¡¯s your choice?¡± ¡°I¡­ I choose to trust you.¡± In a place stuck in time, it was hard to tell how long it¡¯d been since my biggest problem was figuring out how to balance taking care of Mom and an incoming series of double shifts. Those issues seemed so small compared to nursing a dangerous crush on my kidnapper while helping to save the dying brother she hated. Soon I¡¯d have to convince her to let me follow her around as she tried to gain political influence against a whole family with a huge head start. Then came stealing some magical artifacts under her nose. How would it end? I had no idea. But I had to believe I¡¯d make it through, for me and now for Daire. Chapter 28 - Interlude Midir¡¯s trek through his younger brother¡¯s home at Bru Na Boinne rekindled dormant hopes he should have abandoned long ago. After he won Etain¡¯s hand, he and his new wife had stayed their first year of marriage among Bru Na Boinne¡¯s halls. In the guest wing, he stopped at a familiar door with two interlocked swans carved upon it: their former bedchamber. He traced his fingers over their graceful necks, entwined as him and Etain had once been after he earned her affections. That year planted a still present wish that he could build a family with the only woman he had ever loved. He came upon one of Etain¡¯s early tapestries. It depicted a butterfly trapped under a glass globe; his beloved often envisioned herself still imprisoned like that. She saw death¡¯s abyss as her only means of freedom from her confining husband. Freedom from his home, his protection, his love. Etain had loved him back once, before her mind splintered, and he had to keep her safe from herself. But how could he fault her? He¡¯d condemned their only child to the same grim fate she desired, not that she would ever know. The proof of that secret crime against his son pulsed under his arm, a book allegedly chronicling everything that could be known about the Key¡ªthe power that served as his world¡¯s only access to the perilous mortal realm. The pages would tell how he had helped his brothers save their ancient race by trapping the Key inside his then newborn child, Daire. Worst of all, the tome would reveal how he had agreed to let his kin put a curse on the Key that would destroy it, and slay his boy in the process, when the right time came. That decision had banished any shred of the shining life he¡¯d once imagined out of his reach forever. No matter what fantastic magic he wielded, Midir could not take back all he had lost. And attempting to salvage what little he had left only brought about more mourning. Aengus¡¯ study came into view. The smell of parchment and wood shavings filled the air as Midir drew near. Solemn faced, and with a sour gurgle in his belly, he rapped his knuckles against the door. Aengus had mentioned that the gold-embossed book Midir now carried held the secret to Daire¡¯s salvation as well. Had he given his son enough time to discover it? The soft boy squandered many of the privileges his protected status afforded him. If he could only take advantage of them, he might live past Samhain to inherit Midir¡¯s territory. Aengus opened the door with his yellow curls running wild, his flamboyant tunic rumpled, sure signs he¡¯d just practiced combat maneuvers. Midir¡¯s eccentric younger brother had been a joy to parent with his scholarly wit and dauntless heart. So much less delicate than Daire with his fastidious creativity and fragile sensibilities. ¡°You¡¯re more prompt than I thought you¡¯d be,¡± Aengus greeted, offering Midir a sad smile. ¡°Bodb won¡¯t let this matter wait.¡± Midir brushed stray ringlets out of Aengus¡¯ eyes as he set the book into his brother¡¯s waiting hand. ¡°To put off returning it would be fruitless.¡± ¡°It¡¯s better this way. I¡¯d hate to chase you down to fulfill an oath.¡± Aengus turned, waving Midir into the small library. ¡°The way you snuck through my wards was impressive. I actually put work into those.¡± This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. ¡°Experience can still win against a prodigy¡¯s talents, little brother.¡± Midir didn¡¯t enter, but lingered in the hallway instead. ¡°What does Bodb intend for the tome?¡± ¡°Destruction, I¡¯m afraid.¡± Aengus sighed as he turned the volume over. The cover that faced Midir had his sigil, a ram, standing under Etain¡¯s symbol, a butterfly. ¡°A pity he still doesn¡¯t see the value in preserving these bits of knowledge. He should know better.¡± ¡°Why?¡± Midir¡¯s dread lanced into his bowels. No matter how he tried to dismiss Daire over the years, he couldn¡¯t bear the imminent reality of his only boy laying lifeless in his arms. ¡°Does he know anything of the cure?¡± ¡°No. He doesn¡¯t suspect my treasonous alteration.¡± Aengus flipped through the blank pages one by one as if they had writing. ¡°That ritual was some of my better work¡ª¡± ¡°Don¡¯t tell me.¡± Midir slashed his hand through the air. Aengus went silent. ¡°The more I know, the more my loyalty oaths will compel me to confess. I¡¯m surprised you managed to find a way around yours.¡± ¡°I owe you too much not to, especially with you begging over the lad like you did.¡± Aengus frowned as he paused at the mid point in the book. ¡°Still, I wouldn¡¯t hold out much hope for Daire¡¯s survival. You should try to spend some quality time with him. Enjoy his final moments while they last.¡± ¡°He wouldn¡¯t have me,¡± Midir scoffed. ¡°I tried to connect with him. Lessons in basic swordplay, archery, even riding. Every time he whined to Etain, and she scolded me for ¡®pushing him too hard.¡¯¡± ¡°Both your styles of magic are attuned to the ground. Why not help him take care of the gardens?¡± ¡°You doubt Daire¡¯s ability to save himself?¡± ¡°He¡¯s more capable than he seems. But the command to end the Key draws on very complex and powerful magic.¡± Aengus shut the book with a final, hollow thump. ¡°The cure had to be equally challenging to maintain balance.¡± ¡°Then attempting to renew a relationship with him will only skew his attention.¡± Midir wore at the pommel of his sword with his thumb. His eye twitched and blurred the world around him. ¡°Your nerves are showing.¡± Aengus tapped under his right eye. Of all Midir¡¯s family, Aengus never missed that old injury making itself known. Midir rubbed his eyelid, and the right side of the world ceased spasming. ¡°If I start treating him as if I will lose him, then what good was it stealing the book, leaving it for him to find and decipher?¡± ¡°You gave him his best chance.¡± Aengus clapped his brother¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Now leave the rest to him.¡± Midir¡¯s stomach sank at the realization. It was like the walls of his race¡¯s realm were closing all over again. He¡¯d felt each of his other children living in the mortal world die one by one before his tenuous connection to them cut off. He¡¯d stared at the only son he had left, swaddled in his arms and wailing with bits of blood still clinging to his chubby folds. He should have felt joy at holding the infant, not bone-deep despair from knowing that he would lose that precious babe as well. ¡°I can¡¯t invest in him, now,¡± Midir said as a knot thickened his throat. ¡°Not while knowing what¡¯s to come.¡± ¡°At least consider it.¡± Aengus drew Midir into a hug, his expression far off before Midir lost sight of it. ¡°Either way, he¡¯ll need you when the end comes.¡± Midir held his youngest sibling in a tight embrace. Aengus had always made up for his failings as a father. When Daire grew to be a boy of dreams rather than action, Aengus stepped in to teach him where Midir couldn¡¯t. As Etain¡¯s wits deteriorated and her hatred of her husband grew, Aengus had provided Daire companionship in Midir¡¯s stead. Perhaps it was time to stop letting someone else take care of his family. But could he endure it if his work to restore those relationships became all for naught? The brothers separated. Aengus conjured an arcane flame in one palm and held the Key¡¯s tome over it. The thin vellum pages crackled first, resembling burning flesh. The wood panels holding them together followed soon after like they were fuel for a funeral pyre. Chapter 29 - Daire My curse progressed day by day, marching me toward Samhain like it escorted me to a headsman¡¯s axe. I raked my fingers through the wiry ribbons of unnatural white in my otherwise yellow hair¡ªthey weren¡¯t as visible if I blended the strands together. My eternal youth had halted my physical aging once I reached my prime: about ten-and-nine years. Yet, as I twined the top layers of my hair into delicate braids, I tried not to stare at the fine worry lines in my reflection that should not be there. When my braids were ready to tie off, I pinched what progress I¡¯d made in place as I stretched my power toward the dirt wall of my subterranean sleeping quarters. The simple spell of growing my ivy vines from the soil left me panting. My bed of lily vines along the rear of my desk seemed the shudder, the edges of their grassy leaves tinged with brown. Were their white pedals also duller, or did my mind only perceive them that way? ¡°What¡¯re you getting ready for?¡± Maya sat behind me on the edge of my bed, hugging one of my pillows to her stomach. It had become her routine to sit there and fiddle with the tassels¡ªtheir texture amused her while we talked. ¡°Another meeting with my family.¡± I wound ivy through the first of my braids and winced. My arms started to ache from keeping them aloft for so long. ¡°I have to give them word on Riona¡¯s campaign progress.¡± ¡°Here, let me get that.¡± Maya¡¯s reflection in my mirror stood up and approached. She took the vine from me, her fingers brushing mine and sending a shock through my hand. Her casual touches only had that effect recently. Something about staying in my world must have altered her appearance. There was a new softness to her abundant curves, and her hair had grown to be more whimsical than boyish. She blew away the fringe hanging in her eyes. ¡°Yeesh, I¡¯m overdue for a trim. You guys wouldn¡¯t have any scissors laying around would you?¡± ¡°To cut it? That¡¯s unfortunate. This length suits your cheeks.¡± ¡°It gets in the way.¡± ¡°Very well. You might braid it or ask Riona to make you some small shears. Speaking of my estranged half-sister¡­¡± Unspoken questions hovered on the tip of my tongue. Was there any news? Any progress I could report to keep my family from pestering me? Any update that might help Maya fetch the Aos Si¡¯s sacred treasures so I wouldn¡¯t have to die? Maya shook her head. ¡°She¡¯s still calling people in mirrors. I don¡¯t even know who she¡¯s targeting first. My best guess is she¡¯s trying everyone and seeing who sticks.¡± ¡°Nothing?¡± I slouched. Maya tugged back on my hair. I straightened my posture. ¡°Samhain is only weeks away.¡± ¡°I know. I can¡¯t remember when I¡¯ve dreaded a birthday this much.¡± ¡°Pardon?¡± ¡°You said Samhain is Halloween, right? That¡¯s my birthday.¡± Maya paused and wrinkled her nose. ¡°I¡¯m supposed to be nineteen, but I¡¯m not sure how the weird time flow between this world and home affects that.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll have to honor it between treasure hunting,¡± I said offhand. Maya would want to celebrate the anniversary of her birth with her family, no doubt. Yet her mother¡­ Maya knew that her mother, Jennifer, injured herself while panicking over losing her daughter. However, Maya believed that wound had caused amnesia. The reality I witnessed¡ªand helped hide from her¡ªwas much less optimistic, and meant Maya wouldn¡¯t have a family to return to when I sent her home. ¡°Do you guys even celebrate birthdays here?¡± Maya asked. ¡°Not exactly,¡± I said. ¡°It doesn¡¯t mean the two of us can¡¯t.¡± Maya tied off the vine and stepped away. ¡°That good?¡± When I turned my head toward the mirror, I found the vine¡¯s bow a mite crooked. My scalp still tingled where she¡¯d touched it. I could let it be. ¡°It¡¯s enough. Is there anything else we can do in the meantime until Riona wins an audience with a king or queen on the voting council?¡± ¡°There has to be.¡± Maya bit down on the piercing under her bottom lip as she thought. ¡°It¡¯d help if we could communicate without having to meet in your room. If I had magic, then I could just use a mirror. That¡¯s scrying, right?¡± ¡°Yes. Now that you mention it, I could enchant a pair of mirrors to function like human telephones.¡± I took out the small bronze mirror my aunt had made for me from my belt pouch. I pushed my power into the frame to alter the mirror¡¯s purpose. It gave off a flickering light. Cold sweat broke out along my neck and cheeks. My knees gave, and I fell into my desk chair, panting hard. ¡°I¡¯ll¡­ I¡¯ll have to take care of that another time.¡± ¡°It looks like it¡¯s getting harder to use your mojo, huh?¡± Maya squeezed my shoulder in another one of those easy gestures. ¡°I¡¯ll see what I can do to encourage your sister. Maybe that¡¯ll give her other ideas to get her campaign moving.¡± ¡°We can only hope.¡± I held my chest. It had started burning before I cut off the flow of my trickling power. Would my breathing have stalled if I had continued? It served as a constant reminder of our mission. I had long enjoyed wielding my unique power, the Key. My father, along with my two uncles, had created it to keep my world, Tir Na Nog, and my race, the Aos Si, closed off from the dangers of humanity. As the Key¡¯s vessel, I alone could harness its abilities to see, interact, and make portals to and from the human world. The catch? Its magic required the High King¡¯s permission. My eldest uncle and the Aos Si¡¯s current High King, Bodb Derg, had announced the end of his rule recently. He bid the men of my family to secretly instill the Key with a curse so they could eliminate it. However, that curse would kill me as well. I had only learned a matter of months ago that Uncle Bodb had activated it. My innate magic had drained bit by bit ever since. Maya and I had to sever the Key¡¯s power from the High King¡¯s authority with a mysterious ritual by Samhain, and the election of Bodb¡¯s replacement. If we didn¡¯t, the Key would be destroyed, and take me with it. What little I knew of the cure required that a human bring together the Aos Si¡¯s four sacred treasures: Lugh¡¯s Spear, Nuada¡¯s Sword, the Dagda¡¯s Cauldron, and the Stone of Destiny. Our plan revolved around my half-sister, Riona, bringing Maya to each province where three of the treasures lay as she ran for High King. Maya would steal them and bring them to the Stone of Destiny. Sometime between those steps, I would have to take back the book I¡¯d found the ritual in and search for its last steps. If only Father hadn¡¯t discovered the tome and returned it to Uncle Aengus. ¡°You should get to your big meeting before they miss you.¡± Maya went to my ivy-embossed mirror and pushed through the gold-tinted glass. When I first met her, she had been so tentative with using mirror-portals to go from place to place in Tir Na Nog. Her confidence had come a long way since she first tumbled into my room. I caught myself proudly smiling as she disappeared. * * * I stepped into Father¡¯s domed study, full of antiquated scrolls and glowing stones, so he could escort me to the meeting. Father and my uncles had traded hosting the occasion since Riona announced her candidacy¡ªAunt Brigid could not because she served as my ailing human mother¡¯s caretaker. Last time, we had met here where my parents and I lived, below Bri Leith¡¯s hills. I¡¯d forgotten whose turn it was next. Uncle Aengus at his stone keep in Bru Na Boinne? Uncle Bodb in Tir Na Nog¡¯s capital, Tara? They bled together. Either way, they would strategize about how Father would earn the voting council¡¯s favor so he could win the High King¡¯s seat. Perhaps this time their questions about my ¡°spying¡± on Riona through spending time with Maya might be minimal. ¡°You¡¯re late, but why should I be surprised?¡± Father stood in front of his mirror dressed in golden finery with his ever-present sword at his belt. Both his hands were clasped behind his cloak. ¡°You¡¯ve always taken more after Aengus than me.¡± ¡°You¡¯re too early for everything.¡± I stopped next to him. ¡°What kept you?¡± Father asked. ¡°Maya visited while I was putting my hair together.¡± ¡°What did she say?¡± ¡°I¡¯d rather keep you in suspense until the meeting.¡± I crossed my arms. ¡°Speaking of which, I¡¯m here. What are we waiting for?¡± ¡°Our host.¡± The shadow of a smile played on Father¡¯s grim mouth for a moment. ¡°They should already be there, shouldn¡¯t they?¡± I bounced on the balls of my feet. Bodb would scold me for not having anything new to tell. The quicker his tongue lashing ended, the better. ¡°We should get on with it.¡± ¡°Patience, boy,¡± Father said. ¡°You can afford to wait a few moments for manners¡¯ sake.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t making guests wait the sign of a poor host?¡± ¡°Forgive me if my hospitality suffers because I must ready your mother and myself.¡± Aunt Brigid¡¯s steady footfalls came from behind us. Her reflection joined ours in the mirror. I glanced over my shoulder, and found my much shorter mother at her side. Mother wore her most extravagant violet gown with gold trim, and someone had brushed her hair to a rose-gold sheen. Her cheeks had grown more sunken, though. Had she been refusing her meals again? Aunt Brigid¡¯s bare arms displayed new scratches, and Mother¡¯s nails sported fresh blood under them. Persuading her to come must not have gone well. Mother still held her chin as high as any queen. Her eyes were clear of the usual fog Aunt Brigid kept over her. She was herself. ¡°We won¡¯t be long, Etain,¡± Brigid said as she held the small of Mother¡¯s back and looked to Father. She drew her eyebrows together and her pupils thinned to uncertain slits. ¡°Are you sure about this? I can do what I¡¯ve done for the other meetings and participate from Etain¡¯s chamber through a mirror. Her condition has only worsened since Riona¡¯s confrontation. She¡¯s bound to be difficult at best and unpredictable at worst.¡± This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. ¡°I¡¯ve tolerated this imprisonment long enough,¡± Mother said, haughty and proud. ¡°My cooperation has limits.¡± ¡°Wait, we¡¯re going to Cill Dara?¡± How could we hold the meeting at Aunt Brigid¡¯s home if she had to care for Mother? I searched between Father and Brigid for an explanation. ¡°And Mother is coming?¡± ¡°Yes to all.¡± Father swiped his hand across his mirror and the edges of its frame lit up gold. He stepped through. This meeting might not be as uneventful as I expected. What was Father planning? Aunt Brigid held the gathering in the uppermost chamber of her fortress of winding oaks suspended in an eternal autumn. Cill Dara¡¯s open canopy of red, orange, and yellow leaves swayed as soft breezes wafted through my aunt¡¯s airy chamber. Bark lifted and reshaped itself into chairs as each member of the family sat. Mother took the seat to the left of Aunt Brigid, while Bodb took his place at her right as the guest of honor. Father, Aengus, and I filled in the other positions within the circle. The talk began with a discussion of the general climate of Tir Na Nog in light of Riona¡¯s recent announcement that she would campaign for Bodb¡¯s seat. Uncle Aengus, representing Midhe, and Aunt Brigid, representing Laigan, already promised their votes to Father, putting him at an early advantage. The contest would be decided by the other three provinces of the reigning council from there. So far, the Queens of the South in Mumhan, Aine and Cliona, backed Bodb. Manannan and his puppet-monarch son, Ilbrec, in Uliad to the north, remained loyal. If their stances didn¡¯t change, that would earn Father two more votes. King Finvarra to the west in Connacht was the most obvious council member who might throw his vote in Riona¡¯s favor. While our family, the Dagda¡¯s Brood, were direct descendants of the Dagda¡¯s legendary line, Finvarra was a distant cousin who claimed the relation after he rose to power. His resentment of us made him a common dissident. All things still seemed to work in Father¡¯s favor, as if Riona didn¡¯t pose a threat. ¡°There is not much left of the election, and there are no signs of unrest,¡± Brigid argued. ¡°Leave Riona to play. If she meant to undermine us for the sake of it, she¡¯d have done a much better job.¡± ¡°We can¡¯t leave this to fester. Had you lot left me to deal with her myself, none of this would have happened,¡± Bodb spoke up, throwing a pointed glare at my aunt. ¡°Dallying with our niece for centuries in a forbidden union, then torturing her when she tried to free herself of it, is not how you deal with someone.¡± Tongues of fire rose from Aunt Brigid¡¯s hair as she glowered back. ¡°Nonetheless, she could still sabotage us,¡± Bodb said. ¡°She wouldn¡¯t pose as much a danger if you had left her alone,¡± Brigid snapped back. ¡°Don¡¯t think you had no fault in this.¡± ¡°Mind your tongue.¡± Bodb slammed his fist into the arm of his chair, and the wood shattered under the force. ¡°I am still your liege. This harassment makes you as bad a host as your Fomor-loving, traitorous late husband.¡± Aunt Brigid¡¯s entire aura glowed red-hot. ¡°Why must you two be so feisty?¡± Aengus reclined into his chair, propping his legs on one arm and his back on the other. ¡°Save your bickering for if the Lady of Irons incites civil war.¡± Father had fallen quiet throughout the meeting. He rubbed the grip of his sword and watched Mother. Mother continued to meet his gaze with an impervious one of her own. Her hands choked each other in her lap as she held herself in such tight restraint. Some of the tics that came with her forgetful spells or personality shifts slipped through: sudden jerks of her shoulders or parts of her face spasming. I¡¯d only ever seen her more headstrong side after her mind started to become off balance. She slipped into a younger persona, without the knowledge and burden of her advanced age. ¡°Don¡¯t you have anything to contribute, my heir?¡± Bodb asked Father as he rubbed a lock of his beard. ¡°I see an idea brewing in you.¡± Father¡¯s irises had been like swirling pools of molten gold. He blinked, and his eyes stilled. ¡°I can see only one solution to our cause,¡± he began. ¡°If Riona has made the election a true competition, then I must treat it as such. It¡¯s like a game. I must win by proving I am the better player. Let Aengus and Daire serve as my saboteurs while I show Tir Na Nog their new High King, outside the confines of Bri Leith.¡± Mother¡¯s nails drew blood against her knuckles. Her facade cracked as she mused over Father. Had he caught her attention? Brigid, Aengus, and Bodb addressed Father with blank expressions. Father¡¯s cheeks gained a pink tint, and his old injury made his right eye twitch out of place. That only happened when someone caught him off guard. His glamour intensified, concealing the tic as he leaned forward in his seat. ¡°You object?¡± ¡°You don¡¯t remember before the final war with the Fomor?¡± Aunt Brigid winced. ¡°The last time you tried to navigate politics, it devolved into a skirmish.¡± ¡°Then there was the time you tried to negotiate with me for the crimes of your errant sons. Our peace talks turned to a battle,¡± Bodb added. ¡°So that¡¯s the other reason why you sent me to ask for Etain¡¯s hand,¡± Aengus said with a snicker. ¡°You wouldn¡¯t get through talking without attacking her father for it.¡± ¡°That¡¯s enough. I realize I¡¯m a man of action more than words.¡± Father got the same ghost of a grin as before when I asked about where the meeting was to take place. He glanced across the circle at Mother. ¡°That¡¯s why I¡¯ll bring someone who knows better how to navigate a leader¡¯s heart without violence. Etain?¡± ¡°Wha¡ª¡± Mother blinked and gripped her chest. She took a moment to swallow as she set her hand back in her lap. ¡°Excuse me, m¡¯lord?¡± ¡°This gesture is sweet, but I am more than capable of managing my lands while caring for her,¡± Brigid said as she looked between them both with matronly concern. ¡°I wasn¡¯t being insincere or generous, sweet sister.¡± Midir shook his head at Brigid. ¡°I meant every word. Etain knows courtly subtlety and manners, and she has always excelled at the art of manipulation.¡± My throat went dry. How should I respond to such a shocking proposal? I was so accustomed to him being dead set that my mother stay isolated for her own safety, for everyone else¡¯s safety. Why the sudden change of tact? ¡°Her condition¡ª¡± Brigid started. ¡°¡ªis something I can handle.¡± Father glanced to my mother. ¡°Dear heart, would you be willing to aid me in winning the favor of our ruling council?¡± ¡°If I am as adept as you say, m¡¯lord, I would be a fool not to ask for something in return.¡± Mother tilted her head to one side at an angle that showed off the best view of her slender neck. ¡°Your freedom.¡± Midir held her gaze, steady and sure. ¡°So long as you don¡¯t hurt yourself or others, you may roam wherever you like at your leisure. I do reserve the right to set certain protections so harm doesn¡¯t come to you. But, should you find a way out of Tir Na Nog, I will not stop you from taking it.¡± Mother stopped breathing for a moment and went rigid. He dangled the base desire she always remembered. She examined Father like a suspicious hound would a thick cut of pork, unsure if it he would snatch the chance away. ¡°Let me be blunt,¡± Uncle Bodb said, slicing through the uneasy tension that had formed between Father and the rest of our family. ¡°If you take Etain to the other provinces, she will be vulnerable. Even if you were to bring your entire household with you and the few trusted guards you have left, she could fly into a fit at any time and get past someone. A skilled assassin could slip by your entourage. Any number of dangers could snare her and bring you to your knees. We saw this happen when Riona managed to snatch her. And the edicts that keep us from slaying each other do not cover Etain because of her human blood. Not only that, but it will leave Daire vulnerable without anyone to watch over him in Bri Leith. This is a ridiculous idea. I will not have it!¡± ¡°Very well, I will also be blunt.¡± Father narrowed his eyes at Bodb. ¡°You decided to step down from your seat and appoint me your successor. Can you undo what you have started? Are you willing?¡± ¡°It¡¯s for the good of all that someone else take the High King¡¯s seat.¡± Bodb¡¯s nostrils flared, the same warning sign as a bull about to charge. ¡°You will not stir my conviction.¡± ¡°It is not a matter of your conviction, but a matter of preparation,¡± Father said, waving toward Mother and me. ¡°By doing this, I am subjecting my family to a new level of danger that they have never faced before. My status has always protected Etain, and Daire has always had our family¡¯s power to hide him. Now I enter a different arena. It will be a matter of time before I must confront the realities I¡¯m exposing them to. Assassinations, coups, plots, schemes, pretenders; this is more attention than they have ever had. We need practice, and I intend to use this opportunity to give it to us.¡± ¡°I¡¯m coming too?¡± I blurted. ¡°Yes, you are,¡± Father said, his tone brooking no complaint. ¡°I need someone to help me with Etain if she should forget about our arrangement. Who better than her own son?¡± ¡°Taking your wife is one allowance, but taking the Key and its vessel from the safety of Bri Leith is another.¡± Bodb stood, his voice booming. ¡°So long as I still rule, it will be kept out of the hands of those who would abuse it, especially with Etain so close. If she can bring you to your knees, think of what someone taking her will do to Daire.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t that why you placed the protection that only your power could permit him to use the Key?¡± Father continued against his larger brother, unfazed. ¡°This is my campaign, he is my son, and I am his keeper. If I cannot protect him myself, then I don¡¯t deserve to be your successor. Would you rather replace me with Brigid or Aengus? Would you like to take your chances being ruled over by the Lady of Irons?¡± ¡°He¡¯s becoming unreasonable,¡± Bodb said, looking between Aunt Brigid and Uncle Aengus for aid. ¡°You two talk sense to him. He doesn¡¯t listen anymore, the stubborn ass of a man. Better yet, volunteer to take his place.¡± ¡°I vowed I wouldn¡¯t enter that arena again unless my people were in dire need. Midir¡¯s refusal to listen to you hardly constitutes that,¡± Aunt Brigid said. ¡°I want it even less than she does. I¡¯m at your service, Bodb, but I¡¯m far less qualified. Manannan still has his grudge against me for creating the Key, among other things. If I run, he might turn Uliad toward Riona out of spite. If we lose him, it¡¯s only a matter of time before he convinces his daughter in Mumhan to sway Cliona against us.¡± Aengus shrank further into his seat. ¡°Then we lose the north and south in one fell swoop.¡± Father cracked a genuine smile, a rarity. ¡°I still have reservations about this plan,¡± Aunt Brigid amended, turning her stern attention on Father. ¡°Your idea doesn¡¯t take Etain into account. What if she attacks you? Worse yet, what if she attacks Daire while you aren¡¯t looking?¡± ¡°He has made me the deal, m¡¯lady,¡± Mother spoke up, controlled and diplomatic. It was almost as if she was wholly herself. ¡°I will not jeopardize my freedom by assaulting my captor. Especially now when what I want is in reach, and he is finally being reasonable.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll make sure neither her nor Daire comes to harm. If I can¡¯t care for my own family, how will I be able to care for my entire race?¡± Father addressed aunt Brigid in a far more respectful manner as he leaned forward and pointed to me. ¡°In any case, the boy should learn how to help with her. Bri Leith is able to run itself well enough, and he will need more to do than tend the gardens until it passes to him.¡± ¡°Does this have to do with what we talked about?¡± Even Aengus looked concerned as he glanced between me, Mother, and Father. ¡°I won¡¯t go against you, but are you absolutely sure there isn¡¯t a better way to do this?¡± ¡°I am.¡± Father gave Aengus a solemn nod. ¡°Have faith that I know what I¡¯m doing.¡± ¡°Not that I have a choice in the matter,¡± I said once I found my own objection. I still wasn¡¯t sure whether I wanted to go or not. It was time spent with Mother, and she was eager enough for it, but must Father be with us? Perhaps it was a scheme to try and keep me from accomplishing my task. Or was this something that could work in my favor? ¡°Aren¡¯t I supposed to be spying for you? Maya and I have our little clandestine meetings in my bedroom. How do you propose I continue this if I¡¯m supposed to keep Mother company while you politic?¡± ¡°Report to me when you¡¯re supposed to have these meetings. I will make arrangements, silly boy.¡± Father tapped his finger on my head, as if to rattle my mind into syncing with his. He hadn¡¯t done that since he tried teaching me combat maneuvers. ¡°We have to learn to work together if you are to serve as Key Bearer under me.¡± A palpable tension filled the room as Uncle Aengus fiddled with his cloak, and Bodb bared his teeth at Father. The cruel joke stung, but I managed to restrict my reaction to crossing my arms and biting my cheek ¡®til I tasted blood. ¡°The plan is set, then.¡± Father clapped his knees and rose as if that adjourned the meeting. Uncle Bodb glowered at Father and continued to rail against him, trying to bully him into changing his mind. But Father¡ªalso known as Midir the Proud, Midir the Hard-Headed, and other variations¡ªdid not budge. Chapter 30 - Maya I pushed aside the black curtain hanging over Daire¡¯s gold, ivy-framed mirror, and walked back into the dim underground cavern I stayed in. More mirrors like his lined the packed dirt hallway on both sides between its candelabras, each with different symbols on their frames. My kidnapper-turned-friend, Rio¡ªreally Daire¡¯s half-sister, Riona¡ªstood further down the hall. She was in front of one of the other mirrors with a trident at the top and waves spreading out from it. She¡¯d used them to talk with people for the past few weeks as she campaigned for High King. ¡°I am rather fond of the old ways, Lady of Irons,¡± echoed a smooth, layered voice from the mirror. The man in the glass had straight blue-black hair framing his narrow face with a matching, trimmed beard. His cloak hid the rest of him. Its color slithered between stormy gray, sea foam green, and aquamarine. The most inhuman thing about him were his eyes. They had the same tilted shape as other Aos Si I¡¯d met, but they had no whites or pupils. The same shifting colors as his cloak took up their whole space. ¡°I only seek an audience, oh wise Master of the Seas,¡± Rio said, laying the honey thick in her voice as she fiddled with her signature iron chain bracelet behind her back. ¡°You would not violate your oaths of loyalty by entertaining a guest.¡± ¡°An illegitimate, Fomor-touched guest whose power is toxic to my subjects, with a proposition my High King will not take kindly to.¡± The Master of the Seas¡¯ deadpan expression didn¡¯t budge. If Rio were a T.V. show, he¡¯d change the channel on her any second. The conversation seemed like it would wind down soon. I hurried behind Rio on a beeline for my cot. ¡°Who is that?¡± the man asked as soon as I made it past his mirror. Crap. I glanced at Rio first, searching for cues. Did this guy like blunt and spunky, or would my personality make Rio¡¯s case worse? ¡°That is my¡­¡± Rio¡¯s slit pupils got round like she had an idea. ¡°She is my counselor, my charming human companion from the mortal realm¡¯s modern age. Rather different from the humans I knew back when we still roamed Eire.¡± ¡°Truly?¡± The strange guy¡¯s eyes lightened to the blue-green of a good beach day as his interest perked. He leaned closer to his mirror. ¡°My son told me he saw such a creature at the announcement feast. I thought he had fallen for some trick. Come, girl. Come where I may see you better.¡± Rio waved me forward. I edged back into view beside her. ¡°Hello, sir.¡± I flinched at his cloak as new lines of blue shot through it. Was it alive? ¡°Do not fear,¡± the man said as he smiled at the color-shifting cloth and held it up for me to see better. ¡°This garment has the power to grant its wearer invisibility. It has a great many stories to tell.¡± ¡°I¡¯d like it better if you told them, not the fabric.¡± I inched closer to Rio as I forced a grin. ¡°It doesn¡¯t have the ability to speak, but that¡¯s a good idea for a future enchantment.¡± His amused chuckle filled the hallway in surround sound, sending shivers up my arms. ¡°Allow me to introduce Manannan Mac Lir, born of the sea, Tir Na Nog¡¯s Master of Enchantment, and the former lord over Uliad.¡± Rio ran her hand down my back and my goosebumps settled. ¡°Still lord over Uliad as far as my son is concerned.¡± Manannan let out a theatrical sigh with a flourish of his fingers. ¡°It still escapes him that ruling does not mean consulting me about every little decision.¡± ¡°Perhaps it is that he respects your experience too much.¡± Rio nudged me. ¡°Would you rather I introduce you, or you do it yourself, dear one?¡± ¡°I can do it.¡± At first I held out my hand, then took it back when I remembered we were basically video chatting. I bowed my head instead. ¡°I¡¯m Maya.¡± ¡°No family name or titles?¡± Manannan asked. ¡°Um¡­¡± What was the harm in giving my last name? Rio swiped her nails against the small of my back. Was that her signal that telling him was a bad idea? I forced a shrug instead. ¡°Family names are Manuel for my dad, Jennifer for my mom, Mercedes for my grandmother. We don¡¯t have any titles. You guys would call us peasants.¡± ¡°That was a fair deflection, though I sense you don¡¯t lie often,¡± Manannan said, switching into a teacher mode. ¡°The secret is peppering the lie with just enough truth to convince your audience. Better yet, structure the truth in such a way as to imply something entirely different. That is the key to getting along here.¡± ¡°Thanks for the tip.¡± I trailed off, not sure what to say next. ¡°She is full of her own stories, and her style of telling them is so unique.¡± Rio patted my hip. Telling me I¡¯d done a good job? ¡°Might the two of us come so she can regale you with them in person?¡± Crap again. My gut told me I wasn¡¯t ready to go anywhere yet. I needed to do something, but what? I hammed up a big yawn. ¡°After she sleeps, of course,¡± Rio added. ¡°Scry me when she awakens,¡± Manannan said. ¡°I will do as you ask.¡± Rio bowed her head. Manannan gave Rio a subtle nod back. The glass swirled to normal. ¡°Quick. To bed with you.¡± Rio turned me toward my cot and prodded me forward. ¡°We shouldn¡¯t keep Manannan waiting too long.¡± ¡°Hold your horses.¡± I dug my heels into the floor and spun back around. ¡°We¡¯ve got plenty of time.¡± ¡°I have no horses of which to hold, and you must rest for our outing.¡± ¡°I can stay up for a few more minutes.¡± I planted my hands on my hips. ¡°What did you just sign me up for? Is there a strategy I have to stick with? Anything important I¡¯ve got to know before we go?¡± ¡°At least ready yourself for sleep as I explain.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± I headed toward the wash pitcher. ¡°Your big idea is to dangle me around like something shiny. After I get their attention, you make your big political speech?¡± ¡°Precisely.¡± Rio created a thick rag from of nowhere and held it out to me. ¡°That is how it should go with Manannan, at least.¡± ¡°I thought he said his son ran things.¡± I took the rag and dumped water over it. ¡°True, he casts the official vote.¡± Rio knelt by my cot and spread my blanket over it. ¡°Yet Ilbrec never makes a crucial decision without consulting Manannan about it. The true key is winning the father.¡± ¡°What kind of promises are you making? I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve got to say something big to get a leg up on your dad.¡± I scrubbed my face, getting off as much of the surface gunk from my day as I could. ¡°You¡¯ll find that out in due time, dear one.¡± ¡°Oh come on, if you want me in on this, at least tell me a hint.¡± I swiped one of the dry towels from inside the dresser the wash pitcher sat on and patted myself down. It¡¯d have to be enough. ¡°Soon, but not yet.¡± Rio fluffed my pillow and set it where my head usually went. ¡°Did you find out anything from cavorting with Daire?¡± ¡°They¡¯re still only using the one uncle you hate, Aengus, to try and make you freak out so you look bad and nobody takes you seriously,¡± I said as my eyelids started getting heavy. I couldn¡¯t fall asleep yet, though. I was still forgetting something. As I climbed into the cot and pulled the blanket over my legs, I looked over Rio¡¯s bare arms. The last of her bruises had faded a week ago. Her straight fingers worked with the same grace as before Bodb tortured her. She seemed better, but I didn¡¯t know how much of that was her disguise magic and how much was real. ¡°When can we catch up and talk about how you¡¯re doing?¡± Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. ¡°Maya, I cannot guarantee how much time we will have together in the coming weeks.¡± Rio tucked the edges of my blanket under me. ¡°If I am going to succeed, I must always be vigilant. Planning and making connections are vital, and I don¡¯t have long left to establish them. I may need to do things I would rather you not see, and say things I would rather you not hear. No doubt Aengus will use every trick he can to slander me, as you said. Focus will be our only way to defeat them.¡± ¡°Wait, one minute you¡¯re saying you need me to help you, and now you¡¯re saying I¡¯m a distraction?¡± ¡°The course they drove me to, that you wanted for me, is not easy. I value your stories, your good humor, and even your advice. But I must go without them if I am to succeed. It will be worth it in the end, though. Everything will be worth it.¡± She lifted the blanket around my shoulders. ¡°Until then, trust me and have patience.¡± ¡°Alright,¡± I laid back, mulling over her logic. I needed to stay with her to find those treasures. This thing with Manannan was a perfect opportunity to scout out the one he had. He was in Uliad, up north, and that meant he¡¯d have Lugh¡¯s Spear. Maybe I could convince her to make it a permanent part of her strategy. ¡°Here¡¯s an idea.¡± ¡°What is it?¡° ¡°I want to go with you to see all the other people you¡¯ve got to talk to on your big campaign tour, not just Manannan.¡± ¡°That may not be possible. Some are more dangerous than others.¡± ¡°This whole place is dangerous. I could be a real asset if the other council voters are anything like Manannan.¡± Rio bit her bottom lip, still unsure. ¡°I want to see this new world I¡¯m part of and meet some of the people in it.¡± If I had to get personal, I would. ¡°I¡¯ve got to live here forever, at least give me a little variety outside some dirt walls and your dad¡¯s place. It¡¯ll also mean I can spend a little time with you while you¡¯re busy campaigning.¡± ¡°True enough, I suppose.¡± She smoothed my bangs away from my forehead. ¡°Very well, for the sake of my queenship and your entertainment.¡± With that piece of the plan set, I shut my eyes. Something nagged at me, but I could figure it out when I woke up. I had a little time, right? Rio running her fingertips over my face sent me to sleep. * * * I woke up to a little wet nose hovering over me. It was attached to Rio¡¯s fox shape that I¡¯d nicknamed ¡°Queenie.¡± Rio tended to change into Queenie when she needed to distract herself. Was she that nervous about the Manannan meeting? Are you awake? Rio¡¯s voice floated through my head like my own thoughts. May I begin to ready you for Uliad? ¡°Yeah.¡± I groaned as I processed through what I had to do for the visit. North was the Spear, Uliad was north, Manannan was in Uliad, so Manannan had the Spear. I had to figure out where it was hidden. Then¡­ I came up blank. Hadn¡¯t we come up with a plan? I smacked my pillow. That¡¯s what I forgot to do! ¡°Shit! Not yet. I have to see Daire first.¡± What? The delicate fox flowed into a willowy redhead. ¡°Surely it can wait.¡± ¡°Not really. Um¡­¡± I threw the covers off and patted my clothes. Shirt, check. Pants, check. Bra, check. Not the first time I¡¯d gone to bed fully dressed. ¡°I need to tell him I can¡¯t make it today, that¡¯s it. If I blow him off, he¡¯ll get pissy and not want to hang out anymore. Better to explain it so I can still milk him for information, right?¡± ¡°You could tell him through his mirror, but then he would know I¡¯d permitted it. If only you could scry.¡± Rio went toward Manannan¡¯s mirror and rubbed her head like it ached. ¡°Don¡¯t be long. I can restrain myself from telling Manannan you have woken up until the pain becomes worse. He¡¯ll expect us soon after.¡± ¡°What pain?¡± ¡°He asked for me to scry him when you awoke. I told him ¡®I will do as you ask.¡¯ It is small, but a vow nonetheless. My essence compels me to keep it.¡± Rio winced as her jaw tightened. ¡°Do hurry.¡± ¡°Got it.¡± I jogged past Rio and vaulted into Daire¡¯s mirror. I stumbled into Daire¡¯s room to find the pink and orange colors of a sunrise shining on him from his skylight in the domed ceiling. Daire sprawled in his bed with a blanket tangled around his waist and his bare chest exposed. All his soft angles glowed in the light of the new day, and the worry lines in his face had smoothed out as he slept. It was the first time I¡¯d seen him completely relaxed since we met, peaceful even. Every other time his tight fidgeting carried hints of tension, probably from the pressure of dying soon if he didn¡¯t do something. Snap out of it, Maya. I couldn¡¯t waste time worrying about Darie¡¯s well-being if I wanted to fix it. ¡°Wake up, princess!¡± I shook him rougher than I meant to. ¡°Come on!¡± Daire groaned as he batted his eyelashes open. He turned over. ¡°Too soon. Come later.¡± ¡°Not coming over today.¡± I shoved him to the edge of the bed. ¡°It¡¯s Rio, she¡¯s taking me to see somebody now.¡± ¡°What?¡± Daire bolted up and rolled off the bed, taking the blanket with him. He supported himself on a nearby pillar and climbed to his feet. The blanket stayed on the floor. ¡°She has an audience? With who? Where?¡± ¡°Manannan, Uliad, Spear.¡± I covered my eyes without missing a beat. ¡± We don¡¯t have a plan. What am I doing?¡± ¡°You paid attention to my lessons?¡± Fabric rustled like somebody gathering it. ¡°Put your hand down. I have covered my magnificence.¡± ¡°Not helping.¡± I dropped my hand. He¡¯d pulled the blanket around his hips. ¡°She¡¯s expecting me back pronto.¡± ¡°Let me think a moment.¡± He shuffled in a line. ¡°Have you dreamed since you came to Tir Na Nog?¡± ¡°Yeah, of course. Doesn¡¯t everybody?¡± ¡°Not Aos Si, not since the walls were sealed.¡± Daire went quiet, then snapped his fingers. He hurried to his desk with the blanket dragging behind him like a dress train. ¡°You got an idea?¡± I followed him and watched over his shoulder. ¡°It¡¯s a spell Aengus taught me.¡± He bit his lip as he mimed grabbing something. A silver cup appeared. He set it down and wiped his misty forehead on his arm. ¡°I thought your magic was on the fritz.¡± ¡°I¡¯m still rather good at handling my magic, it is merely harder, and I must conserve it. Which I can only assume is related to the curse that will kill me by Samhain if you don¡¯t fetch Lugh¡¯s Spear.¡± His hand glowed as he pressed it against the nearest clear patch of soil on the wall. He muttered a sweet little song. A small clump of plants grew between his fingers. There were his signature ivy vines. I recognized the yellow weeds with the spiny leaves, dandelions. I gave the other two nicknames: Purple-Stem and White-Flower. ¡°Uncle Aengus taught me a spell for dreamwalking. Human druids used to harness this magic with mixed results, so it should be compatible with you.¡± ¡°What¡¯s dreamwalking?¡± I held my arms out to catch him if he fell. His shoulders shook and he panted between words. How much further could he go? If I wasn¡¯t rushing, I wouldn¡¯t have let him find out. ¡°Humans from your time call it astral projection or lucid dreaming, though it¡¯s not quite either. Aengus¡¯ spell is more substantial.¡± Once Daire caught his breath, he whispered an apology as he picked the plants from the wall. He set the silver cup on his desk and reached for something else invisible. A mortar and pestle fell into his palm. ¡°Are you squishing something?¡± I remembered when Rio had used those to make some gunk to fix my wrist, and Abuela used a set like that to cook with sometimes. ¡°Making an impromptu tea actually.¡± Daire gritted his teeth as the plants shriveled in his hand. He plopped everything but the ivy in the mortar and ground them into a powder. ¡°Get me the wash pitcher.¡± I grabbed the metal container nearby. The water inside sloshed as I handed it to him. He poured some into the silver cup. ¡°Heat the water. Then add the mugwort, jasmine, and dandelions,¡± Daire muttered to himself as he grabbed the cup. When it steamed, he shook the powder from the mortar into the water. ¡°Next comes the uncertain ingredient.¡± ¡°Are you sure this is going to work?¡± I supported Daire¡¯s back as he wobbled. ¡°In theory, yes. Success all depends on how I apply it.¡± Daire crushed the dried ivy to specks with the pestle and dumped it in with the water. The hot water had turned a rich gold with the other plants, but the ivy gave it a pea green tint. ¡°The base spell is supposed to send your spirit, along with any material objects attached to you, out of your body temporarily. You will be like a specter, invisible to others, but tangible enough to touch and carry things. It only works with creatures who can dream, which in Tir Na Nog is you, me, and Mother. The ivy was to connect us so I can detect when you fall asleep. I haven¡¯t had time to make your mirror, yet.¡± ¡°That¡¯ll be useful.¡± I hovered around him, just in case. He wheezed every few breaths. He¡¯d only been so worn out after we rescued Rio. I checked the little white flowers planted in his desk. Those showed me clearer signs of how he was doing, like they were specially tied to him more than all his other plants. They hadn¡¯t wilted, but drooped like they thought he should go back to bed. ¡°You almost done?¡° ¡°Almost. All that¡¯s left is to infuse the draught with my power.¡± Daire picked up the silver cup in both hands. ¡°Would you mind holding onto me so I don¡¯t spill it? I¡¯m not sure my knees will hold out while I do this.¡± ¡°Can you do this more than once?¡± I hooked my arms under his armpits and bent my knees. His shaking knees steadied. ¡°Does it have any bad side effects?¡± ¡°I may do it multiple times as long as I have enough rest between attempts. Neither of us should suffer adverse reactions unless we are injured while in our dream forms. There¡¯s also no predicting how long it will last.¡± Daire sucked in a deep breath as his whole body went tight. Light from his arms flowed into his hands. The cup shined as bright as he did. His weight dropped into my waiting arms. The water in the cup splashed over the edge. I grunted as I tightened my grip on him. The light kept up for a few more seconds. His special lilies¡¯ petals and leaves shriveled. Daire set the cup down on his desk with trembling hands. Once he let go of it, he collapsed against me. ¡°Oof!¡± I staggered back but managed to stay up. He always looked like a stick, but his height made him heavy. I dragged Daire back to his bed and set him on it. ¡°Won¡¯t this dreamwalking thing wear you out again?¡± ¡°I only need rest.¡± Daire¡¯s eyelids drooped. ¡°Drink it now. Do not consume anything or relieve yourself before sleeping tonight.¡± I had to leave him there. He had a soft bed surrounded by pillows. I shouldn¡¯t worry about him. Guilt still made me look back at him as I walked over to his desk and blew on the cup to cool it off. The desk flower stems sprouted microscopic new buds¡ªa good sign, right? I swallowed the ¡°tea¡± in a few burning, bitter gulps and panted as it went down. My eyes watered from the heat. I needed something cool. No. It was like mouthwash. Don¡¯t eat or drink anything until I fall asleep. I turned away and darted back toward the mirror. ¡°I¡¯ll see you in dreamland!¡± Chapter 31 - Daire As I laid in my bed catching my breath, something bubbled in my chest. A foreign set of emotions swung me from panic to relief to tentative excitement. My nerves had raced in the midst of the spell. Maya must have unconsciously projected those feelings because of the connection I¡¯d established. After Maya departed, I pushed her influence away and ignored it the best I could as I recovered. Enough time had passed since she left that I could perform a simple scry. I took the small bronze mirror Aunt Brigid had given me from among my pillows¡ªeither I stored it there or in my belt pouch. Trickling power into it took longer than it should, but the glow around the frame pulsed with white light. My reflection rearranged into Uncle Aengus¡¯ face. ¡°Daire? Is something wrong?¡± ¡°Maya burst in here.¡± I rubbed my eyes, still groggy. ¡°She raved something about Riona having an audience with Manannan at Uliad.¡± ¡°When?¡± His pupils grew round with interest. ¡°She prepares for it this very moment.¡± ¡°I see she¡¯s making progress.¡± A rare frown marred his dimpled mouth. ¡°I¡¯ll be in touch with Ilbrec. If Manannan invited her, I can use that to provoke his son into bringing me as well. Is that all?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Cold sweat broke out along my neck. ¡°Now I¡¯m going back to sleep.¡± ¡°Not likely,¡± Uncle Aengus said with subdued laughter. ¡°What do you mean?¡± The mirror went back to showing my brass-tinted reflection. I glared at it and tossed it among the pillows. Nothing would come between me and my well deserved nap as I waited for Maya¡¯s summons to wake me. My door opened. Father strode through. ¡°Still abed at this hour? You¡¯ve already wasted half the day. Your plants will scold you later.¡± ¡°What are you on about?¡± I turned to a more comfortable position and dragged my blankets over me. Mother used to check on me and say similar remarks about how my gardens suffered whenever I decided to sleep late. They shouldn¡¯t come from the same man who¡¯d forbidden me from visiting her. ¡°Finvarra and Una have extended an invitation.¡± Father came over and flung off my covers. ¡°Dress yourself. They¡¯re expecting us now.¡± ¡°How? Did you dangle Mother and me in front of them?¡± I couldn¡¯t think of any other reason Finvarra, the king of Connacht, would entertain one of the Dagda¡¯s Brood. While he was a distant cousin, he¡¯d been jealous of my my family ever since Bodb Derg had beaten him in the last election for High King. Finvarra also had a notorious taste for human women. His queen, Una, wasn¡¯t much better, only she preferred much younger suitors. The two had given Mother, the last human in Tir Na Nog, and me, the youngest of the Aos Si, plenty of overtures over the centuries. ¡°Mentioning that the two of you were coming helped. That does not mean I bribed them with promises of spending even a night with either of you. Don¡¯t risk succumbing to Una¡¯s charms, either, or else she will never release you from her clutches.¡± ¡°Why not start with a friendlier province like Mumhan?¡± ¡°The point of this is to win the leaders most likely to vote for Riona, not those who are already behind us. Start with the hardest task and the rest will be easier for it.¡± ¡°By Danu, weeks of nothing and now both you and Riona choose to foil my sleep when I need it most.¡± I rubbed my burning eyes as I summoned my glamour. Nothing came. The scry to Aengus must have used what little power I¡¯d recovered. ¡°Come, Little Layabout.¡± Father¡¯s power thrummed over me as he passed his hand over my body. The familiar feel of glamoured fabric clinging to me materialized soon after. I patted my hair. My style of inter-woven braids and ivy vines was there and ready. His magic hovering over me rather than my own had an alien weight to it, like I¡¯d been dipped in melted wax. ¡°Brigid and Etain are also waiting for us in the archives. Etain seemed in brighter spirits today. You wouldn¡¯t want to miss that, would you?¡± I glared up at him. What game was he playing? Brigid had said his scheming ways were coming back. His thorough arguments at the meeting proved he¡¯d premeditated this family trip. He had to have more motivation than campaigning. ¡°I¡¯ve been gentle, Daire, but my patience grows thin with your procrastinating.¡± Father crossed his arms and frowned at me. There was the man I knew and loathed. ¡°This is an order, not a request. You¡¯re coming.¡± There was no use fighting him as weak as I was. I rolled off the side of the bed and alighted to my feet with a mocking bow toward the head of my household. ¡°Yes m¡¯lord.¡± * * * I tucked my small mirror away in my belt pouch with plans to make the second one for Maya during our stay in Connacht. Finvarra invited us to spend a week with them, and Father reserved the largest guest room. I had heard that Connacht was a land after Finvarra¡¯s own heart, fit for such a devout horseman and racer. Those rumors proved true as the three of us walked out from the mirror set outside the walls of his fortress. Hilly fields with long, abundant grass stretched out before us. Herds of horses grazed and galloped across the horizon. Finvarra¡¯s plentiful livestock were supposedly all preserved animals from the mortal realm. No other province in Tir Na Nog could claim that, using glamour constructs instead. His fortress at Cruachan, Connacht¡¯s capital, was an open topped fort with round stone walls and a high gate at the top of a mound. The house at the center rose above the rest, a massive marvel of thatch and wood with carvings of intricate horses. Una¡¯s prized calves and lambs roamed free inside the fort like stray dogs. They butted their heads against our hands as we passed, nibbling for treats. Father conjured oat grains and passed them to Mother. Mother bent and fed the young animals as she rubbed their necks. So far, she seemed composed. But small signs showed her true feelings, like the polite distance she held from Father and me as we went and her stiff posture as she walked. Father held the oats to me next. I took them and offered some between my fingers to an eager calf at my heel. It nibbled down on my fingertips instead. I pulled my hand away. ¡°It¡¯s a pity you couldn¡¯t grow up among my stables when they were full. Then you might have learned to do this properly.¡± Father held his hand flat with his thumb tucked in. ¡°Like this.¡± My cheeks grew hot as I copied him. The calf¡¯s saliva coated my palm as it licked up the treat, but my fingers went unscathed. Soon a lamb came to join the calf and I had my own crowd gathering. ¡°No more.¡± I showed them my empty hands. ¡°I have run out.¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t you conjure some?¡± Father asked, his brows coming together. The truth? I had to conserve my power for when Maya fell asleep next. I turned my nose up at the small creatures. ¡°I have given them enough. They should be satisfied.¡± ¡°Babies are never satisfied,¡± Mother added. ¡°They want and they want, even after you are spent. You were the same way. It¡¯s when you¡¯d grown that you started to repay me and allowed me rest.¡± If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. A regiment of five guards greeted us at the doors of the house. Each had a spear, a sword, and Ogham enchantments all over their leather armor. They escorted us inside the main hall. Its pine walls were affixed together with bronze joints and long tables filled the interior. Finvarra had laid out a feast of roasted beef and hearty stew. At the moment, a company of Connacht¡¯s subjects enjoyed the lavish meal. Connacht had a wide influence with the lower nobles of Tir Na Nog by inviting them to such events. At the head of the room, Finvarra and Una sat in wooden thrones atop a curtained dais. Finvarra seemed at leisure with a shadow of eternal russet stubble upon his chin and his unadorned farmer¡¯s apparel hanging loose. Una, by contrast, dressed to the height of finery with her mahogany hair in an intricate plait and her tan gown decorated with various pearl accents. ¡°Lord Midir of Bri Leith!¡± Finvarra spotted us first as we came through the doors. ¡°It has been too long since you graced my hall, cousin.¡± ¡°And a distant cousin at that,¡± Father muttered under his breath as he offered a polite smile. ¡°It has been some time. Let us ready our quarters. Then we shall join you later for dinner.¡± ¡°Yes, a private gathering.¡± Finvarra nodded his assent before his jovial voice boomed across the entire hall. ¡°Tomorrow we¡¯ll have to pry him into gracing the rest of Connacht with his presence so we may start the games in his honor, aye?¡± Mugs pounded against the tables as the room shouted back with a resounding, ¡°Aye!¡± Una¡¯s attention fell on me, and she offered a suggestive wink. Her power crawled over my skin, slipping under my clothes in a way that said far more than words could. I retreated closer to Father, putting him between me and the queen¡¯s attentions. Typically older Aos Si would track me down at feasts and ploy me with conversation until one of us made an offer to share the other¡¯s bed. I had only let Una close enough to try that once. She cornered me against a standing stone and stole a forceful kiss I had not invited from her. From then on, she occasionally gave me ¡°accidental¡± touches to my backside or a more private area. She put a stop to it when I confessed the treatment to Mother, and Father intervened. Mother jolted away as I neared her. Her rigid facade cracked as she buried her nails in the skirt of her gown. The fabric tore at its seams with how hard she pulled. I stepped away and fisted my hands at my sides. Things had changed in my absence from her life. I had to learn to respect her moods, even if that meant neglecting my own comfort. ¡°Have your men escort us to our room, and we shall be on our way.¡± Father¡¯s power pulsed out from him and surrounded Mother and I. It cut off Una¡¯s prying magic. ¡°The offer still stands for young Daire to have a room of his own,¡± Una said, her sweet voice grating against my nerves. ¡°Better yet, allow the lad to share a space with Lady Etain while we carry out our business.¡± Finvarra gave Father a deep bow as any gracious host would. ¡°I will ensure their protection personally.¡± Father¡¯s jaw went tight. He rubbed the pommel of his sword. ¡°M¡¯Lord is more than capable of watching over his family, though your offers are still appreciated.¡± Mother set a placating hand on Father¡¯s arm and the tension in it relaxed a mite. Her attention flitted between the many faces filling the room. She trembled as she spoke, even though her voice stayed even. ¡°Escort us, please. Or must we find and prepare the room ourselves?¡± ¡°Danu forbid the very thought.¡± Finvarra snapped his fingers. ¡°Brona!¡± A lady guard with a hound stamped across her armor marched before us. ¡°See to my guests. Then join your fellows at the feast, eh?¡± Finvarra waved toward a table and it lengthened to make another couple seats. An already made plate appeared on it. Brona beamed and offered Father a courteous bow. She led us to an archway, then deeper into the hall. I opened my senses as we went, trying to feel for where the Cauldron might be. Nothing but occupied guest rooms. I would do a more thorough search later in our stay. For the moment, I had the Spear to focus on. * * * The solitary bed and gray walls of our room stayed blank and unadorned as we entered, keeping the tradition for guest rooms in Tir Na Nog. Customization was the best allowance a host could make in light of the infinite possibilities of glamour magic. Father waved his hand. His stony magic spread over the mundane lodgings. The walls turned from gray stone to rich pine with spiraling scenes carved into them, and the room¡¯s corners stayed intact. He altered the bed into an ancient canopy style with a bronze frame, a feather mattress, and rich furs. A couple small cots with thinner mattresses were set in a far corner. The stone hearth moved to the center of the room and the thatched roof caught the worst of its smoke. It had a primitive comfort, and reminded me of the royal bedchamber Mother had described from when she resided in the human world. Mother wore a pensive frown, keeping near the door frame as if she meant to run. She shuddered and held herself tight. It seemed her rigid control slipped when in the private company of her husband and son, not that she had acknowledged us. ¡°Does this suit you?¡± Father asked, gesturing to the whole of the room. ¡°It is a cruel joke you play on me.¡± Mother spat toward the floor. ¡°These reminders of my home are naught but illusions of the bedchamber I and my proper husband shared.¡± Father¡¯s right eye twitched out of place and his mouth became taut. ¡°Then what would please you better m¡¯lady?¡± ¡°You already know that answer,¡± Mother said. ¡°That¡¯s why we have made this agreement, isn¡¯t it?¡± Mother bit down on her lip and sagged back. She held her forehead as if a dizzy spell had overtaken her and she was going to faint at any moment. Father and I both rushed to her side. He reached her first and caught her up in his arms. ¡°Rest for a moment, dear heart. I know today has been trying on you.¡± ¡°It has on all of us,¡± I said as I rubbed my eyes, which still burned from exhaustion. Mother reached for Father¡¯s sword and yanked it from its sheath. Her shoulder twitched as she thrust it at him. Father jumped back. His power flowed into the blade. The sword¡¯s energy shifted and it thunked to the floor. Mother tugged at the hilt, but it seemed too heavy for her to lift. ¡°Etain, that¡¯s enough.¡± Father went to approach her again. Mother rushed away to the hearth, toward that conjured fire. Father closed his hand into a fist. The warm light snuffed out, leaving nothing but a subtle glow floating about the room. Mother grabbed a poker sticking from the hearth and thrust it at her stomach before Father could foil her. She stopped right before breaking her skin. No matter what we tried, there was a chance she would impale herself on it before we got to her. Father slipped back, holding his empty palms to her. The first sign of terror froze his expression. He dared not even speak. ¡°Mamai,¡± I said, my voice a shaking whisper. ¡°Please, move away from the poker and let us talk about this. You always liked talking more than bloodshed, didn¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Stay out of this, guard.¡± Mother shoved the point further against her stomach. ¡°This is between me and your master.¡± ¡°P-perhaps I deserved that.¡± My chest throbbed anew. She hadn¡¯t even acknowledged me as someone she knew, but a stranger meant to hold her. ¡°I know I haven¡¯t been to see you in weeks, and I haven¡¯t tried to defy Father like I should have. Please try to remember. There were our walks in the gardens. I led you through a maze of corridors and made you a promise.¡± ¡°What nonsense do you speak of?¡± Mother gave me a quizzical scowl. Recognition dawned in her face as she loosened her grip on her weapon. ¡°Wait. Daire?¡± Father¡¯s power crept across the floor toward Mother. He must have sent a spell to apprehend her while I had her attention. If he sprung his trap, then her fragile faith in me might break. ¡°Who else?¡± I risked walking closer. ¡°You wouldn¡¯t forget your only son forever, would you?¡± ¡°But you disappeared. He took you away.¡± Mother shook her head and a muscle in her jaw jumped. ¡°No, you¡¯re trying to distract me. Subdue me.¡± ¡°I¡¯m trying to help you.¡± I moved in the way of Father¡¯s spell. It would have to go around me to reach her. I stretched out my hand for the poker. ¡°Things will be different. I¡¯ll be here. Trust me, Mamai.¡± I had said those same words to Mother back at Tara when trying to save Riona from Bodb¡¯s dungeons. Something had broken through to her then. I could only hope that it broke through to her now. We may not be able to have our long walks and conversations anymore, but her heart had to know me still. Mother gave me the poker with trembling fingers. Father¡¯s power paused on its way behind her. ¡°Thank you.¡± I took the improvised weapon away. ¡°Father, you can withdraw your spell.¡± The power fled to its wielder. Father snatched the poker from me and flung it out of reach. ¡°Etain, please promise me you won¡¯t use anymore weapons against yourself. Not until you¡¯ve fulfilled your end of our bargain.¡± ¡°Not until I¡¯ve negotiated your throne for you, you mean.¡± Mother sauntered to the bed and held her head higher than before. She seemed herself again. ¡°If you had any mercy, you would have let me go far sooner, Midir.¡± ¡°You shouldn¡¯t speak that way, not in front of your son,¡± Father replied. ¡°Very well. We¡¯ll continue this discussion later if I am still thinking clearly.¡± Mother glanced to me, and her stern countenance softened. She waved me forward, opening her arms. ¡°Come here, little swan.¡± I went to her, slow and uncertain. If I were to ask for her trust, I should trust her in return, shouldn¡¯t I? ¡°I hurt you.¡± Mother wrapped her arms around me and squeezed tight. Her voice cracked as she spoke. ¡°I can¡¯t promise I won¡¯t try again. I will always regret it, though.¡± ¡°I know.¡± I swallowed as I embraced her back. ¡°I never should have let him keep me away. I should have been there for you.¡± ¡°You did as any good son would.¡± Mother¡¯s nails dug into my back. ¡°If he had never forgotten himself, then you would have not needed to defy him.¡± Father kept his distance during our talk, watching on with a familiar stoic facade. He should know how he had driven off his family all those years. Inside, I hoped he felt remorse for helping condemn me to death before I had a chance to live. My mission remained the same: free myself from this curse and escape with my mother. Whatever happened to Father was no longer my concern. Chapter 32 - Maya I let Rio do whatever she wanted to my outfit and my hair. She styled a black under dress and swirly purple cloak combo with silver armlets to match my piercings, similar to the announcement feast weeks ago. My hair had grown long enough during my time in Tir Na Nog that she could french braid part of it back. Abuela would be proud I¡¯d gotten my bangs out of my face, and Mom would want picture proof I¡¯d worn a dress. We walked through the trident mirror. At first, the roar of water crashing against rocks drowned out every other sound. Wind whipped through a massive room, bringing a salty spray with it. I tugged my cloak closer as I took everything in. The room itself was built like a half circle, jagged rock walls reminding me more of a cave than a castle. The mouth of it showed a view of the ocean. The massive blue-gray surface looked solid enough to walk on, other than the occasional foamy wave-crests that popped up closer to the cave. I held onto Rio¡¯s arm a little tighter to keep from slipping on the slick floor from all the water splashing in, and I found myself wishing for the anti-slip soles on my work sneakers. Manannan had laid out a banquet table with all kinds of food surrounding platters of pork and silver apples. Dozens of people mingled around the table. They all wore decorative seaweed, coral, and fish scale patterns of some kind. A couple of noble white horses wandering around the cliff made my inner five-year-old squeal. I picked out a haunting melody running under the chatter once I got used to the waves. Was it coming from the sea? I wandered away from Rio, closer to the cliff¡¯s edge to hear it better. ¡°Block out the music,¡± Rio warned in a whisper as she yanked me back to her. ¡°The mermaids drown whoever they catch with their song.¡± ¡°And the horsey¡ªI mean horses?¡± I lowered my volume to match hers. ¡°If they are Kelpies, they will also drown you before devouring your heart.¡± Rio explained it like common sense. ¡°Neither of them are Manannan¡¯s steeds. They would kill you with one kick unless you had his permission to touch them.¡± I clung to Rio¡¯s arm and clamped down. ¡°Riona, young Maya, welcome to my home.¡± Manannan, our host, sat dead center at the banquet table. He¡¯d slung his technicolor dream cloak over the back of his chair. ¡°We appreciate your fine welcome, oh Lord of the Waters.¡± Rio bowed at her waist. I copied her, curtseying to be safe. Manannan got to his feet and his torso seemed wider than it should be. He walked around the table toward us with an odd rhythm to his steps, something off about his balance. His legs came into view. I counted three of them. All were the same length and shape, taking orderly turns. As much as my Abuela¡¯s inner voice preached not to stare, I couldn¡¯t help it. ¡°You have more legs than me, sir.¡± I forced my attention up to his face, a foot and a half above me. ¡°Were you born with them or was it something else?¡± ¡°Better to be obvious about it than oblivious.¡± Manannan smirked. ¡°The answer is ¡®something else.¡¯ This deformity is the price for how much power I harness.¡± ¡°My friend, Nico, told me about this guy from a long time ago who had legs like yours, only his was from a conjoined twin. He got pretty famous putting on shows for people, got married, and had plenty of kids.¡± I gestured to his extra limb, hoping I wasn¡¯t making an ass of myself. ¡°Rio-Riona said you¡¯re pretty successful too.¡± ¡°Of course. I am the oldest surviving member of the Tuatha De Danann and my house reigns over the most surviving subjects. And like the figure in your story, I too am married with many children.¡± He waved over to the woman sitting by his chair. ¡°Fand, come meet this young mortal. She has proven herself odd, but resourceful thus far.¡± ¡°She cannot be from Eire.¡± Fand stayed by her plate and fidgeted with a seashell holding her seafoam-white braids together. The only thing about her that matched her husband was the color scheme of her blue-green dress and aqua cloak. She examined me with slitted pupils. ¡°She is wide enough to belong to a wealthy family, yet her skin is so tanned, like a farmer¡¯s. Perhaps she spends too much in the sun.¡± ¡°I actually come from a lower income family,¡± I clarified while I squeezed Rio¡¯s arm to keep from yelling at this lady for talking over my head. ¡°My mom apparently has some Irish in her, but I take after my dad¡¯s side. He was Mexican and he happened to have darker skin, but that¡¯s not the rule. I also get paid to serve food to other people, but I don¡¯t farm it.¡± ¡°Maya is my companion, Lady Fand.¡± Rio pet my hand. Was she comforting me or giving a warning? ¡°She does not act like a submissive waif, so I do not treat her as one.¡± ¡°A wise choice.¡± Fand smiled with enough sincerity that I almost believed her. ¡°The rebellious ones always stay interesting. I hope her performance pleases you as much as her brash demeanor.¡± Manannan showed us to a couple of seats across from them. The small talk of the crowd died to a hum as if they wanted to eavesdrop without being too obvious. ¡°This is my son and king over Uliad, Ilbrec.¡± Manannan pointed to a younger man on his right. ¡°Yes, welcome to Uliad.¡± Ilbrec had wavy black hair, a deep blue jacket, and sat like somebody jammed a stick in his spine. He focused on a scroll unrolled in front of him that he read while he picked at his food. Unlike his parents, he kept his opinion of me to himself. ¡°Occasionally I desire the power to turn back time so that I sent my son to Mumhan rather than my precious Aine. Then I could have appointed her to rule this place instead.¡± Manannan leaned down to me like he¡¯d just told me a big secret, even though everyone around us could hear what he said. ¡°She knows when it is better to remove the rod from one¡¯s arse and enjoy one¡¯s self.¡± ¡°I have different views on the timing of when someone should ¡®enjoy¡¯ themselves, Father.¡± Ilbrec peeled a piece off a hunk of meat with his fingers. ¡°Aine has also done very well with Cliona.¡± Fand bit into a silver apple and swallowed without chewing. ¡°At first their union seemed like a waste. Two women cannot conceive a babe, and Aine would make lovely children. Then Aengus Mac Og sealed Tir Na Nog with the Key, and now none of us may have children anymore. There is nothing stopping a pair who wishes to wed for love rather than lineage.¡± ¡°Yes. A great many things changed with that botched creation. It was only because of Aine¡¯s knowledge of the sea that Cliona¡¯s Bean Sidhe survived the sealing.¡± Manannan went around to his chair and sat between his wife and son. ¡°The Dagda and his brood were never known for their intelligence. Yet they receive credit for saving Tir Na Nog by throwing together this mockery of my work. When I made the walls separating our realm from the mortals, I spent a great deal of care crafting them to have certain doors and pathways in and out. Like all brilliant magic, they developed a mind of their own. However, ever since that child Aengus Mac Og tampered with them, Tir Na Nog has been a shadow of itself.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not bad work for such a rushed ritual.¡± A familiar voice cut through the waves as everyone surrounding it went quiet. Daire¡¯s and Riona¡¯s uncle, Aengus, leaned against a stalagmite by the mouth of the cavern. His immature grin, lavender cloak, and bouncy curls made him seem like an amateur cosplayer in a good wig. He bowed at his waist with his cloak whooshing out behind him. ¡°Greetings m¡¯lord Manannan and m¡¯lady Fand. And of course his majesty Ilbrec, whom I have to thank for this generous invitation.¡± ¡°Why did you invite my would-be rival to a private gathering?¡± Manannan sighed at his son. ¡°Because you always harp that I should stop consulting you for every little decision,¡± Ilbrec said with a careless shrug. ¡°Since the meeting was of a political spirit, I thought it fair a representative for the other candidate be present.¡± The soft hum of Rio¡¯s particles and an electric current filled the air around her. I reached under the table and squeezed her hand, a quiet reminder to stay cool. We knew he was coming, but that didn¡¯t take away her old grudge. She didn¡¯t explode into a gray cloud that rotted everything it touched. So far so good. ¡°He is a just king to allow me an audience on behalf of my esteemed brother.¡± Aengus sashayed between the crowd of ocean-themed Aos Si, and took the empty seat on my left. He plopped down with his hands tucked behind his head like he owned the place. Was he about to put his feet on the table next? ¡°What did I miss?¡± ¡°Merely introductions and other assorted banter.¡± Rio gave Aengus her sweetest imitation of a smile. Under the table, her nails dug into me so hard I had to grit my teeth. I bumped her knee and she switched to strangling her skirt instead. ¡°Well allow me to add my name. Aengus Mac Og, Lord of Bru Na Boinne and King over Midhe.¡± He took my free hand put a light kiss on my knuckles. ¡°I¡¯ve heard tons about you. It¡¯s almost like I know you already.¡± I wiped my hand on the inside of my cloak. ¡°And nobody does that hand kiss thing anymore.¡± ¡°Unless one of the parties is trying to flatter the other.¡± Aengus¡¯ eyes literally twinkled as he waggled his eyebrows at me. ¡°My nephew speaks about you at length, including how close you and the Lady of Irons are. You must please your mistress a great deal to tame her so. Perhaps you might give me a try one day.¡± Rio¡¯s chain curled up my arm and latched on. ¡°He forgot to tell you flirting like that is creepy.¡± I squeezed Rio¡¯s knee. She had to calm down. ¡°Let¡¯s stop talking about me and stick to politics, okay?¡± ¡°Politics are so droll.¡± Manannan leaned on his elbows and folded his fingers under his chin. ¡°You¡¯re the entire reason we came together. Lady Riona said you have such stories to tell.¡± ¡°Stories about what, their bed play?¡± Aengus pouted like I used to in chemistry class. ¡°Surely there are more relevant topics.¡± His implication spiked my temperature and stewed anything good I could¡¯ve shot back. And worse, nobody else jumped on him for it. They all went along like it was common sense. ¡°Mind your tongue, Kin-Slayer,¡± Rio spat. ¡°The mortal does have a point.¡± Ilbrec ran his finger over his scroll like he needed to find his place again. ¡°We have tarried too long on frivolities.¡± ¡°Humor your elders, my boy.¡± Manannan never took his unnerving stare off me. ¡°Don¡¯t mind Aengus, either. No one cares about his opinion here. Go on.¡± ¡°Um, alright.¡± I bit the inside of my cheek as I glanced at Rio. She pressed against the small of my back. Was that her giving me the go ahead to wing it? My audience really liked water, so I kept to that theme. I talked about my family¡¯s beach days, indoor plumbing, an elementary field trip to the aquarium, and any pirate movie plots I could think of. The room went dead. My every word echoed against the cave walls. Ilbrec peeked up when I described the miracle of hot water showers with the turn of a knob. I never took a sip of the drink in front of me, even though my throat got hoarse the longer I gabbed. My hands stayed occupied, gesturing when a modern name for something didn¡¯t make it through my translation spell. ¡°All of this innovation, and the only one allowed to witness it is the Key Bearer?¡± Ilbrec slammed his knife on the table and turned to Rio. ¡°Tell me, Lady of Irons, does he have knowledge of these things?¡± ¡°He does frequently ask for permission to scry them and obtains it, yes,¡± Rio said with a somber nod. ¡°He often bragged about such visions to me when he was small.¡± ¡°He still rambles about those trivial novelties.¡± Aengus sat up straighter. ¡°It¡¯s a childish obsession.¡± ¡°I should go to Tara now and demand that Bodb Derg force that whelp to share such knowledge. Are we not the superior house? Do we not deserve a share of this bounty?¡± Ilbrec addressed the rest of the chamber and got encouraging whoops, cheers, and horse whinnies as his answer. This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. ¡°It¡¯s not Daire¡¯s fault he¡¯s the only one with that power,¡± I stuck in. Daire couldn¡¯t be there to stick up for himself. Rio wouldn¡¯t. Someone had to be in his corner. ¡°He didn¡¯t ask for it. And he definitely doesn¡¯t have any say in how it¡¯s used. Nobody can blame him for trying to make the best of a bad situation.¡± ¡°Very true.¡± Manannan smoothed his short beard as he slid closer to Ilbrec. ¡°Who does the fault truly lie with?¡± ¡°Aengus Mac Og¡¯s, for altering your design in such a way.¡± Ilbrec glared at the man he¡¯d invited. ¡°The Key Bearer should share some blame for never speaking about his visions on Feast Days.¡± I went to give this entitled jerk a piece of my mind. Rio patted my leg and stopped me. I wrinkled my nose at her. She squeezed my knee and shook her head. Did she have something in mind? ¡°My alterations have kept us alive all these years.¡± Aengus set both hands on the table, half out of his chair. ¡°If you think this mortal¡¯s stories of pipes running water indoors are impressive, that is only the start. Daire has also prattled on about how humanity has revolutionized warfare that now rivals our magic. His visions are omens that reinforce the need for the Key¡¯s existence, not wonders to be sampled on a whim.¡± ¡°Someone must be held accountable for keeping this from us!¡± Ilbrec vaulted up. The cries of his subjects backed him up. ¡°Your majesty, the Key Bearer is nothing more than a tool,¡± Rio said, speaking up over the noise. ¡°Daire, Lord of Ivy, is a spoiled heir who spends his days working his gardens and fantasizing about the wonders of his visions. He may be a part of the Dagda¡¯s Brood because of his position, but they have conditioned him to submit to their orders without question.¡± ¡°You accuse our High King and his chosen of maliciously withholding our only link to human society?¡± Ilbrec asked straight out. ¡°There is no malice in it,¡± Aengus said. ¡°That would be too tall of an accusation.¡± ¡°The Lady of Irons only states what she has witnessed.¡± Manannan scooted an empty plate toward me. ¡°My dear girl, you must be famished from speaking at such length without pause. Go on and refresh yourself.¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± I swallowed the saliva gathering in my mouth from the food smells. ¡°Actually, I wanted to know more about your place. Is this it, or are there other rooms?¡± ¡°The caves of Emain Ablach are a network of many places burrowed into a single cliff,¡± Manannan said. ¡°There are individual quarters for all my subjects and any who care to visit. This abundance of food and drink comes from my own enchantments and generous aid from Aine in Mumhan. We also boast arenas for sport, stables to keep my boat and horses, and a gallery where I display my treasures. I used to have an entire isle at my disposal, but I sacrificed it for the safety of my subjects.¡± ¡°Can we get a tour?¡± It¡¯d make a perfect excuse to scout, and that gallery room had to be on the list of stops. ¡°Riona¡¯s always saying it¡¯s not safe for me to go out by myself and explore. It doesn¡¯t give me a chance to see the exotic stuff she¡¯s told me about. That treasure room sounds pretty cool.¡± ¡°Hmm, I don¡¯t see the harm in showing you a few levels.¡± Manannan raised his eyebrows at Rio. ¡°What say you? You and Ilbrec could speak of those matters you told me about earlier while I entertain your companion.¡± ¡°A splendid idea. Does this please you, your majesty?¡± Rio held her hand out for Ilbrec, the one without a chain attached to it. ¡°My uncle might even join us if he isn¡¯t too weary.¡± Ilbrec rolled his scroll up and came around to Rio¡¯s side of the table. She took his arm and cupped the curve of his elbow. ¡°I won¡¯t leave you alone with him, vixen.¡± Aengus jumped up and planted himself on Ilbrec¡¯s other side. ¡°Someone must provide balance to whatever you wish to say.¡± ¡°Very well.¡± Ilbrec rubbed his temples, stuck in the middle of them. ¡°Let¡¯s be on our way.¡± I took Manannan¡¯s arm when he offered it, and we walked ahead. The three behind us talked politics, too low for me to hear over the crashing water outside. The closest thing to mirrors in Manannan¡¯s home were upright pools of water set into the walls. He led me away from those. We headed toward the cliff edge where the ocean splashed into the cave. That soft music rose and switched to a sweet dance like I¡¯d hear at a carnival. It made me think of laying in a warm bath and letting my muscles loosen up after a long day. Would finding the music help me feel less nervous? Rio¡¯s warning came back. Those were mermaids using a magic song to trap me. I forced myself to focus on my boots. We stopped at a staircase carved into the side of the cliff that disappeared midway. Manannan walked me down the first few steps until they faded under the dark water. ¡°Hold tight,¡± Manannan said. ¡°The next area lies beyond here.¡± I gulped and walked into the water. The surface parted on either side of my foot, and I hit dry rock. ¡°Master of the Seas, remember?¡± Manannan snickered and guided me the rest of the way. He submerged us in a big bubble of air so we traveled like a mini-submarine. Half-naked women with fish tails darted around us as spotted gray seals chased them. It was like going through a tunnel at an aquarium where the fish tank went over my head. The stairs ended at another cave with rich grass covering the floor and a bright stone set into the ceiling like a small sun. A couple of pigs romped around on one side while three giant white horses grazed on the other. Manannan bragged about how they slaughtered the pigs for fresh meat every day, but they never ran out because the pigs grew right back. He showed me to the biggest of the horses, Enbar, his obvious favorite. He told me a story that went with him: that horse used to live in ancient Ireland with his daughter, Niamh. When Tir Na Nog closed, Enbar made it back. Niamh didn¡¯t. ¡°Even your family lost someone.¡± I went to pet Enbar¡¯s neck, but stopped when I remembered Rio¡¯s warning about touching the horses. ¡°He¡¯s not going to drown me, is he?¡± ¡°Those are Kelpies, a different kind of Aos Si.¡± Manannan ran his hand through the noble animal¡¯s mane. ¡°Go on, he will keep steady.¡± I rubbed that shiny fur. It felt soft, but slick. Enbar stomped the ground. I flinched away. ¡°It¡¯s hard to believe a peasant girl is this uncomfortable around livestock. Humanity has changed a great deal.¡± He glanced away toward the stairs where Rio, Ilbrec, and Aengus talked. Aengus motioned every other way while Rio stroked Ilbrec¡¯s arm with confident composure, her glow staying white and calm. Her level of chill around the uncle that killed her mom showed just how much she wanted to win Ilbrec over. ¡°For a newcomer to this circle, she plays well so far,¡± Manannan commented. ¡°She may resemble her mother, Fuamnach, in body, but her character is far more level. Fuamnach had a windy nature and flitted from one extreme to the next. I sense your lady has gusting emotions, but her Fomor magic keeps them on course. She reminds me of a certain cautionary figure.¡± ¡°Another story?¡± ¡°You should take this one to heart, young counselor,¡± Manannan said. ¡°Long ago, before the Tuatha De Danann became the Aos Si, we were at war with one of the original races that ruled over Eire, the Fomor. We sought to cultivate the land into a new home, while they wished to let it run rampant and remain unlivable. The fighting had taken its toll, so our leaders at the time, myself included, reached a compromise with the Fomor so our forces could regroup. We sealed this treaty with the election of a new High King: the son of a Fomor sympathetic to our cause and a lady of our kind. You may have already heard of him, Bres the Betrayer.¡± ¡°That sounds a little familiar.¡± I thought back to when Daire told me a quick and dirty summary of Aos Si history. ¡°The details are still fuzzy.¡± ¡°Bres sought to teach the Tuatha De Danann the merit of Fomor values. While our race relied on deception and traditions, their culture revolved around blunt action and simplicity. He asked for too much change too fast,¡± Manannan continued. ¡°Instead of living in cooperation with the Fomor, we became like slaves to them. So we overthrew Bres and prepared for our rebellion. Bres complained to his grandfather, Balor of the Evil Eye, and a bloody war ensued. It cost Bres everything he held dear: his only son¡¯s life, his wife¡¯s respect, and the loyalty of his mother¡¯s people. After the fighting, we found him abandoned on the battlefield and pleading for his life. His reputation never recovered. Someone later poisoned him because of it.¡± ¡°And you think Rio is heading for the same thing?¡± ¡°Rio. That¡¯s an endearing nickname.¡± Manannan lifted a pile of white powder that hadn¡¯t been there to Enbar¡¯s mouth. Sugar? The horse nickered and licked it up. ¡°The Lady of Irons has the ambition to defeat the Dagda¡¯s Brood, and a solid vision for the Aos Si¡¯s future. I fear she has not taken into account the division her plans would cause. However, she has impressed me enough to earn my support. Inform her that I will do what I can to influence Ilbrec and Cliona to vote her way.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll pass on your advice too.¡± It occured to me that the stability of Rio¡¯s whole nation would rest on her decisions if she beat Midir. If she made one wrong move, Tir Na Nog could go to war with itself. I¡¯d thought if she won, everything else would fall into place. Stopping to consider the reality made me woozy. All I wanted was to go home and for her to be happy without me. Was her replacing Bodb the best way to do that? ¡°You seem to appreciate the weight of your responsibility,¡± Manannan said, interrupting my train of thought. ¡°Yeah, it just dawned on me.¡± I pushed my doubts down. I could work through those later. Refocus. Back to the mission. ¡°What¡¯s the next room?¡± ¡°My treasure room. Shall we¡ª¡± Manannan cut off and waved his son over. ¡°Our liege summons us, Ilbrec. It was a pleasure meeting you, Maya, but I¡¯m afraid the rest of the tour will have to wait.¡± ¡°Why the hurry?¡± We were almost there. All he had to do was show me the next room. ¡°Can¡¯t we fit in one more?¡± ¡°Our present High King calls them.¡± Aengus slipped behind us. Rio came next and took the small of my back. ¡°And he needs to see both of you?¡± I asked. ¡°We can stay in opposite caves. This place is really cool.¡± ¡°He intends to pay us a personal visit and ask about a private matter.¡± Manannan patted my hair like a doting dad. ¡°Perhaps another time.¡± ¡°And remember the other reason it is best if we are not present while Bodb Derg is around.¡± Rio turned me to the mouth of the cavern. It reminded me of the upright pools in Manannan¡¯s main cave. Open, endless water showed those mermaids and spotted seals speeding through the water. Horses with fish tails joined in their game. We walked up and I made out a faint reflection. Was it enough that Rio could use it like a mirror? She touched the water, but nothing glowed and none of the colors shifted like they usually did. Still, she walked forward into it without flinching. I followed along. Aengus smiled and wiggling his fingers at us before he monopolized Ilbrec. Slick, cool wetness slid over me with the same sucking sensation as walking through a mirror. It submerged me into it. I closed my eyes, hoping I¡¯d come out on the other side of somewhere. Something hard bumped my shin and I tripped. The smell of underground soil, grass, and candle wax made me open my eyes. ¡°Careful.¡± Rio caught my waist, suppressing a giggle as I stumbled the rest of the way through the trident mirror. ¡°Are you hungry yet? You didn¡¯t touch any of Manannan¡¯s offerings.¡° ¡°Not yet.¡± We¡¯d finished sooner than I thought. My mind raced too much to go to bed yet, and her being only inches away wasn¡¯t helping. ¡°You¡¯re looking happy.¡± ¡°Things were promising with Ilbrec.¡± Rio glanced behind me, probably to another mirror in the row. ¡°I should leap on this progress while I have it.¡± ¡°You need to take a break between wins.¡± ¡°My blood is too high for rest.¡± ¡°Okay, so what else can you do to let off steam before you start rolling again?¡± Rio rubbed a few links on her chain bracelet, then she stopped and her pupils rounded. ¡°You wanted to accompany me on the rest of these visits, did you not?¡± ¡°That¡¯s your idea face. What were you thinking?¡± ¡°Your time spent with Daire has made you stop your conditioning drills, and it¡¯s been weeks since we last reviewed any combat.¡± She detached a couple of the links from her bracelet, flattened and folded them to a small dagger as long as her palm, and tossed it at me. ¡°And? We¡¯ve been busy.¡± I caught the knife by its blade. Its sharp edge sliced me. I hissed and dropped it to the dirt. Blood welled from the cut in my finger. ¡°It would reassure me if you knew better how to defend yourself against an assailant.¡± Rio¡¯s particles gathered in her right hand into a longer, sleeker knife than the rough one she¡¯d given me. ¡°Everybody has magic here. I don¡¯t.¡± I sucked the blood from my wounded finger and picked up my tiny weapon from the dirt. ¡°What¡¯s the point?¡± One second Rio stood a few paces away from me, fiddling with her new knife. All it took was a blink for her to be on me, within inches. The cold flat of her blade pressed alongside my jugular as she hovered close enough that her clean breath swept over my forehead. I froze with the same instinct as an opossum playing dead, and zeroed in on her sternum. Her knife never flinched as I held my breath. ¡°Don¡¯t underestimate the power of surprise.¡± Rio handled my fingers with her free hand and rearranged them around my short dagger so my thumb lined up with the handle instead of curling into my fist. Her version of holding it felt easier and gave me more control of where the blade went. ¡°Like this.¡± She tapped my locked elbow. I relaxed it. ¡°Strike at the softest vital area you can reach.¡± She guided the knife by my wrist to the soft area under her ribs, then up to her neck, and last right under her eye. Her pupils had narrowed to slits, and the flat gray of her irises rumbled like the sky in a hurricane. I¡¯d been stupid enough to go outside during a category one a few times, and witnessed the cold ferocity in the whipping wind as the rain stabbed me like a barrage of needles. It was hell to be in, but addictive to watch. ¡°These will give you the surest distraction.¡± I swallowed, mesmerized and hardly hearing her. ¡°Yes ma¡¯am.¡± Rio cocked her head and pursed her lips. ¡°Why did you refer to me as a matron?¡± ¡°Wha¡ªOh, it¡¯s a respect thing.¡± Her sweet confusion snapped me out of my trance. I made some distance between us. My pulse slowed a notch. ¡°Let¡¯s practice this.¡± Rio ran me through a couple maneuvers. We rehearsed them back and forth until my muscles picked up the moves and went through them without me thinking about it. From there, we traded strikes in slow motion, getting me used to improvising with my new skills. ¡°Oh yeah, and Manannan told me he would back you and put in a good word with his daughter and her wife for you,¡± I said as I stabbed at her midsection. The uneasy dread from the Bres story clawed its way back. I didn¡¯t want her to win the election only to end up alone and miserable. If I told her Manannan¡¯s warning, would she reconsider running? Did I want her to? ¡°He also talked a lot about a guy named Bres. Does that ring any bells for you?¡± ¡°Bres is infamous, at least according to our history. Back when he was alive and married to my aunt, Brigid, my mother befriended him. He served as a confidant of hers before he died.¡± Rio knocked my arm away and came at me with the same motion. ¡°Why would Manannan bring him up?¡± ¡°You reminded him of Bres, apparently. He thought you could be divisive if you won.¡± I slid to the side and grabbed her wrist to bend it back. ¡°Do you know why he¡¯d think that?¡° ¡°He may have concerns about my plan for after I win the High King¡¯s seat.¡± ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± I lunged at her face. ¡°You¡¯ll find out in due time, dear one.¡± Rio swept her leg under me. I tripped back, but she caught me around my waist with a teasing grin. ¡°I don¡¯t want to risk ruining the surprise before I know if it will happen.¡± ¡°Alright, be secretive.¡± I caught myself staring at her mouth before my guilty nerves flared up. She had a potentially controversial plan for winning and counted on me being with her the whole time. Part of me wanted to, but I couldn¡¯t stay in Tir Na Nog forever. I drifted off later with that guilt gnawing at me as a ghost version of me floated out of my body. Tough shit, I told myself. Daire had to come first until we finished the cure. He was counting on me too, and he¡¯d be there any minute. It didn¡¯t make me feel better about lying to Rio, but it helped me focus. Chapter 33 - Daire We spent most of our private dinner with our hosts in silence at first. I shifted my food around with my knife. While I hadn¡¯t drank my dreamwalking tea yet, Maya¡¯s stringent self-denial had a strange effect on my appetite. My focus turned anywhere but the food on my plate or the mead in my cup. I would have to fill my belly after I woke next. ¡°Banal conversation doesn¡¯t seem to be warming you to my household, Lord Midir.¡± Finvarra slashed his knife into the hunk of beef on his plate. He sliced a corner off and tossed it into his mouth. ¡°Did you come to dangle your superior position or your human wife in front of my husband?¡± Una¡¯s toe nudged my calf under the table. ¡°Either way, you have my thanks for the entertainment.¡± I tucked my legs under the bench as I watched the mead swirl within my cup. Perhaps if I avoided eye-contact with Una, she would give up her game. ¡°Nothing banal has ever thrilled me, your majesty.¡± Father sliced through his smaller portion of pork and his knife cut smoother than Finvarra¡¯s. ¡°And I came to speak of what will happen if I am elected, Queen Una.¡± ¡°What will happen?¡± Finvarra propped his elbows on the edge of the table. ¡°You were always so eager to please your elders, Lord Midir. I remember when Bodb turned the might of Tir Na Nog against your many sons after they refused to submit to him. You let him do so with hardly any protest. That reputation leads me to believe you will fall in line with his edicts and his philosophy without hesitation.¡± ¡°My family is in power and has been for quite some time.¡± Father thrust his knife into his meat, not bringing it to his mouth for a long moment as he stared Finvarra down. ¡°A united front is crucial for a united people.¡± ¡°You are a ruler of many,¡± Mother said with her genial smile. ¡°Surely you understand the importance of you and Lady Una, as an example, showing that you are of one mind to your subjects. That is how it is with m¡¯lord and his family.¡± ¡°Of course I understand the struggles of rule. I have led one of the more prosperous provinces since before the walls closed.¡± Finvarra¡¯s dry expression softened toward Mother as he directed his full attention to her. It was too affectionate. His muddy irises radiated subtle power. Una¡¯s toe crept up and brushed my knee. ¡°Isn¡¯t this supposed to be a diplomatic dinner?¡± I scooted my bench back and slid closer to Mother. ¡°Can¡¯t either of you keep your limbs and magic to yourself?¡± ¡°Hush, Little Key.¡± Finvarra flicked at my remark. ¡°Your elders are speaking.¡± ¡°That¡¯s my son and the next Lord over Bri Leith you¡¯re speaking to. He is more than the Key Bearer,¡± Father interjected as he reached for his sword hilt. ¡°I know that.¡± Finvarra sighed as he reverted his gaze toward Father. ¡°That doesn¡¯t change that his power will revert to you, if you are elected. What do you intend to do with it?¡± Una¡¯s leg slid away and she crossed her ankles under her seat. For the moment she seemed sated, and gave me a pleased grin from across the table. I didn¡¯t slide the bench back to its original place. ¡°I would make sure it isn¡¯t abused by those who might expose our existence to the humans,¡± Father replied through gritted teeth. ¡°It would be irresponsible to risk another mass slaughter of our people.¡± ¡°And you¡¯re implying that I would be one of the abusers?¡± Finvarra glared. ¡°My lords, let us keep this civil. Midir, it is not proper to insult a generous host, even by implication.¡± Mother placed her hand over Father¡¯s sword and addressed Finvarra next with a straight back. ¡°Allow me to ask this, your majesty. Are m¡¯lord¡¯s comments unfounded?¡± ¡°I may have a reputation for ravishing a few too many human girls and spreading my spawn across the mortal regions of Connacht.¡± Finvarra shrugged and smirked at Mother, his meaning clear as a spring day. ¡°What of it? Each one enjoyed the act as much as I did.¡± ¡°Was that before or after you drugged them with love potions?¡± I let the comment slip and crossed my arms over my chest. While Father may have wanted to win the election, that didn¡¯t mean I had to help. I needed Riona to be able to make her way across Tir Na Nog. Subverting our sire seemed the best chance to make that happen. ¡°Daire of Bri Leith, Lord of Ivy, must I send you to our quarters?¡± Mother said, slipping into that authoritative tone that brought me to heel as a boy. ¡°No, Mother.¡± I shrank in the bench. ¡°Are you sure? Were he my child, I would have sent him there already,¡± Una said. ¡°I¡¯ll be happy to escort him for you.¡± ¡°I will handle my child myself.¡± Mother turned her stern warning on Una, as fierce as Father. My chest warmed at the familiar protective treatment. I squeezed her hand under the table. Mother squeezed back. ¡°Let¡¯s return to the subject at hand.¡± Father leaned against the table, letting go of his sword. ¡°While I will not relent on keeping the Key¡¯s power contained, I do intend to be more flexible than my older brother with requests. I understand his election and your opposition to him has split our line in twain. It would be better for both of us if we were to reunite it. The edicts would remain, but you could have more say in other matters. I intend to be fairer than Bodb, less strict about granting requests and favors to those who remain loyal.¡± ¡°What sorts of requests would those be?¡± Finvarra raised his eyebrows with genuine intrigue. ¡°Giving the boy more of a role, for instance.¡± Father gestured toward me. ¡°What he describes from his visions of the modern mortal world is even more dangerous than before, but they also have marvels. We might be able to watch humanity for a time and consider mingling with them in limited quantities.¡± I dug my nails into my trousers. Using the Key¡¯s power to win Finvarra was solid strategy. Father would never actually grant that lecherous king free reign to kidnap as many human women as his loins desired. He could hint all he wanted, and feel secure knowing me and the Key would die after his election. My eyelids drooped as Maya¡¯s presence dozed off. My time had come. ¡°Excuse me.¡± I stood from the table and gave Finvarra and Una an obligatory bow. ¡°I must take my leave.¡± ¡°So soon?¡± Una pouted. ¡°There are matters back in Bri Leith which demand my attention.¡± I wet my lips as I struggled for a vague enough excuse. ¡°I have left them for too long.¡± ¡°The way he tends his gardens puts my work ethic to shame. If only he was that studious with combat, he would rival me.¡± Father glanced up at me with raised eyebrows. Was he checking to see if I meant to meet with Maya without outright asking? He meant to provide an excuse for my absence, of that I could be sure. ¡°Combat never did interest me, whereas I cannot deny the temptation of flora.¡± I answered his assistance with a subtle nod. ¡°Take the time you need.¡± Father looked back to his host. ¡°I¡¯ll come to collect you tonight before it becomes too late.¡± ¡°Yes, enjoy your errands.¡± Finvarra lit up as he returned to ogling my mother. Surely he didn¡¯t think Father would leave her unprotected in such a viper¡¯s nest. ¡°My wife will come along, as well,¡± Father added. ¡°A night-time stroll will be refreshing.¡± I walked down the hallway that led to our quarters, then jogged past the guards patrolling it. Maya¡¯s spirit shouldn¡¯t linger too long without me. * * * After drinking my concoction, I tucked Brigid¡¯s mirror in my belt pouch and collapsed into my bed. While nerves tormented my mind, making the tea had drained my body. No amount of worrying would keep me awake for long. I lost consciousness for a long moment of dark nothingness. A new jolt of energy spurred me to wake. I opened my awareness before looking around. Vivid power wound throughout my room. It skittered across the glowing stones in the ceiling, within the packed soil walls, along my mirror. Opening my eyes showed me this in the form of colored lines with Ogham symbols scrawled upon them. The thick gold threads reminded me of Father, hard and earthy. Delicate emerald coils curled between those and filled in any gaps. They thrummed with the same rhythm as my energy. No wonder Uncle Aengus had enjoyed this form so much. The sensation of beholding power with my eyes rather than my extra sense would simplify manipulating spells. I focused on my torso and my legs as I went to sit upright. Added weight made doing so a feat of strength. I managed to roll from the bed and float to the floor. The air seemed thicker than a bog as I hiked the short distance to my mirror. Aengus had described his spectral form as light enough to soar. This wasn¡¯t right. When I stared into the mirror, no reflection looked back. At least that effect had turned out correct. The dense wards over the mirror¡¯s frame pulsed strong. ¡°Daire?¡± Maya¡¯s annoyed voice brought me back to my goal. I heard it in my mind rather than my ears. It lacked the extra layer that changed Maya¡¯s English to the Aos Si¡¯s language. ¡°If you¡¯re not a ghost right now, I¡¯m gonna make you one if you don¡¯t show your ass up.¡± ¡°This is good. We may use our connection to communicate.¡± I pulled myself up to my mirror and leeched from the wards¡¯ power to activate the portal. It didn¡¯t leave me as winded as my physical form, a small mercy. I managed to reach through. ¡°Meet me at my mirror and take my hand. I think I botched the spell. I need help coming to you.¡± ¡°You got it.¡± A couple moments passed, then someone tugged on my arm. The sudden force sent me stumbling through. I tumbled head over heels in the empty air. The gold and green of my room transitioned to blue-grays that emitted a soft hum. Black shrouds dimmed a rainbow of blue, teal, amber, orange, yellow, and silver ovals. Those curtains hid a series of mirrors connected throughout Tir Na Nog. Maya grabbed me and halted my spinning. She moved me through the air like I was a feather as she set me on my feet. ¡°How are you¡ª¡± Maya clapped her hand over my mouth and panic radiated through her emotions. I turned my head. Riona¡¯s gaze met mine. Any heat in my body drained at once. My sister pursed her mouth and looked away to a silver mirror with Queen Cliona¡¯s apples and Lady Aine¡¯s sunbeams. A Bean Sidhe with light hair and a gray tunic was in the glass, Aoife from Bodb¡¯s announcement feast. Riona must have already started currying favor in the south. Had she really given up on the north¡¯s vote that quickly? Or was she confident enough to move on? This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. ¡°She can¡¯t see us, right?¡± Maya muttered the question more than spoke it. ¡°Nor can she hear us. She can possibly sense the activation of my mirror. She¡¯ll only notice something came through if she inspects it further,¡± I reassured in my normal tone. ¡°Let us hope for no more unwelcome surprises.¡± ¡°Fine, what¡¯s next in the battle plan?¡± Maya mock saluted me in an imitation of modern, human military. ¡°You lead the way to the Spear. I make sure you do not run into any magical pitfalls.¡± ¡°Great.¡± Maya walked toward another mirror on the other side of the room. ¡°Nothing¡¯ll go wrong with that.¡± ¡°How are you moving that naturally?¡± I trudged a few steps behind her. ¡°I feel as if I¡¯m swimming through sludge.¡± ¡°You think it¡¯s got something to do with the Key?¡± Maya backtracked and pulled me toward her. I sailed with the motion. ¡°Okay, so as long as I move you, you¡¯re fine.¡± It was odd. We passed Riona speaking to Aoife. Their mouths moved, yet their voices were too muffled to hear. ¡°How are we going to get past the curtain without her seeing?¡± ¡°Very carefully.¡± ¡°Please tell me you¡¯re being funny.¡± ¡°I do not have every answer we need.¡± If only I did then I wouldn¡¯t need her. She wouldn¡¯t have to face this danger and neither would I. ¡°That¡¯s why I need your help. If there¡¯s a great deal of risk involved, so be it. Please, tell me I can count on you.¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± I felt a wave of conflict crash through our connection as Maya glanced at Riona. Did she want to stay in Tir Na Nog? Was she hesitant to continue deceiving my sister? Would that turn her against me? ¡°If I can¡¯t then I will die.¡± I dug my fingers into her spectral arm. The desperation of my situation flooded me all at once. ¡°I don¡¯t care how slow and gradual it is, if it is peaceful or painful. I want to keep tending my flowers and taking care of my mother. I¡¯ve been trapped in Bri Leith all my life and there are so many things I¡¯ve only witnessed. I want the freedom to live as I see fit. Is that asking too much?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t start crying on me now.¡± Maya pulled me forward toward a mirror and solid determination overcame her guilt. Maya inhaled and held her breath as she lifted the curtain and threw me under it. She huddled next to me while I fiddled with the blue strands of magic. Relief helped my shaking fingers to draw on the mirror and activate the portal, as I had with the one in my bedroom. We pressed on through. * * * The two of us walked into a full main hall. Everyone from Kelpies to Selkies dined on Manannan¡¯s famed pork and apples while the Master of Enchantment himself presided over the celebration. None of them turned toward our ghostly presences. We remained unseen, for the moment. The whole of Manannan¡¯s cavern had so much magic weaved throughout it, I became dizzy trying to focus on it all at once. Varying shades of blue and aqua green tied together and trailed into the great body of water lapping against the cliff face. I had only visited Manannan¡¯s abode a scant number of times, but it seemed largely unchanged. Mannanan talked with King Ilbrec, who sat on his right side. Even though Ilbrec held the authority, all looked toward Manannan as if he were the true leader. Rumors abounded throughout Tir Na Nog that Manannan¡¯s step down from power was only a ruse to appease the other provinces. His influence still extended across Uliad through his son and into Mumhan through his daughter. A distinct hulk of auburn energy wearing a bear-skin cloak lounged across from the water lords. Bodb had visited? Uncle Aengus¡¯ lilac aura stretched in a great web between Manannan¡¯s constructs. My slimmer uncle paused and glanced over his shoulder. He pursed his mouth at the standing pool Maya and I came through. ¡°We need to hurry. Either Manannan or Uncle Aengus will notice us if we linger too long.¡± I tightened my grip on Maya¡¯s hand. ¡°Did you find out where the Spear is?¡± ¡°Not exactly, but I know he¡¯s got a treasure room where he keeps his important crap.¡± Maya pulled me around the throng of socializing aquatic-Aos Si toward the opening in the cave. ¡°And where is that?¡± ¡°It¡¯s under where he keeps his animals.¡± Maya pointed past the cliff to the briny waves below it. ¡°There¡¯s more caves down there and staircases cut into the cliff.¡± ¡°How is your swimming?¡± I peered over the edge to the jagged rocks below. ¡°I can do it good enough to float.¡± Maya leaned forward and joined me in staring at the abyssal water. ¡°No way can I hold my breath for that long.¡± ¡°No need for that. You¡¯re a ¡®ghost,¡¯ remember?¡± ¡°I guess.¡± She glanced my way. ¡°What about you?¡± ¡°Why do you think I asked you?¡± ¡°You¡¯re getting everything lessons as soon as we get out of here.¡± Maya tightened her grip on my arm. ¡°Let¡¯s find those stairs. I don¡¯t want to know what¡¯ll happen if we fall and hit those rocks.¡± Maya combed along the cliff edge and looked as if she were navigating the maw of an ancient leviathan. She twisted around any seafolk she came across rather than standing and waiting for them to move. If only I could do more than stand and wait. She covered quite a distance before she waved me toward her. A man in gray armor that resembled a shark¡¯s hide strode toward me. I walked and waded through the invisible muck keeping my astral body so sluggish. The armored Aos Si would bump me and knock me over the cliffside. Maya soared over and yanked my arm. I pitched forward. The shark lord dove into the waters below. Maya dragged me to a worn away patch of stone she¡¯d stopped at. Just as she¡¯d described, smooth stairs cut into the rock led into the crashing waves. The current seemed strong to make the water spray like that. While we would likely not need to breathe, how would the ocean¡¯s force affect our astral bodies? Maya went down first with me trailing after her. She paused once the water lapped at her ankles. ¡°You ready?¡± Maya inhaled and her cheeks puffed out as she held her breath. ¡°That doesn¡¯t matter.¡± I gulped as I braced myself. Maya dove in, still holding my hand with one arm. The water slid over me as we immersed ourselves. Its pressure pushed and the current¡¯s force tugged on my body, but nothing cold or wet seeped under my clothes. Our hair rose into wispy tendrils from our heads and flowed with the waves. I exhaled and inhaled, a test to see if my theory was correct. No briny fluid rushed into my lungs. Could I speak as well? ¡°Maya,¡± I said, tapping her shoulder. ¡°It appears I was right.¡± ¡°Ah!¡± Maya let out the breath she¡¯d held all at once, but no bubbles floated to the surface. ¡°Don¡¯t do that. You scared me¡ªwoah!¡± Something pulled her away from the stairs, taking me with it. It held us suspended against our will for a heart-stopping second. Maya reached out and grabbed at a groove in the jagged stone. She slipped. Her fingertips came away with glowing red scrapes along them. She reached again. Her grip held, anchoring us. ¡°I need two hands for this.¡± Maya hissed and her arm trembled. ¡°Grab my waist or my leg or something.¡± I snatched the hem of her shirt with my free hand and let go of her. While Maya reinforced her grip on the groove, mine started to slacken. The water slapped us back toward the stairs. I managed to lock my elbow around Maya¡¯s waist. No doubt my sleeping physical form would start perspiring soon. Maya climbed down like that the rest of the way, finding hand-holds in the cliff while I clung to her. The waves threw us back and forth in a constant rhythm. We found a steady pace the longer we went until another cavern opening came into view. Great white horses and a pair of pigs gallivanted inside the grassy space. It must have been Manannan¡¯s idea of a stable. Maya managed to switch her hold to the stairs themselves until we passed it and continued downward into unknown chambers. If Maya¡¯s information was accurate, the next one should have the Spear. We came to the next opening along the stairway. The main hall above the water and the stables had about the same texture of magical threads winding through them. Manannan seemed to make the treasure room¡¯s enchantments with a looser weave. Not a single living being wandered inside behind the barrier sealing out the water. The objects within shined white like a cluster of stars brought down from the sky. ¡°This should be it.¡± Maya went to touch the barrier. ¡°Don¡¯t.¡± I tugged on her shirt. ¡°There is magic there. Take me over, first.¡± Maya pried me off and guided me by my hand. The fierce push and pull of the current had calmed the deeper we went, making her able to hold on to both me and the rocky grooves. I peered closer at the small blue strings. Ogham script covered them. Good, that meant I could better surmise how to manipulate them. Reading over the different commands, my initial guess about the function of the barrier proved true. I rearranged the pattern to permit us entry without flooding the cavern. So long as I didn¡¯t invoke my own power, the dream state should grant me anonymity so Manannan couldn¡¯t trace my magical signature. A portal within the barrier opened. I waved Maya in first, giving her a triumphant smile. Maya swam through and tumbled into the room, rolling out in a heap of legs and purple-tinted hair. I tumbled through after her. I crawled to the portal and arranged the Ogham back the way I¡¯d found them and the portal closed. As Maya stood and wiped off her trousers, I examined what Manannan¡¯s treasure chamber held. Each artifact had its own rack or clay mannequin, arranged so that admirers could observe each display. I recognized a few of the items, like a silver goblet encrusted with sapphires and a silver sea vessel without sails. One mannequin had the flaming helmet and unpierceable coat Manannan gave to his legendary foster son, Lugh. It made sense that figure also held Lugh¡¯s Spear, one of our most sacred items brought back on the winged ships from our ancestral home far north. The silver tip gleamed without a hint of tarnish and the yew wood of the handle seemed newly carved. A subtle blue aura without any Ogham written on it flowed under the bright glow of the artifacts. It seemed attached to the mannequin itself, but I couldn¡¯t surmise its purpose without looking closer. ¡°Where are we hiding it and how are we getting it there?¡± Maya asked as she approached the mannequin. ¡°I will transport it from my little mirror to the one in my quarters.¡± I reached into my pouch and took out the ivy-laced looking glass in question. ¡°You take hold of the Spear and slip it into the portal. I¡¯ll hide it from there.¡± ¡°How¡¯d you bring that¡­?¡± ¡°The spell transfers anything on your body in sleep to you in spectral form.¡± I motioned to my tunic and boots. ¡°Otherwise neither of us would have our clothing.¡± ¡°Whatever. So, where are you going to put the Spear? Under your bed?¡± Maya wrinkled her nose. ¡°Don¡¯t you guys have a sixth sense for magic stuff?¡± ¡°You¡¯re correct, but I can conceal it.¡± I rolled my eyes. ¡°Where is your faith?¡± ¡°I left it back with my belief that supernatural shit wasn¡¯t real.¡± Maya hesitated just before taking the Spear¡¯s shaft. ¡°Are you sure nothing¡¯s going to happen if I grab this thing?¡± ¡°As long as you don¡¯t seek to battle anyone, it should behave.¡± I thought back to Aunt Brigid¡¯s lessons about the sacred treasures. ¡°It may be a twinge blood-thirsty after so many years without use. I¡¯m sure you¡¯re too stubborn to fall for its antics.¡± ¡°You¡¯re talking about this thing like it¡¯s alive.¡± ¡°No. It only has a will of its own.¡± ¡°You lost me.¡± ¡°All magical objects develop a will the older they become.¡± I touched the frame of my ivy mirror. As I worked on my portal, emerald lines sprouted from my fingers and curled around the glass. My body sank as the pressure I¡¯d felt since we started increased. ¡°I shall explain more when you next visit. Fetch the Spear, and we will be on our way.¡± ¡°This is all going way too well.¡± Maya¡¯s nerves put me on edge through our connection. ¡°The other boot has to drop any second.¡± ¡°You worry too much.¡± A wave of foolhardy courage passed over Maya. She wrapped her fingers around Lugh¡¯s Spear. The clay statue¡¯s eyes flared to a deep cerulean. The white power of the helmet grew an orange, red, and yellow light as its flame came to life. The magic of the ancient artifacts it wore grew blinding, including the Spear. ¡°Let go of it!¡± I shouted. The blue aura on the mannequin was tied into the white energy of the Spear. Before, the weapon had been dormant. Manannan¡¯s subtle enchantment woke it up. Maya jumped back, but the statue launched forward. It whipped the hungry tip of the Spear out in a wide arch. A large tear spread across Maya¡¯s shirt and a red light flashed from her stomach. She cried out and fell to the floor of the cavern, clutching her stomach. Her white hot pain tore through me as well. I fell to my knees. My body went into shock and froze. The clay figure strode toward the fallen intruder. How could I stop it? I had to act but I couldn¡¯t move fast enough. What could I do? The Spear thrived off of war and blood. It guaranteed victory and scared the strength out of weaker opponents. After thousands of years without use, dormant, what would it crave most? The statue suspended the Spear¡¯s head over her like a French guillotine ready to drop. I barely scrambled to my feet as it thrust down. ¡°I challenge you!¡± I cried. The Spear stopped. Maya rolled away. Through our connection, I felt a kind of battle frenzy pulse through her veins and dull her pain. I held my small mirror in front of me with a waiting portal in its glass. It had to catch the Spear. Then this ordeal would end. The statue turned its blank face and the Spear¡¯s head toward me. ¡°Mighty Spear, carried from Glorias upon the winged ships and wielded by Lugh of the Long Arm,¡± I said, parodying my father. ¡°I challenge you to combat.¡± The mannequin came at me in a flash, almost too fast to follow. I raised the mirror, but the weapon clashed against the edge of the frame and knocked it away. My mirror¡¯s thick frame absorbed the blow and the glass stayed intact. The Spear lunged for me again. My legs tightened as I willed my body to dive out of its way. The pressure that haunted me distorted my movements. The statue stabbed for my chest, a killing blow. I wouldn¡¯t dodge it in time. A wave of animalistic fury surged through me from Maya. She rammed at the Spear while its clay figure¡¯s back was turned. Sheer momentum broke its enchanted grip. Maya hugged the shaft tight to her chest. The point never grazed me. The flame of the helmet extinguished. That clay mannequin stayed in its battle stance. Its open, empty hand seemed to reach for us. Maya fell to her side and curled around the weapon with her knuckles going whiter than mine. Her spurt of courage wore away and left her a shaking mess. ¡°You stopped it.¡± I trudged beside her and gradually sat her up. My spectral complexion grew fainter. I retrieved my mirror from where it fell nearby, the bronze also fading. ¡°Pass it through the mirror. You¡¯re almost done.¡± Intense focus stilled Maya¡¯s trembling limbs. She pried the Spear out of her fingers and pushed its point through the portal. ¡°You did well. So well. Wake up. Check the wound.¡± I rubbed her back as she also disappeared. A colossal pit of debt formed between us. I wasn¡¯t sure I could ever repay it. ¡°Thank you.¡± Chapter 34 - Maya Pain cut through my gut like my worst menstrual cramps times a hundred. I grabbed my stomach and hissed out one breath after another. I¡¯d been floating around Manannan¡¯s place with Daire. Something cut me and red light spilled out. That spot throbbed under my shirt. Blood hadn¡¯t spurted everywhere and my arms weren¡¯t a sticky red mess. The nerves all over that area still burned. ¡°Do you think my sire as High King will allow any of us to experience Eire again?¡± Rio¡¯s voice came from down the hall. ¡°It will be no better than if Bodb Derg had never stepped down.¡± ¡°You are still of his bloodline,¡± another woman said. ¡°What you propose is attractive. What concerns me is your disloyalty to your kin. What sort of fealty would you show your people if in power?¡± ¡°My ¡®kin¡¯ are only beholden to themselves. I never had allegiance to them and never will.¡± I drowned out the debate and lifted up my blanket, then my shirt. How much of a mess was my midsection? My stomach had its same old rolls and stretch marks. The Spear hadn¡¯t made any cut. Not even a bruise. Why did it hurt so much? I cringed as I pushed myself up. I had to see Daire. He could fix this before Rio noticed. ¡°They sealed the walls. He kept us safe,¡± the other woman said. ¡°That single action condemned how many others to slaughter?¡± Rio¡¯s intensity built. ¡°Even so, over a thousand years have passed since we vanished. Humans have discounted us to mere children¡¯s stories.¡± ¡°You want to change that?¡± ¡°I want to use it.¡± I managed to scoot up the wall until I got to my feet. ¡°Hey!¡± ¡°What¡¯s that noise?¡± the stranger asked. ¡°My human companion, one moment.¡± Rio turned away from the mirror. ¡°I hope your nap was restful, Maya. Is something the matter?¡± ¡°Nothing big. Had a bad dream.¡± I shrugged and winced when my stomach flared. ¡°You¡¯re busy. I¡¯ll get out of your hair and head over to visit you-know-who.¡± Rio clenched her jaw as she glanced between the mirror and me. She couldn¡¯t have been at the conversation for more than a couple hours with how long Daire and I had been gone. She turned an apologetic smile on the woman. ¡°Might we continue this spirited debate another time?¡± ¡°Is something amiss with your changeling?¡± The stranger asked with a lilt of curiosity. ¡°Perhaps. I must check for myself.¡± ¡°You may see now and return straightaway. No need to disrupt the scry anymore than that.¡± ¡°She is my guest.¡± Rio set her hands behind her back and twisted them around each other. ¡°I would be a poor host to leave her unattended.¡± ¡°And I would be a poor vassal to her majesty Cliona to not report that you will make a poor High Queen for making me wait unnecessarily.¡± The mirror¡¯s light blinked off. ¡°You didn¡¯t have to hang up on her.¡± I threw the blanket off me and gritted my teeth as more pain spiked through my stomach. ¡°This is more than a nightmare.¡± Rio sped to the cot and patted around my forehead with the back of her hand. ¡°You¡¯re feverish. Lay back.¡± ¡°I¡¯m¡­fine.¡± I groaned as she pushed on my chest. My whole abdomen hurt too much to resist and I fell into my pillow. I couldn¡¯t even fake fine. What had that spear done to me? ¡°I knew you should have eaten something earlier.¡± Rio gathered her particles into a dark gray ball and slipped it under my neck. The smooth metal felt amazing, like a cold soda can on a hot day. ¡°I cannot think of anything else that could cause this unless someone slipped a hex on you.¡± ¡°I¡¯m just really hungry. That¡¯s it.¡± The candles set into the walls blurred together. Each wave of pain sharpened in the quiet. I had to keep her talking. ¡°How¡¯d you get¡­so good at playing nurse, huh?¡± ¡°I trained under my aunt for a time before Bodb demanded I stop.¡± Rio left me for the magical food cupboard nearby and pulled a steaming bowl out of it. Onions, beans, and chicken stock hit my nose as she came back. ¡°Brigid taught me what I know of healing arts and fighting.¡± ¡°I remember her. Nice but intense.¡± ¡°Our lesson earlier was modeled after her style.¡± Rio scooped the back of my head higher and spooned broth to my mouth. ¡°Go on.¡± ¡°I can¡­feed myself.¡± ¡°You cannot even sit up.¡± The spoon stayed put. ¡°Cease being mule-headed and allow me to serve you.¡± ¡°Abuela shoved food at me when I got sick too.¡± I slurped the soup up, focusing on the smell, on Rio¡¯s pampering. ¡°You fuss worse.¡± ¡°Someone must. If you had your way, you would break yourself to pieces.¡± ¡°Would you do this if¡ª¡± Another spasm cut me off and I curled up, hugging my stomach tight. ¡°Hush and eat.¡± Rio waited until my cramp passed and gave me more soup. ¡°Let me tell you what it is like to learn under the fierce but nurturing Brigid of Cill Dara¡­¡± The food and Rio¡¯s voice helped take the worst of the edge off the Spear¡¯s effects. I laid there and soaked it up. I let myself finish my own dangerous question: would she do this if she was there all the time? After taking care of other people at home for so long, I liked somebody else doing it to me for a change. I could let myself be protected and vulnerable. It felt right with her. I didn¡¯t want to lose that, did I? Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. She talked me through the worst of the pain until my fever broke and sweat drenched my neck and arms. The mirrors in the hallway pulled at her attention as I managed to sit up on my own. The sheltered bubble she made for me popped as I let her get back to them. I hobbled to Daire¡¯s mirror and focused on putting one foot in front of the other. The ache flared with every step without Rio¡¯s soothing presence to take it away. * * * I slid through Daire¡¯s mirror and my tight repression broke. The pain swelled worse than before, and I doubled over. Daire rushed up and helped me toward his bed. ¡°It hurts.¡± I groaned as I fell into the mattress. ¡°Lay back.¡± Daire lifted my shirt hem up and showed my pudgy stomach to the world. He patted around. Wherever he touched, warm comfort numbed the pain. ¡°Aunt Brigid would be the best person for this, but I¡¯m not sure how to explain the wound without arousing suspicion.¡± Daire trailed off and got quiet all of a sudden as he ran his thumb over my lowest rib. His cheeks went pink and he flinched away. Was his head going somewhere it shouldn¡¯t? I doubted that. He¡¯d teased me for looking ¡°boyish and unkempt¡± plenty of times. His type was a lot thinner and a lot longer than me. Did he notice something else? ¡°Dammit Daire, what¡¯s wrong with me?¡± I asked, dreading the worst. ¡°Nothing of too much import that I can tell.¡± Daire wiped his palm on his shirt and swiped his sleeve across his forehead. Maybe using his magic had made him tired and his face hot like after intense exercise. ¡°Your essence seems weakened. I¡¯ve done what I can to dull the symptoms.¡± ¡°What the hell does that mean?¡± I pulled my shirt back down and tried sitting up. The tingling sensation Daire left heated up, and that was better than twisting cramps. ¡°Every being has a certain¡­life energy to them. In theory, that is what a dream-state draws upon in order to exist outside the body,¡± Daire explained. ¡°My aunt could explain it so much better, as well as better predict the ramifications.¡± ¡°Your aunt could also tattle to Manannan about what she saw.¡± I grunted as I rubbed my stomach on reflex. ¡°Am I going to die because of this? If not, how long ¡®til it goes away?¡± ¡°The only way the Spear would kill you is if it struck your core points.¡± Daire touched my forehead, my neck, and just above my heart. He could¡¯ve pointed that out on his own body as easy as mine. ¡°I have no way of knowing when it will mend itself, but it seems superficial. It should heal on its own.¡± ¡°As long as I¡¯m not dying.¡± I sighed as a fresh dose of guilt resurfaced. Usually I went to Rio for medical issues. ¡°Rio¡¯s still talking with somebody in a mirror. As long as I¡¯m here, let¡¯s make a plan for next time. She¡¯s probably going to visit Manannan¡¯s daughter and her wife next. They¡¯re southern, right?¡± ¡°Yes. It¡¯s good you paid attention to my lectures. Perhaps there¡¯s hope for you yet,¡± Daire said, back to teasing. Falling back into that routine helped my overactive conscience calm down. ¡°Let¡¯s see if you can make a streak of it. Do you remember which artifact she possesses?¡± ¡°Mannanan was north. He had the Spear.¡± I bit my lip as I counted off the treasures on my fingers. The Stone was stuck in one place, so that was last. That left either the Sword or the Cauldron. ¡°She¡¯s got the¡­Cauldron?¡± ¡°Not quite. South is Nuada¡¯s Sword, otherwise known as the Sword of Light. I¡¯m afraid you¡¯ll lose marks for that.¡± Daire made a yard stick appear in his hand as he walked a line in front of me. His forehead had an extra layer of sweat, but he seemed to put up a good front for my sake. ¡°Nuada is a crucial figure in Aos Si history, being the king who finally freed the Tuatha De Danann from slavery to the Fomor. He had an affinity for silver and even had an arm made of the substance for a short time. His sword was known for its enchanted silver blade that could cut through any substance without bending or breaking.¡± ¡°You have any pictures of this thing, Mrs. Daire?¡± I rested against a pillar holding his bed curtain. ¡°I need to be able to spot it.¡± ¡°What must we do when we have a question?¡± ¡°Oh come on.¡± ¡°I will rap your knuckles with this.¡± Daire held up the stick and winked. ¡°Unless you want me to change the game.¡± ¡°You wish.¡± I raised my hand. ¡°Yes, Miss Alvarez-Diaz?¡± ¡°Same question.¡± ¡°Based on legend, it should appear something like this.¡± The yardstick in Daire¡¯s hand transformed to a short sword. The painted parts looked like a blonde man trying to hug somebody with his legs sticking out. The handle was wrapped in bright wire, giving the little guy a suit of armor. The rest of it stretched into a silver blade that curved into a leaf-shape at the end and glowed white. ¡°This isn¡¯t an exact replica, but it¡¯s close enough for our purposes.¡± ¡°What about security?¡± ¡°That¡¯s the mystery.¡± Daire ran the sword up his sleeve, and it vanished. ¡°While Manannan kept the Spear on display, Cliona will keep her treasure hidden. Finvarra will also keep the Cauldron under heavier guard. I¡¯ll have to see where he keeps it while I¡¯m staying there.¡± ¡°Wait¡­you¡¯re staying there now?¡± ¡°Yes. Father is trying to curry favor with those most likely to vote for Riona.¡± ¡°Then you can get it without waiting for Rio, right?¡± My stomach flipped when I thought about having to do that ghost thing again. ¡°The book specifically said a human must find them, though.¡± Daire rubbed his chin. ¡°I could help in the flesh there. Us doing it in secret would be far better than you going with Riona.¡± ¡°What?¡± Was he serious? ¡°Why?¡± ¡°He has a widely known taste for human women, whether they want him or not. Most likely he will want you in exchange for his vote.¡± It shouldn¡¯t surprise me there was another serial kidnapper roaming around Tir Na Nog. I shuddered thinking of that alternative to Rio. Her chain on my wrist rattled. If somebody like what Daire described had gotten a hold of me? I got luckier than I knew with her. Daire narrowed his eyes at the chain. He bent within inches of it. ¡°Personal space.¡± I hid that arm out of sight behind my back. ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± ¡°Your arm.¡± Daire pointed around me at Rio¡¯s bracelet. ¡°Did Riona give that to you, or force it on you?¡± ¡°She gave it to me awhile ago.¡± I¡¯d almost forgotten it was there. ¡°It¡¯s supposed to protect me. Technically it means I¡¯m her changeling, but she doesn¡¯t mean it like that.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure she meant it as both a warning to others and a token of her esteem.¡± ¡°Makes sense, I guess.¡± She¡¯d been open about the other meaning behind giving me the chain, but it still tasted sour when I thought about it. I liked it too much to take it off, though. ¡°This thing is iron, like her magic, so I can still use it as a weapon if worse comes to worse.¡± ¡°Only if you¡¯re clever and no one pins your arm down before you can get to them.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll deal with it when it happens.¡± I shook my head, clearing out the Rio thoughts making my insides messy. ¡°Last thing: where did you stash the Spear?¡± ¡°Under your backside, for the moment.¡± Daire nudged the base of his bed with his foot. ¡°Seriously? I was joking when I said that.¡± I stood up and lifted his mattress away. A loose board stood out from the others and something glowed between its cracks. ¡°That¡¯s the first place somebody smart will look.¡± ¡°I know, I know, I need to find other arrangements.¡± Daire huffed as he plopped into his desk chair. ¡°It¡¯s difficult hiding something that powerful when I can¡¯t use my magic to its full capacity.¡± ¡°You could at least bury them somewhere, make them work for it.¡± I set the mattress down. ¡°Bury it?¡± Daire jumped up and snapped his fingers. ¡°Get the Spear. We must be hasty.¡± Daire reached around me and pulled up his mattress and the board under it. ¡°Father is supposed to fetch me any time now.¡± ¡°What¡¯s your big idea?¡± The Spear hummed as I picked it up. I leaned on it like a cane. ¡°You¡¯ll see.¡± He grabbed me and tugged us through his mirror. ¡°To the garden!¡± Chapter 35 - Daire The two of us emerged through one of my garden¡¯s pools. I pulled Maya along toward a nearby bed of yellow pansies interspersed with red-cupped daffodils. ¡°You want to hide it here?¡± Maya asked as we stopped. ¡°Yes. My magic runs strongest among my flowers. There are enough of them to cover the distinct energy the sacred treasures give off.¡± I knelt to the soil and kneaded it, extending simple magic out to the roots to rearrange themselves. The flowers obliged and I dug a thin trench in the bare ground. Simple enough. Would my limited power be enough to make my timid blossoms overtake a war-hungry Spear? ¡°That¡¯s not bad.¡± Maya needed no direction as she walked over the flowers. She squatted and laid the Spear within my impromptu hole. ¡°As long as it works.¡± ¡°Daire?¡± called a familiar voice from further down the path. Father. Maya dropped her rump upon the Spear¡¯s shaft and set her legs over its head. Quick thinking, albeit blunt and suspicious. I sent my frenzied magic toward the flowers as I hummed to sooth them. The daffodils shied away from the Spear¡¯s destructive aura while the pansies became stubborn and refused to move at all. ¡°What are you doing?¡± My father strode up, much closer now. He cocked his eyebrow high at Maya. ¡°Did we interrupt something?¡± Mother stood beside Father, her arm curled in his. ¡°I was just finishing.¡± I waved toward the sprawling plants in front of me. ¡°It seems quite obvious what I¡¯m doing.¡± Father tilted his chin toward Maya sitting in the middle of them. ¡°I¡¯m marking where he wants to put something new.¡± Maya offered both Father and Mother a sheepish bow. I¡¯d almost forgotten she could lie outright. ¡°Hey again. Sorry about the hostage thing Mrs. Etain.¡± ¡°Who are they and what does she speak of?¡± Mother leaned into Father and clung tighter to his arm. She must have been in an oblivious state where she didn¡¯t recognize anyone. Occasionally she would enter that phase of ignorant bliss where she forgot her situation and enjoyed our company like someone meeting kind strangers. It often ended in her breaking down from missing the sensation. ¡°This is my son and his¡­acquaintance.¡± Father pulled Mother closer to him. ¡°Is there anything you have to tell me later?¡± ¡°Nothing you don¡¯t already know, Father.¡± I shooed them toward the main house. ¡°Wait for me at your mirror. I¡¯ll be along shortly.¡± ¡°Not so fast.¡± Father parted from Mother and settled beside me. ¡°What color will you place here?¡± ¡°Maya gave me the idea.¡± I surveyed the red and orange dots among the sea of yellow petals, searching for an answer. Maya¡¯s hair stood out in the bunch and inspiration struck. ¡°Her hair reminds me of irises and I want to break up this yellow patch with some extra color. Where she is sitting will be the center of a larger design. I was thinking spirals.¡± ¡°It sounds adequate.¡± Father stroked his chin as if pondering something. ¡°As it stands, the abundance of yellow reminds me of a high noon sun, which would fit better in your Summer section. This one is themed after Autumn, yes? If you added violet, You might also consider adding more red and orange. Your scheme should shift to feel more like twilight or a waning sunset. Any disproportion of lighter colors would be off putting.¡± Mother and Maya glanced over the flowers, as if envisioning the design Father described. I stared agape at my father and his tasteful assessment of my spontaneous intentions. Father strengthened the glamour over his face like I did when hiding my embarrassing red cheeks. ¡°That sounds pretty,¡± Maya muttered. ¡°You didn¡¯t tell me your dad was artsy.¡± ¡°I was unaware myself, before.¡± I narrowed my eyes at the taller man. ¡°In fact, this is the first time he has shown any interest.¡± ¡°Is it so hard to believe I follow your handiwork?¡± Father glanced toward Maya as he gritted his teeth. Her presence seemed to set him on edge, despite her recent apology. ¡°Save your jibes for closed doors.¡± ¡°It is hard to believe,¡± I said, ignoring his obvious discomfort. ¡°Once does not constitute a history.¡± ¡°Your father offered to take me on a tour of this estate. He said the gardens in particular were the finest in the region,¡± Mother offered, as if she were a sweet maid speaking to a stranger. ¡°My apologies if our stroll interferes with your work.¡± What was Father playing at? He¡¯d given me multiple compliments, defended me against Finvarra, and even attempted to assist my gardening. Did he think to trap me into something with feigned kindness? Perhaps guilt overcame him, and he tried to assuage his conscience. It mattered not. I refused to bend. If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. ¡°Was this supposed to be a secret tryst?¡± Mother dropped her voice to a conspiratory whisper. ¡°Is she your forbidden sweetheart?¡± ¡°No,¡± both Maya and I answered at the same time. ¡°Have you seen the kind of women he sleeps with?¡± Maya continued. ¡°I¡¯m fourteen sizes too big.¡± ¡°She¡¯s far too soft to appeal to my masculine tastes, either. Look at her. She¡¯s as unremarkable as a sloppy page boy. And that only describes her physical faults. Her disposition favors the common and mundane.¡± I pointed at her shaggy mess of mis-matched hair, despite that I found the way it hung in her eyes charming. Her abundant curves also piqued my curiosity when I craved someone more substantial than the parade of identical Aos Si bodies Tir Na Nog offered. And what Maya considered dull fascinated me to no end. ¡°She¡¯s just so¡­plain.¡± ¡°Then why has saying as much reduced you to a rambling mess?¡± Father frowned, his eyebrows coming together with concern. ¡°I¡¯ll meet you in your study after I¡¯m done with these.¡± Heat crept up my neck, and I reverted my focus to the flowers. ¡°Have you need of help?¡± Father let go of Mother and joined me at the edge of the cobbled path. ¡°Your power disturbs them.¡± The daffodils had started to creep toward the Spear, but the pansies stayed obstinate. Breathing became difficult as my lungs burned from the effort. I was pouring too much of my magic into such a simple task. Yet if I did anything less, my flowers hardly noticed. ¡°May I watch then?¡± Mother¡¯s voice had a touch of girlish excitement to it. I hadn¡¯t heard that tone from her in decades. ¡°I would love to see how you practice your craft.¡± ¡°You sure you don¡¯t want to see the rest of the garden instead?¡± Maya put in. ¡°Nonsense, he only takes so long tending his plants because he keeps so many of them,¡± Father scoffed. ¡°Mortal fingers may work for hours, but he is Aos Si. This should be a trifle.¡± ¡°Not if they don¡¯t want to cooperate.¡± I gritted my teeth, thinking small prayers to Danu that Father wouldn¡¯t notice the ancient, white hot force lying under Maya. The pansies grew over Maya¡¯s legs instead of under them. ¡°Perhaps it¡¯s the soil.¡± Father stretched his long fingers into the moist earth. ¡°I will settle it.¡± ¡°I can settle my own soil,¡± I protested. ¡°You¡¯ll only make them worse.¡± ¡°A mite of trust, young son.¡± Father said. ¡°After all, your mother did not give you your affinity with the ground. Remember, I persuaded a valley to separate into a river to purchase her return.¡± ¡°Oh my, what a feat, m¡¯lord.¡± Mother bent over us at a genial distance. ¡°That is truly a fortunate woman to have a lover who goes to such lengths for her.¡± ¡°Not as much as you would think,¡± Father said with a self-effacing smile. ¡°I have done plenty to earn her scorn, as well.¡± ¡°My garden is not a valley to be parted,¡± I fussed. ¡°You must be subtle and genuine to work with more delicate plants. You lack either of those qualities.¡± ¡°Stop your moaning and get to work, hmm?¡± Father started a soft song. The ground rumbled as it shifted under the path. The man left me no choice but to redirect his magic. I sang a soft, tenor tune to better encourage blossoms to acclimate to his energy. The song was airy at best since I couldn¡¯t put more breath behind the words. My father¡¯s deep voice harmonized with my melody, adding a bass undertone to the garden crooning. His odd power fed into mine and roots swayed to the rhythm of our voices. The flowers birthed fresh green sprouts out of the dark soil under Maya¡¯s legs, and they absorbed the mass of the Spear, wrapping around the sharp blade and the angry magic of the shaft. I nodded to Maya, signaling that the Spear was safely entombed. Maya maneuvered around the new growth and returned to the path. I wiped my brow on my sleeve as I gasped. My lungs burned, my heart raced, my legs spasmed. I had to sit back. What was Maya¡¯s technique for calming a panic? Too many thoughts swam at once. I couldn¡¯t recall it. ¡°Woah. Daire?¡± Maya ran to my other side when I wheezed my answer. ¡°Head between your knees. Focus on one thing.¡± ¡°You stay away from him.¡± Father shoved Maya away and hovered over me. ¡°Speak to me. What¡¯s wrong?¡± I couldn¡¯t hold back the coughing fit anymore as my lungs rattled. It was as if my entire chest were compressing itself. I tasted thick fluid in the back of my mouth with each ragged breath. What was this? ¡°What¡¯s¡­¡± Mother¡¯s peaceful gaze snapped as she looked on at me. Her eyes widened, new awareness coming to them. She rushed over and cradled my shoulders, rocking me. ¡°What did you do, Midir? Did you make him train again? You know he can¡¯t tolerate those intense regimens of yours. He¡¯s still only a child!¡± ¡°M-Mamai, I¡¯m¡­ I¡¯m fine.¡± Another hack interrupted my reassurance. I braced myself against the ground. ¡°He isn¡¯t winded, Etain.¡± Father set a shaking hand on my back. ¡°No, you stay away from him.¡± Mother tugged me away. ¡°You¡¯ve done enough.¡± I bent over and focused on a single pebble in the path, as Maya had instructed. She had helped me before and knew the source of my turmoil. The spasms settled and the coughing calmed as I caught my breath. That fit left my chest sore. ¡°He used a lot of magic today making this place pretty.¡± Maya¡¯s even tone gave me more peace than Mother¡¯s chaotic comfort and Father¡¯s intense, oppressive aura. I managed to find enough of a center with her direction that I could take measured breaths again. ¡°This affair is none of your business, changeling.¡± Father stood between Maya and me with a ready hand gripping his sword¡¯s hilt. ¡°Run back to your master. Your time here is done.¡± Maya pushed herself to her feet and faced Father without flinching. She opened her mouth as if to say some biting remark. I looked up at her, pleading with my eyes for her to understand and hold back. She couldn¡¯t let him know how much she helped me. Even a hint might give us away. ¡°I need him to send me back.¡± Maya planted her fists on her hips. ¡°You have two good legs.¡± Father pointed toward Riona¡¯s patch of woods on the horizon. ¡°Walk there yourself.¡± ¡°Ll¨¢mame.¡± Call me. Maya turned away toward the forest. ¡°Descansar un poco.¡± Get some rest. ¡°Te dar¨¦¡­un espejo pronto.¡± I¡¯ll get you a mirror soon. I wheezed as I leaned into Mother¡¯s arm. ¡°What did you both say?¡± Father knelt back to me and looked me over with suspicious eyes. ¡°Nothing important.¡± Another cough overcame me. Mother lifted me up, letting me lean on her as she guided me toward the path. Father lingered by the unfinished patch of new irises among the daffodils and pansies. Did he sense the Spear? If he did, he didn¡¯t say anything as he joined Mother and I. Chapter 36 - Maya The pain in my gut lasted another week after Daire and I hid the Spear. At first it hit me like a bad period, then the cramping died down enough for me to manage. Rio never noticed a difference. She stayed in front of that one mirror with the sun, moon, and apple trees on its frame. One gray-tinted woman after another showed up in the glass. I passed by plenty of times on my way to see Daire. They took a passing interest, but never made any instant invitations like Manannan. Day by day, Rio¡¯s energy buzzed louder and louder until her eyes were almost black. She stayed quiet while we ate and waved me toward Daire¡¯s mirror or the boulder leading outside whenever I spoke up. I tried faking sick once, but she told me to sleep it off. Daire and I started walking through his gardens instead of chilling in his room. He¡¯d organized them into four sections, each themed after a different season. The whole place had an artful chaos to it, like a park that was carefully overgrown so the beauty seemed natural. His favorite must¡¯ve been the spring part, since we usually ended up walking around there. It had these big twisting oak trees over the paths with ivy vines hanging from them like beaded curtains. The flowers had every color a rainbow had to offer, arranged in bright swirls and scenes. I should¡¯ve focused on what he pointed out as he humble-bragged about his plants like kids. I couldn¡¯t, though. It all reminded me of Rio and how her stress changed her a little each day, smothering her sweet side and stifling her teases. All that campaigning even sucked up her stormy moods and left them a sticky drizzle. ¡°And there are my more mischievous flowers. They stray from their pattern the quickest.¡± Daire paused by the side of the stone-paved walkway and scolded the blue and red blossoms like they could listen. ¡°They like having my attention more than the others.¡± ¡°They sound great,¡± I said, only half hearing him as I batted away one of the ivy vines hanging in my face. ¡°You look like someone broke your prized horse¡¯s leg.¡± Daire rearranged a few flowers as he talked. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°It¡¯s Rio¡ªyour sister.¡± I smoothed my bangs away from my eyes. ¡°The campaign is at a dead stop right now. Even though that big shot sea guy liked her and said he¡¯d pass on a good word, the queens still haven¡¯t invited her to visit. It¡¯s really getting to her.¡± ¡°And we don¡¯t have much time left until Samhain.¡± Daire breathed harder and hunched his shoulders. ¡°Are you using magic again?¡± I wiped his forehead with the back of my hand. It came away slick and hot. ¡°You¡¯re burning up. How much did you do?¡± ¡°I rearranged a few sprouts,¡± Daire said between breaths. ¡°Nothing too taxing.¡± ¡°How long do we have left?¡± ¡°A fortnight.¡± Daire swallowed. Two weeks didn¡¯t give us much breathing room. ¡°Perhaps we should focus on the Cauldron while Riona waits for an audience. Father says we will move on from Connacht soon to Uliad. So far, I haven¡¯t found a way around Finvarra¡¯s security measures. He keeps it watched at all times by multiple guards and I have no doubt the various mirrors in the room are viewed constantly.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll have to pull a bank heist to get that thing.¡± I wrinkled my nose as I thought over the few big caper movies I knew. None of them had magic, but tight security was a universal fact. ¡°Try to see when the guards take breaks or switch out. Is there a way to make the mirrors show a loop of the same clip over and over again? We could cover them with that while we do our thing. Either that or distract the guards and make them leave their spots all at once. Maybe a riot or something.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll see what I can do.¡± Daire sighed as he looked down at his hands. The glow from his skin had faded since I first met him. Then there was that cough when we hid the Spear. I¡¯d never seen him swallow spit wrong, let alone hacking up phlegm like a bad case of bronchitis. It never sank in that he was dying until that moment. Ever since, I couldn¡¯t help but notice the little issues that freaked him out getting worse. ¡°I won¡¯t promise any grand feats.¡± ¡°Hey, we got this.¡± I squeezed his fingers. Touching settled him better than talking. ¡°Alright?¡± ¡°Yes, we do.¡± He squeezed back and held on longer. I waited as much as he needed. He gulped and let go all at once. He reached into his belt bag, then pulled out a little silver mirror about the size of my hand. He pushed it in front of me with his chest puffed out. ¡°I finished it!¡± ¡°I¡¯m guessing this is for me?¡± I took the mirror and turned it over. It reminded me of the one Daire had with the ivy on it. This one had a flower with folded petals instead. ¡°What are these? Orchids?¡± ¡°Irises.¡± Daire hid his hands behind his back. ¡°They match your hair, so they seemed fitting.¡± ¡°It¡¯s pretty. Thanks. Now where do I put it?¡± The mirror had a few pointy edges, but none of them would poke too hard if I stuck them against my skin. I turned my back to Daire and shoved it down in the side of my bra. It was an easy storage place for my phone sometimes. Same concept, right? I smoothed my shirt out and faced Daire again. ¡°See anything?¡° ¡°Where did you store¡­ Oh! In your brassiere? Ingenious.¡± Daire pinched his eyebrows together as he looked over my chest, assessing and attentive. ¡°Not to mention what it contains has a more appealing shape than I first thought.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a perk of being thick.¡± I rolled my eyes and crossed my arms over my chest to block his view. The frame poked into me. I¡¯d have to get used to that. ¡°Killjoy.¡± Daire redirected his attention to my face. ¡°Be careful changing your underthings in front of my sister. She would be far less ashamed to peek.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll handle Rio.¡± Heat rushed up my neck at the idea of her checking me out while I changed. I adjusted my bra on reflex. ¡°You worry about getting the info for the Cauldron.¡± * * * I headed back to Rio¡¯s burrow after Daire warned me his dad was on the way. I hadn¡¯t gotten the chance to tell Rio about Midir staying with the western king yet. Either she was too busy or it slipped my mind. Or was that just an excuse? I had no idea how much it would help her to know her dad was using a similar tactic, using the Key as a selling point. Midir was more conservative about it and for all he knew the Key wouldn¡¯t exist after the election. He could dangle as many false promises as he wanted. Rio had no idea about any of that stuff. If I helped Daire and she won, more people would be pissed at her. Did I keep ¡°forgetting¡± the info because deep down that scared me? My ankle bumped into something, distracting me from my intense thinking. If I¡¯d paid attention, I would¡¯ve noticed the massive silver mirror with a sun, moon, and apples laying in the middle of the tunnel. Wait, that didn¡¯t belong there. The edge of the frame had finger sized dents and someone had torn the black curtain in half where the mirror should be. Oh no, Rio. I inched deeper in. A gray cloud filled the space around the cot, rotting the walls and cracking the wood furniture. In the middle lay a dark silhouette of a familiar animal with big ears and a bushy tail: Rio¡¯s fox shape, Queenie. I went up and parked myself on the side of the cot by the fox. Queenie made a high pitched growl. ¡°Stuff with the southern queens still going bad?¡± I propped my elbows on my knees. ¡°What happened?¡± After speaking to near every Bean Sidhe in their inner circle, I managed to win a small audience with Cliona herself. Rio¡¯s voice echoed through my head. I shuddered as her foreign words invaded my thoughts. The situation must have made her forget that boundary. I pressed on anyways. ¡°That¡¯s a good thing, ain¡¯t it?¡± She called on me through that mirror, said her formal answer, then left before I uttered a single word. The dark field whined and Queenie¡¯s ears folded against her head. ¡°What¡¯d she say?¡± As if you couldn¡¯t guess. Queenie¡¯s deep red fur stood up along her back. She refuses to see me. It matters not that many of her subjects wanted to meet you, or that they agreed a change in our ways was long overdue. Mumhan, according to its ruler, will stay loyal to its own people. That monster who reigns now is from there and he ¡°does everything with the greater good in mind,¡± so she will not go against him. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡°How about you change to your normal body and we¡¯ll talk about it.¡± I stroked her spiky coat flat. Queenie snapped her teeth at me and her voice boomed through my head. I don¡¯t need your pity! ¡°Ah!¡± I flinched back and rubbed my temples. They throbbed from a sudden migraine. ¡°Fine. I¡¯ll leave you alone. I was just trying to help.¡± Queenie froze and stared at me. The dark cloud rushed into her as she changed. Her fur rearranged, growing into the long waves of hair on her head. An airy white gown spread over the rest of her. Rio sat slumped over with exhaustion and guilt. It was the closest she¡¯d ever looked to human. All she needed was dark circles under her eyes like mine. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. You don¡¯t deserve my ire.¡± She took my wrist where her fox teeth caught it. ¡°I didn¡¯t harm you, did I?¡± ¡°Only a few scratches. Nothing deep.¡± I let her do what she wanted with my arm as she turned it over. Her light touch helped soothe the headache. ¡°You¡¯re under a lot of pressure. It makes you lash out. I do the same thing.¡± ¡°This campaign has consumed me. I¡¯m unsure my motives are even from wanting to lead the Aos Si.¡± Rio rubbed her thumb over the grazes and sent tingles down my veins. ¡°If I win this, I can show my relatives that they are wrong about me. I am not a force to trifle with. They must see that.¡± ¡°I get that.¡± I gulped as I caught her fingers in mine. ¡°Going nonstop still causes burnout. Why don¡¯t you take a night and recharge? Let¡¯s get a basket, whatever passes for junk food, maybe some cheap booze, and find a nice spot to enjoy it.¡± ¡°But I have to find another way to gain Mumhan¡¯s vote.¡± Rio buried her knuckles in her hair. ¡°I must think.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll think better if you take a break.¡± I stood and tugged on her to follow. ¡°This¡¯ll help, I promise.¡± ¡°If you insist.¡± Rio sighed as she went to the magical food cupboard and opened it up. The first thing that came out was a clay jug that reeked of sweet alcohol. ¡°But I refuse to spend the few precious moments I can afford with you consuming lackluster food and drink.¡± * * * I carried the food¡ªwhich smelled like a cinnamon and honey pastry¡ªand the wine jug so Rio could frolic around as Queenie if she wanted. Rio took advantage of the opportunity, bounding over rocks and twisting through trees like a dog on an agility course. I followed a small stream further and further until my calves burned. It ended at a steeper area with a waterfall that rushed into a small lake. The full moon hung low in the sky, casting a glowing reflection in the water. ¡°This is as good a spot as any!¡± I plopped by the lake and set out the basket and jug. Queenie dashed out from the trees and sat by the basket. After transforming into her normal human-like body, Rio folded her legs and smoothed her dress under her knees. Her posture stayed too rigid and her eyes settled to a dark gray as she took out a dessert cake. I drooled at the layers of pastry held together by a thin spread of honey and some kind of cheese with nuts sprinkled over it. It reminded me of a Greek dessert Nate had made, and Nico had brought into work, for the bar¡¯s ten year anniversary. I hadn¡¯t seen those brothers in a month and a half. The last time I saw them, I¡¯d yelled at Nate and brushed off Nico¡¯s concern because I wanted to wallow in my own issues. I¡¯d have to figure out a way to smooth that over when I got back. And that meant leaving Rio behind¡­ Why did I feel so guilty over my crush on her? Rio was the same woman who¡¯d taken me from my life and dragged me into a mess of mythical politics. But she had changed, apologized for what she¡¯d done, and we were friends. Real friends didn¡¯t use or lie to each other, though, not even to help someone else. Rio put out a couple plain gold goblets with her eyebrows up. It was our ritual that whenever she had something to drink, she offered it to me. Aos Si didn¡¯t have the age restrictions on alcohol like back home in Florida. ¡°Would you like any?¡± I needed something to chill me out. This was about relaxing Rio, not indulging my doubts. ¡°Fill her up.¡± We ate in quiet, listening to the rushing of the waterfall beyond the lake and the trickling of the brook nearby. The rain back home sounded like that, growing from a tapping to a roar the longer it went. Before Abuela died, my family had this tradition of standing at the window to watch the rain roll in when a storm started. It would start as a mist, then morph into a curtain of droplets as it came closer and pounded the glass pane. I closed my eyes and took my first few sips of wine. It went down smoother than anything else I¡¯d ever tried, with a subtle sweet aftertaste. ¡°What information did your meeting with Daire yield?¡± Rio asked, interrupting my mini-zen moment. ¡°His dad is doing the same thing you are, visiting around and trying to earn support. They¡¯re in the western place right now with Fin¡­something.¡± It came out, no hesitation. Normally it took a little more to loosen me up that much. ¡°Finbarra, I think?¡± ¡°Almost. Finvarra.¡± Rio sliced a corner of our shared pastry off with a dark knife that buzzed the same as her angry energy, and clutched some stalks of grass a little too tight. ¡°He would be the easiest to sway to my side, either by appealing to his lust or his spite. I wanted to save him for after winning the rest of Manannan¡¯s Brood.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s save the campaign talk for after we get home.¡± Home. Usually I meant back with Mom when I said that word. That time I thought about the burrow instead. Was referring to it like that betraying Mom? ¡°We¡¯re relaxing, remember?¡± ¡°It has consumed my every waking moment.¡± Rio gave a defeated sigh as she leaned back against her arms. ¡°What else are we supposed to speak of?¡± ¡°We haven¡¯t talked about everything, yet.¡± I picked off a bite of the cake and swallowed it whole. It went down easy as I chased it with another sip of wine. Calm settled over my whole body like a blanket. Weird. My tolerance wasn¡¯t that bad. I¡¯d snuck drinks before and could take a couple bottles of beer before feeling a buzz. ¡°There¡¯s so much I don¡¯t know about you, and you¡¯ve been alive for God knows how long. I¡¯ve only told you about Nico and Nate so far. I haven¡¯t even mentioned Shaq and Frankie, yet. Then there¡¯s the future¡­¡± ¡°How does one speak of the future when it is so uncertain?¡± Rio¡¯s one swig of wine lasting longer than all my sips combined. ¡°You say what you want.¡± My fuzzy thoughts painted everything in a dreamlike state, full of possibilities. ¡°Think of the best possible outcome and how you¡¯ll get there, make a silly plan. It doesn¡¯t always happen that way, but it¡¯s nice to dream a little. Who knows? It could come true if you imagine it enough.¡± ¡°It¡¯s rare that things are as simple as we dream them to be.¡± Rio stared at me, her eyes swirling with unspoken thoughts. ¡°Your confidence, however naive, is tempting.¡± ¡°How is it naive? I get that my life isn¡¯t perfect. A lot is missing. But if I want this impossible thing and that unrealistic goal, why should I have to choose? I can make a way to get both.¡± I snapped my trap shut before I got into specifics, and glanced down at my half empty goblet. ¡°How strong is this stuff? It¡¯s just wine, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°It¡¯s wine from Tir Na Nog. That makes it more potent.¡± Rio hid her amused grin behind another sip. Silver specks flashed in her irises. ¡°Should I stop you from finishing?¡± ¡°No.¡± I set the goblet down and took a bite of cake. Nico said that eating kept people from getting drunk. Or was that one of the myths he¡¯d debunked? ¡°I¡¯ll pace myself better.¡± ¡°Very well.¡± Rio slid the jug out of my reach. ¡°As for your perspective on what lies ahead, I used to see it like you. I viewed my future as an open wood with unpredictable twists around every tree. It was thrilling, freeing. Then I became caged within Tir Na Nog. Now it seems like a set road. There are forks here and there, but all lead to similar cycles. Even now, when I seek to wander from the path, I fear the High King¡¯s seat will only offer a different version of the same trail if I win it.¡± ¡°Then you¡¯re setting yourself up to fail no matter what you do.¡± ¡°How would you paint my future?¡± ¡°That depends.¡± I leaned against her arm as lightheadedness caught up with me. ¡°What do you want? No limits.¡± ¡°For others to respect me for my merits. Not to live in the shadow of blood-ties or history. The freedom to do as I please and a steadfast companion to share it with.¡± The moon made Rio¡¯s ethereal glow all the brighter. Mom had always mistaken her for an angel in her stories. At that moment I could kind of see why. ¡°Now your turn.¡± ¡°I see you in a simple house of your own, surrounded by nature.¡± I closed my eyes and let my imagination get carried away with the picture. She sat on a sofa in a little one story buried in the suburbs by a big nature preserve. It¡¯d be at least thirty minutes from everywhere without much furniture, but she¡¯d keep fox themed decorations here and there for personality. ¡°But you¡¯ve got this big job nobody else can do. People call you a lot asking for your help. There¡¯s so many offers, you get to be picky with which ones you go out to and which ones you don¡¯t. If you want to stay in bed or take the day off, you do it. When somebody really needs it, you¡¯re there in a heartbeat. Everybody else? They¡¯re at your mercy instead.¡± ¡°And the steadfast companion?¡± ¡°Whatever you want.¡± I popped into my fantasy, laying on the sofa next to Rio and resting on her lap. I swallowed that answer. ¡°The president of the United States, or a Pomeranian that yips too much.¡± It took a second for that to make it through the translation spell. She winced. ¡°No dogs.¡± ¡°How about a guinea pig? They¡¯re cute.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t realize how your constitution would take the wine.¡± Rio snickered. ¡°Would you rather sit awhile until it passes, or have me help you back home?¡± There was that word again. Home. It brought thoughts of the burrow more than the tiny apartment I shared with Mom. At its heart was the same warm body I leaned against. With everyone I loved far away, Rio sat nice and soft and there. I looked up at her and her heart-shaped mouth. That urge had stayed buried under distractions for the last couple weeks, but the wine made my inhibitions thin. I should¡¯ve dug up the nerve to stop. I pressed my mouth against Rio¡¯s instead. The silver sparks in Rio¡¯s eyes jumped and tinted them pale blue. They clamped down on my heart without letting go. Was it the effects of the wine or some kind of magic pulling me apart? I didn¡¯t care as the swirling thoughts in my head focused into one: yes. Rio squeezed both my shoulders, her nails digging for a clinging second. She pulled me away and bit her lower lip, the same as when she was thinking over how to say something I wouldn¡¯t like. ¡°I should get myself back,¡± I blurted in a rush as I scrambled up. I wobbled at first as I searched for that stream I¡¯d used to find the mystical spot. ¡°Maya, wait.¡± Rio stood up and held my arm, steadying me. ¡°Let me guide you, at least.¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± I yanked myself away. Cold dread replaced the warm bubble from the kiss. Panic twisted my stomach. What had I done? ¡°I¡¯m just a little tipsy. I can still remember how I got here. You stay and¡­finish the treats. Get in a few more minutes of relaxing.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be stubborn, Maya¡ª¡± ¡°Stop.¡± I turned away from her, forcing myself to look at anything else. ¡°I can handle this. I don¡¯t need you.¡± Rio went quiet. The whining buzz of her energy ran under the faint rush of the waterfall. I took off at a fumbling jog to the stream toward the burrow. After that? I had to find somewhere else. When did I let myself get so comfortable? How had a little trust turned to a heart-crunching want? I knew better, and Rio¡¯s kind rejection shouldn¡¯t hurt so much. Chapter 37 - Daire I excused myself from Finvarra¡¯s abode daily to report any news to Maya and apply new layers to the Spear¡¯s hiding place. No one had discovered the legendary treasure resting in my garden yet. I couldn¡¯t depend on that luck. We had to make progress. I harvested the plants I needed for the dream draught and explored Finvarra¡¯s abode. I couldn¡¯t risk wandering any further than our quarters in my physical state, lest Una send one of her agents to capture me. I dragged myself along at a sluggish pace, absorbing Finvarra¡¯s thick threads of aqua, green, and gold power. None were as intricate as Uliad, but they shared a universal system that spanned the grounds. Upsetting one would set off warnings everywhere. Many such alarms were clustered around the Cauldron¡¯s resting place at the very end of the structure. The massive bronze bowl sat atop a pedestal in the center of its holding chamber. All manner of mirrors coated every surface of the domed walls, one for every Aos Si in Tir Na Nog by my count. Platters of lavish meals and wines flowed from the massive artifact to each glowing glass. I came long after the evening supper hour, and still dozens of dishes at a time flew from the Cauldron¡¯s mouth. I slogged back to my physical body and woke with my head in a daze. Every part of me ached and the dreamwalking only left a fraction of my power untouched. If I waited much longer, I might not have the strength to use that ability anymore. Ideas dashed to and fro through my mind in an obsessive frenzy, each as fruitless as the last. ¡°You did this to me didn¡¯t you?¡± Mother¡¯s shrill voice broke through my groggy thoughts. She pressed herself against the headboard of her bed and gaped across the room at Father. ¡°Lady Etain, I did not take your power or weaken you thus.¡± Father stood next to his cot by the hearth, and held up his bare palms in surrender. Scratches covered him and a fresh burn frayed his tunic. ¡°I swear on all of my forefathers that I have done nothing. You are human from a tragic series of events my former wife inflicted on you. Your mind and memories are addled from how long you have lived in that mortal body.¡± ¡°How do you lie, Midir? No matter. I care not!¡± Mother glared at him, her nose wrinkling as she outstretched her fingers. Nothing happened. She pushed the empty air and no force came. ¡°This won¡¯t make me another one of your mistresses. I denied you once. I shall deny you again!¡± ¡°Mother, what¡¯s going on?¡± This was an identity of hers I¡¯d never seen. She knew of Father and remembered him. However she didn¡¯t rail at him for the usual crimes of stealing her daughter, tricking her away from her husband, or closing her off from the world. Mother turned to me with a puzzled frown. ¡°Mamai?¡± ¡°Do you speak of me?¡± She flinched, agast. ¡°I have no children! I have laid with others, but I haven¡¯t birthed a child. May that day never come. Do you mistake me for another, stranger?¡± ¡°About time you woke, boy.¡± Father offered his hand and helped me upright. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± I addressed Father instead. What had she reverted to? What sorts of phantoms did she see to make her forget her only son? ¡°Lady Etain is once more the wild lass of centuries ago who I pined for from afar,¡± Father said with an edge of bitter nostalgia. ¡°And she believes me to have stolen her essence and turned her mortal.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t speak of me as if I am not standing before you!¡± Mother hurled a pillow at Father with more heft than I¡¯d ever seen her show as a demure, courtly lady. ¡°I know your intentions and your reputation very well, Midir the Proud. Is this another one of your hoard of sons and fosterlings?¡± ¡°Yes, he is. Though my children are less of a hoard these days.¡± Father caught the pillow and set it aside on his cot. He leaned over to me and mumbled, ¡°Any ideas?¡± ¡°None whatsoever.¡± I could only blink. Did she see herself as in the prime of her youth, before she considered marrying Father? ¡°I assure you, m¡¯lady, we have met many times, though you don¡¯t remember it.¡± ¡°So you¡¯re in league with him?¡± Mother squinted as she gave me a closer perusal. ¡°Is that you, Aengus? In some kind of disguise? You would certainly have the power to do this!¡± Oh no. Someone rapped at the door. A woman¡¯s voice came from the other side¡ªone of the usual patrols in charge of our corridor. ¡°Is something amiss? I heard shouting.¡± ¡°Fetch my father!¡± Mother yelled. ¡°There are a couple unwelcome intruders in my room.¡± ¡°It¡¯s none of your concern,¡± Father added. ¡°My wife and I are in the middle of a heated discussion, nothing more.¡± ¡°Your wife?¡± Mother took in the rest of the room as if seeking unseen figures among the furniture. ¡°Did you sneak Fuamnach in here with us?¡± ¡°I was sent to inform you that dinner will begin soon, m¡¯lord,¡± the guard said before her footsteps faded to another direction. ¡°Oh what a handful you are, dear heart.¡± Father groaned as he tugged his fingers through his hair. Hints of an amused grin pulled at the corners of his mouth. ¡°Daire, I leave this in your clumsy hands.¡± ¡°As if she will listen to me any better like this,¡± I stammered. ¡°Mother¡ª¡± ¡°I am no one¡¯s mother.¡± She threw another cushion my way. Father caught it and flung it on his cot with the others. ¡°Lady Etain, then.¡± I approached with slow steps, always keeping my hands where she could see them. ¡°Do indulge me a moment. Concentrate, if you will. Do you remember where you are?¡± ¡°Ludicrous.¡± Mother crossed her arms over her chest. ¡°I am Etain, daughter of Ailill. We are in my father¡¯s house. Where else would I be?¡± ¡°Ailill¡¯s abode did not keep you within these oppressive walls.¡± Father gestured to the room and encompassed the all too human state of it. ¡°Your wing had gossamer curtains held aloft by alabaster pillars. You loathed any barriers between you and the wind, the grass, the sun. Not even your horses were confined in stables, but allowed to run wild across the fields. This is a far cry from where you once lived.¡± Mother¡¯s shoulders twitched as she looked around. Neither the illusion of the thatch roof over our heads, nor the strong wood closing us in, resembled Father¡¯s description. She shuddered as she withdrew under the fur covers. Real fear clouded her eyes before she squeezed them shut. I sat next to her on the edge of the bed and touched her shoulder. ¡°Mamai?¡± ¡°Who are you?¡± Mother jerked away. ¡°It¡¯s me, your son.¡± I left my hand suspended between us. ¡°Trust me, Mamai. Remember?¡± ¡°My son?¡± Mother inhaled, then let it all out at once. Her trembling calmed, and she clamped onto me. Her grip stayed tight, clawing even, like I was the only floating driftwood she could find while lost at sea. ¡°Little swan. Yes. Daire.¡± ¡°Finvarra expects us to dine with him,¡± Father said as he approached. ¡°I can send along my regrets and agree to another time.¡± ¡°But you never cancel anything.¡± All my life, my frequent tardiness unnerved him and brought out his most piercing remarks. Aunt Brigid used to say if he ever missed an event or a meeting, it meant someone had struck him down. ¡°You are running for High King,¡± Mother said, a note of mutual disbelief in her voice. ¡°You mustn¡¯t show such an error in front of a noble if you wish him to vote in your favor.¡± ¡°I couldn¡¯t care less what any of them think of me,¡± Father said with a self-effacing grin. ¡°I have put them before you for too long, and I am learning too late the consequences of those actions.¡± ¡°You called me addled more than once.¡± Mother scooted toward me. ¡°You treated my condition as something to be hidden away, an unfortunate embarrassment.¡± ¡°I know. While I understand you can¡¯t forgive centuries of neglect in a single evening, I would like to start building back some of the good faith we once had.¡± Father held her gaze, steady and sure. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter to me that you have fits where you won¡¯t remember it. They are a part of you now. I realize that.¡± Mother fell silent as she stared him down. She didn¡¯t reply, but let go of me and leaned over toward the end table where her brush lay. ¡°Daire, make me a sapphire gown with gold trimmings. Do what you like with the designs. Your father has a High Kingship to win, and I intend to see that he succeeds so he will honor our deal.¡± I flexed my power and tested to see if I could do as she asked. Even in my depleted state, I could deny her nothing. I went behind her and focused on altering the gown she already wore. It was easier to change a thing than create it from air. My glamour went out from me into her dress. The color flickered and changed to a deep, shimmering blue like the gemstone she spoke of. I gritted my teeth as I plucked a couple strands of my hair and used that to weave the gold trim she¡¯d wanted into the hem and collar of the gown. My lungs burned as my paltry design revealed itself thread by thread. I clenched my jaw as I subdued my panting. A glamour that common shouldn¡¯t have left me so winded. ¡°Good boy.¡± Mother didn¡¯t seem to notice as she offered me a kind smile and patted my cheek. She held out her arm for Father, the smile falling away. ¡°Shall we?¡± Father graced her with a courteous bow and hooked his arm in hers. All my life she had preferred me to escort her. That was the first time I¡¯d seen her willingly choose Father first. * * * A question still hovered unanswered on my mind as Father and Finvarra debated for the third night in a row: how could Maya and I take the Cauldron in secret? The only times it wasn¡¯t in use were few and far between, feast days when all of Tir Na Nog gathered at Tara. Yet that wouldn¡¯t happen again until Samhain. I couldn¡¯t orchestrate an event that grand in the meantime, could I? ¡°Our mutual ancestor was known as a generous host, even more so during his rule,¡± Finvarra said, interrupting my thoughts. ¡°He shared his power with everyone. Dagda the Good, remember? Your family hoarding the Key is tantamount to me deciding that his Cauldron should only supply food at my whims.¡± ¡°That is well within your right as its caretaker, your majesty,¡± Father replied, frustration boiling in his tone. He continued to wear the pommel of his sword with his thumb under the table. Mother stilled his weapon with her steady hand, and it stayed sheathed. ¡°As it is within the High King¡¯s right to keep such great power held at bay. It isn¡¯t some bounty to be used at anyone¡¯s whims. The Key is a protective measure that keeps us safe. Or do you forget the Fomor magic that exiled us from Eire and slaughtered the majority of our race, Connacht¡¯s population included? I doubt it has disappeared from the lands. Even if it has, humanity still outnumbers us by the millions.¡± Stolen story; please report. ¡°Midir will surely be more flexible than his predecessor,¡± Mother added. ¡°His Majesty Bodb Derg has grown weary with his many years on the throne. Do you think my husband will be the same when he¡¯s newly crowned? The change of authority is sure to usher in an era of prosperity for what number we have left. And he will have me and our son as his council, two people very sympathetic to your cause. A compromise can be reached.¡± ¡°My people need a sign of good faith that he won¡¯t repeat his eldest brother¡¯s mistake of keeping Tara¡¯s wealth locked away, including the Key¡¯s privileges.¡± Finvarra tapped his fingers against the table in succession with each other. His attention drifted toward Mother¡¯s chest as his eyes swirled. A sure sign he would dismiss us soon, as he had the night before. ¡°Have you ever tried withholding the Cauldron¡¯s bounty?¡± I blurted. Everyone at the table swiveled in my direction. I had fallen quiet up to that point and I took a timely bite of bread after the remark as the startled silence settled. ¡°No I haven¡¯t, lad.¡± Finvarra threw a glare Father¡¯s way. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t dare do that to the people of Tir Na Nog, not unless there was a feast where everyone could attend. That is the difference between my ruling style and the current regime.¡± ¡°Perhaps you might demonstrate your point for Father, then.¡± I set my roll aside and swallowed as the idea bubbled up. ¡°Hold a grand feast and cut off the wealth of the Cauldron to everyone but Connacht¡¯s subjects, if only for a night. Then he could see the consequences of his strict attitude for himself. At the same time, such an event could grant your considerable host some deserved rest from standing constant guard over the treasure.¡± ¡°Do you realize what that would do to my reputation?¡± Finvarra frowned as he crossed his arms. He resembled Bodb so much. All he needed was a waterfall of beard. ¡°At best, it would earn you a few more scathing rumors. At worst, a civil war will break out and our force would be all the more dedicated,¡± Una remarked with a shrug. ¡°One night shouldn¡¯t provoke that much ire, and it shows everyone how much power we wield over them. They have taken us for granted ever since your cousins took power. We are the lesser of the Dagda¡¯s house, the lowest of the provinces. All this, despite having the second highest population and the most genuine animals salvaged from the mortal world.¡± ¡°I think it¡¯s a wonderful idea.¡± Mother nudged Father. ¡°Don¡¯t you agree, Lord-Husband?¡± ¡°For once, I agree with King Finvarra, though for different reasons. We shouldn¡¯t risk upsetting the other provinces in such a way, not with the constant tensions between them. You may not care if a civil war breaks out, Lady Una, but that is the sole reason I paid a visit to your prosperous home. We cannot afford further division of our people.¡± Father shook his head at me in warning. That gesture always ordered me to keep my mouth shut, but when did that ever stop me? ¡°Cast an open invitation to all the people of every province,¡± I suggested. Mother offered me a proud smile as she caught on. She tended to see my connections better than others. ¡°This feast would showcase the wealth of Connacht to all, as Lady Una likes, boast the generosity of King Finvarra¡¯s rule, and demonstrate Connacht¡¯s perspective. All while creating a new chance to bring the Aos Si together, as my father desires.¡± ¡°It stands to reason we all could learn something from my clever son¡¯s idea.¡± Mother added on, addressing the three monarchs at once. ¡°What say you?¡± ¡°I suppose the idea has merit when you put it that way.¡± Finvarra scratched the rugged stubble on his chin that he never bothered to shave. ¡°You almost sounded like a diplomat for a moment, Little Daire.¡± The way Una said it made her nostrils flare and lips purse with distaste. ¡°Because I am not a child anymore, m¡¯lady.¡± I met her gaze, hard and resolute. ¡°And if you wouldn¡¯t mind, my name is Daire, Lord of Ivy. Nothing ¡®little¡¯ about it.¡± Father¡¯s mouth curled up for a moment, but the expression vanished as he nodded his assent. ¡°It¡¯s a fair plan, so long as all are welcome. Travel doesn¡¯t pose much limitation to us. And don¡¯t you enjoy hosting guests, your majesty?¡± ¡°Danu only knows I do.¡± Finvarra feigned a sigh as he leaned his chin on his fist. ¡°We should begin to plan this party, shouldn¡¯t we?¡± Power emanated from the pouch on my belt, subtle and pulsing. I peeked inside to find my mirror glowing with a gold ring around its frame. Who would call me at that hour? The power felt like it came from me. Yet I couldn¡¯t call myself. Did it come from the mirror I had given Maya? ¡°I¡¯ll let you all discuss that without me.¡± I closed the pouch and stood from the bench, offering a cursory bow at my waist. ¡°Apologies, but the time has come for me to depart. The gardens await.¡± ¡°Midir and I will come to fetch you soon and see what you¡¯ve done.¡± Mother squeezed my hand goodbye as I walked from the table. ¡°I look forward to hearing all about it.¡± Father cast me a knowing look. I would have to ask for a status report from Maya between discussing what she really needed me for. I marched my way back to our quarters. * * * ¡°What is it?¡± I asked into the mirror as I pulled it out of my pouch. I¡¯d closed the door to our quarters and locked it behind me. Returning home straightaway would be a challenge. My power hadn¡¯t fully recovered from dreamwalking and glamouring Mother her dress. ¡°Hey, you busy?¡± Maya¡¯s face appeared in the reflective surface and her voice seemed thick over the magical connection. ¡°A bit. We were in the middle of dinner.¡± I grinned with my triumph. ¡°Speaking of which, I have good news.¡± ¡°Great. But first, I¡¯m kinda lost.¡± ¡°How?¡± I searched behind her for hints. A small field of white flowers was behind her and spiny branches stretched over her head. That was the southern portion of the grounds, themed after winter. ¡°You weren¡¯t in your room so I tried looking for you around the garden, but it¡¯s huge. Then I remembered you were still staying with what¡¯s-his-face and¡­¡± She trailed off and wiped her dribbling nose on her shirt collar. Her cheeks had wet splotches on them. Were those tear trails? ¡°I think I¡¯m somewhere on your dad¡¯s property.¡± ¡°Maya, is something amiss?¡± My chest grew tense at those odd signs of sadness from her. I¡¯d seen her despondent, resigned, but never distraught enough to openly cry. ¡°K-kinda.¡± Maya hiccupped and blinked hard. ¡°I wasn¡¯t sure if it was okay to talk to you about it ¡®cause I knew you¡¯d be mad, but I literally don¡¯t have anybody else and I get it was stupid, but I got a little drunk and¡ª¡± ¡°Say no more. Set the mirror down. I¡¯ll be there in a moment.¡± I mustered the power I¡¯d need to open a gate to her location. Coughing up both lungs would hurt far less than seeing my headstrong friend succumb to tears. Aengus had shown me how to use my emotions rather than my environment to fuel my magic and compel it to act. I pulled from my concern for Maya, the strongest feeling burning in my chest. What had reduced her to tears? Had Riona done something? An image of rushing through to save her came to mind, as if I were a chivalric knight and she were a damsel stranded in a tower. The notion that I fancied myself a hero, however silly, drove the magic to spread the mirror¡¯s frame wide and let me through. That rush of magic left me light headed and dizzy as I climbed through to a cobbled path and pulled my mirror in with me. My knees gave out as I stumbled against the stones, hacking and gripping my taut chest. It might have drained me, but I could rest while talking. Beds of camellias and hydrangeas made the illusion of blue-tinted snow while evergreens shaded the paths rather than oaks. I had come out under a patch of firs. Maya sat there against one of the trunks and hugged her knees to her chin, her entire posture wound tight. She didn¡¯t look at me yet, despite the ruckus I made as I caught my breath. ¡°That took longer to recover from than I expected.¡± I tentatively approached Maya and settled next to her, not touching but near enough for her to feel my presence. ¡°What happened?¡± She sucked in the piercing on her lower lip and picked up her mirror from the grass. I looked away until she arranged it back under her brassiere, crossing my legs as I waited. Bits of my strength returned once my breathing evened and my heart slowed. ¡°I think I did something stupid.¡± Maya wiped her cheeks with the heel of her hand. She still hadn¡¯t met my eyes. ¡°I mean, it didn¡¯t feel stupid at the time, but I wasn¡¯t thinking real straight and my head¡¯s still kind of fuzzy.¡± ¡°You mentioned something about alcohol. I take it you had some of our wine. It seems harmless at first, but creeps up on you.¡± So many questions waited to come out. What had she done? Had Riona offered something to her without telling her what it was? Did my half-sister try to take advantage of Maya¡¯s dazed state? If I bombarded her with too many queries at once, she might shy away and close off from me. ¡°Yeah. I didn¡¯t even drink the whole cup and I¡¯m a mess.¡± She clenched her jaw as she turned to face me. ¡°Rio and I¡­we kissed.¡± ¡°What sort of kiss do you mean?¡± My suspicion got the better of me as I looked over her shirt for tears, dirt smudges from scurrying away, any signs of struggle. ¡°Was it forced on you?¡± ¡°No. I kissed her first.¡± Maya swallowed as new moisture gathered around her eyelashes. ¡°And she did the nice thing and pushed me away. I yelled at her. Now I feel like crap.¡± A toxic mix of sour fear and disappointment ate at my concern. Anger threatened to join it. ¡°What were you thinking?¡± ¡°I wasn¡¯t, alright?¡± She hugged her knees tighter to her. ¡°Don¡¯t think your lecture wasn¡¯t playing in my head all the way here.¡± ¡°It¡¯s more than the impossibility of that relationship.¡± Those darker emotions squeezed over my heart and my chest ached anew. ¡°You know how dangerous she is. She could ruin both our chances at making it out of Tir Na Nog alive. Don¡¯t you still want to leave?¡± ¡°Yeah, I get it,¡± Maya said through gritted teeth. Part of me wanted to rail against her like when Father did something callous. But the faint moonlight peeking through the pine branches made her fresh tear-trails glisten. I pressed my mouth into a line, holding back more biting words. The ugliest reaction stayed buried: jealous hurt. I¡¯d never felt that possessive sting before when she¡¯d spoken fondly of Riona. Was it possible I also harbored the same kind of impossible infatuation? ¡°Forgive my harshness,¡± I said, softening my voice. The heroic idea that inspired the portal seemed even more ridiculous. She¡¯d come to me seeking a confidant, not some daring champion. ¡°Panic took control of my tongue for a moment.¡± ¡°I figured you¡¯d be mad since I¡¯m doing everything you told me not to.¡± Maya¡¯s tension eased some, her arms relaxing. ¡°Hell, I told myself not to do this. That didn¡¯t work either.¡± ¡°The heart often has a mind of its own and makes us do foolish things, even if we know better.¡± ¡°Is it really that foolish?¡± Maya¡¯s voice grew higher with uncertainty. ¡°Once we got on the same page, she was really sweet. I¡¯ve brought up going home before. She¡¯s opened up to it a lot. We could try a few dates and see where it goes, couldn¡¯t we?¡± Of all the questions she could ask, why that one? I didn¡¯t answer at first. Should I give her a gentle deception that would encourage her vain hope? Riona had done much the same when I helped her show Maya a falsified vision of Jennifer Diaz¡¯s condition. Maya was happier for it, but eventually she would discover the uncertain truth about her mother¡¯s dire fate. Riona¡¯s scheme would be undone and Maya would know the part I played in it. While my vows kept me from telling her the mistakes of my sister and I outright, it would be worse to build on them. ¡°The chances are that bad, huh?¡± ¡°Nothing is impossible,¡± I started. ¡°Let¡¯s say that I survive to be free of the High King¡¯s control, that Father or Riona takes the throne without any bloodshed, and that you are free to go home and carry on with whoever you want. The future between the two of you is still precarious. Where would the two of you live? Would you insist that it be the human world, where she would have to learn a whole new way of life, only to watch you die? Will you be willing to stay in Tir Na Nog with her, where you would outlive all you hold dear and endure the scandals of the Aos Si forever? I doubt either of you could maintain a courtship where you both were in separate worlds, since time flows so differently between here and there.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not even thinking about a long term commitment yet.¡± ¡°True. Have you thought through the more immediate concerns?¡± I sifted through Mother¡¯s descriptions of her dysfunctional history with Father. ¡°Do you know for sure whether she shares your reservations about the future, or if she already sees you as a lifelong companion? Can you trust what she tells you? Do you know how you will deal with her innate possessive nature? Be warned, she has one like all Aos Si. No matter how much she controls it, she will have difficulty suppressing her jealous urges should you grow too close to someone else. That could very well lead to trickery so she can keep you hers.¡± ¡°So not impossible, just crazy complicated.¡± Maya sagged against her knees with a sigh. ¡°And that¡¯s even assuming she likes me back.¡± ¡°She does seem genuinely fond of you. Yet when Aos Si feel something, it is intense and consuming. It makes moderation difficult, and can overwhelm someone who is unsure. There¡¯s no telling what the consequences will be.¡± ¡°She wouldn¡¯t be cool living with me in the human world, would she?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure. You might think of a discreet way to ask her.¡± I mulled over what I knew of my sister¡¯s feelings. It didn¡¯t amount to much. Her sire I knew all too well. ¡°She might tolerate the prospect at first. But it would wear on her as you aged. Should you change your mind and wish to stay in Tir Na Nog forever, then she would happily whisk you away and you two might live together here. If you wanted to grow old and die, however, I cannot see her agreeing to let you go through with it.¡± ¡°Let me?¡± Maya wrinkled her nose. ¡°But it¡¯s my choice.¡± ¡°If she¡¯s like Father, she would do everything in her considerable power to keep you alive and with her, whether you wanted it or not.¡± Maya went quiet, looking past me into the decorative flower beds. She let her head rest against my shoulder. ¡°You should consider what you would like to do, then talk to Riona with that in mind.¡± I tentatively wrapped my arm around her, loose enough she could shrug it off at any time. Fatigue had nothing to do with how my heart pounded harder in my chest. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. If I get to the point where I want to ask her to help us, I¡¯ll run it by you first,¡± Maya said, almost as an afterthought. I believed her, without a doubt in my mind. ¡°You said you had news about that?¡± ¡°Yes, I devised a plan for the Cauldron.¡± I stayed still, as if a single twitch would send her racing away. ¡°We don¡¯t have to discuss it yet. Is there more on your mind?¡± ¡°Not that I¡¯m ready to talk about.¡± She leaned into my arm. ¡°Can we sit here for a bit?¡± ¡°Always.¡± Chains rattled further up the path. I glanced up, frozen in place. My sister drifted to a halt in front of us. Chapter 38 - Maya ¡°You came to him?¡± Rio¡¯s glow thickened into a gray mist and hummed. That wasn¡¯t a good sign. She zeroed in on Daire¡¯s arm around me. ¡°Yeah. I needed somebody to talk to.¡± I shrugged his arm off and walked up to her. My head still swam, but not enough to throw off my balance. ¡°I¡¯ll leave you two to talk.¡± Daire supported himself against the tree trunk as he got up. His breathing hitched. Was sitting there not enough rest from going through the mirror portal? He couldn¡¯t take on Rio in that condition. ¡°You¡¯re not going anywhere unless I like your explanation.¡± Rio went to step around me. Her chain bracelet extended into the same kind of whip she used sometimes in combat practice. Daire backed into the tree, watching that swinging chain as he white-knuckled the bark. ¡°What¡¯re you doing?¡± I moved in her way. Rio bumped into me. ¡°Teaching that welp a lesson.¡± ¡°What lesson? He didn¡¯t do anything.¡± ¡°He¡¯s with them.¡± Rio¡¯s jaw went stiff and her pupils narrowed to snake-like slits. ¡°His vows don¡¯t stop him exploiting your trust.¡± ¡°I can handle him myself.¡± I held my ground and pointed to the chain bracelet she¡¯d given me. ¡°Besides, that¡¯s what this is for isn¡¯t it? It¡¯s supposed to protect me when you¡¯re not around.¡± ¡°Then why was he hanging onto you if not trying to take advantage?¡± Rio glared past me to her little brother. ¡°I have known him far longer than you. He¡¯s not as witless as he appears.¡± ¡°So should I believe him about you? He¡¯s known you way longer than I have.¡± I grabbed her chain whip and stopped its predatory swinging. ¡°According to him, you¡¯re a jealous bully. I thought you were better than the shit you¡¯ve been through. Am I wrong?¡± ¡°You know me better than he ever could.¡± ¡°So if I¡¯m right, then he doesn¡¯t know you as well as he thinks. Maybe you don¡¯t know him as well as you think either.¡± ¡°You¡¯re defending that brat?¡± ¡°Yeah, I am.¡± I planted my hands on my hips. ¡°He¡¯s my friend and I won¡¯t let you hurt him.¡± ¡°He¡¯s loyal to them. Does that mean he¡¯s swayed your allegiance?¡± ¡°I can be friends with him and still be on your side.¡± ¡°Only until Samhain.¡± Rio tightened her shaking fingers around the chain. ¡°Then where will your heart lie?¡± ¡°Come on, I¡¯ve trusted you this far.¡± I covered her fist and squeezed. ¡°Can¡¯t you trust me too?¡± She went still, and her dark field paused its discordant droning. I couldn¡¯t imagine how many conflicting urges and feelings she had to sort through. But if petty hate was the only reason she wanted to hurt Daire, she could look past it. I wanted to believe that. I had to. Rio opened her mouth like she wanted to say something. A shout made her look away, further down the path. ¡°Away from my son, Fomor-touched!¡± Daire¡¯s dad charged at us. Rio yanked me out of Midir¡¯s rampage. Midir skidded to a stop between us and Daire. The air around him crackled with a funny electricity and the ground rumbled. Etain ran up behind Midir and patted Daire down. ¡°Are you hurt?¡± Daire shook his head as he rested against her. ¡°You choose now to become protective, Midir?¡± Rio shoved me behind her and kept that chain out. Her field expanded to include me, and its whining made my ears ring. ¡°Where were you all those years when I marked your precious boy? Where will you be when I defeat you and he becomes mine?¡± ¡°I have endured you for centuries because my sister saw some kernel of potential in you, my wretched spawn.¡± Midir glowed brighter and the ground shook so hard, I had to grab Rio to stay up. ¡°You have yet to realize it, and I refuse to wait any longer. Come Samhain, my vows to you will expire, and my first act as High King will be ridding my family of your threat. Your days of haunting us will end by my hands. This I promise!¡± ¡°You act as if you did me such a service by letting me exist all these years, my vile sire. I am a threat of your own making.¡± Rio¡¯s voice dropped to a low hiss, her energy amplifying it. ¡°You and your brothers¡¯ reckoning will come.¡± Those declarations rocketed any remote chance either Rio or Midir would win the election without anybody dying far out to space. If only Midir had shown up after Rio and I left. Rio was calming down. We could have gone back to the burrow and talked out the rest. I looked across the way at Daire as my stomach dropped. If his dad did win, what would happen to Rio and me? Daire gaped helplessly back. He didn¡¯t offer any answer as he clung to his mom. * * * Midir banished Rio and I from the property. We left through the nearest pool. My mood dipped again the moment Rio and I emerged into the burrow. Rio was screwed no matter who got elected. The only way she¡¯d live through it was beating Midir. But if she won, she wouldn¡¯t have the Key and the whole country might turn on her. Her best chance was coming with Daire, Etain, and me to the human world. It meant forfeiting and leaving her home forever. Winning was so important to her, though. Would it matter so much if she found another way out? I held my head as I made my way down the hall. My growing to-do list blurred together. Talk to Rio about her options without implicating Daire. Ask Daire if Rio could come along. Steal a freakin¡¯ giant cauldron. First I had to sleep off the last of the buzz from the wine and slap a bandaid on my tangled feelings. A hand on my shoulder stopped me. ¡°We must settle what happened, now,¡± Rio said, her tone final and not leaving room for backing off. ¡°I needed somebody to talk to and Daire¡¯s the only other person I¡¯ve got in this place.¡± My eyes stung. She¡¯d probably noticed signs that I¡¯d cried. ¡°I didn¡¯t say anything that¡¯ll hurt you running for High King. He didn¡¯t make any moves on me. I wouldn¡¯t let him if he tried. I¡¯m not apologizing for sticking up for him ¡®cause it was the right thing to do. That about cover it?¡± Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. ¡°You¡¯re right. I let my temper get the better of me. You held your connection with Daire and ensured you could continue gleaning information from him. I wasn¡¯t referring to that.¡± Rio guided me around toward her. I could¡¯ve resisted, but I didn¡¯t bother. My attention settled on her stomach instead of her face. She touched my forehead with her cool palm, stunning all my swirling thoughts like she¡¯d splashed icy water on them. ¡°Is your mind working properly now?¡± I nodded as I sniffed phlegm back into my sinuses. It was a gentle let down coming. Others had given me similar speeches before. I only got crushes on certain people after we¡¯d made a crazy close connection. It snuck up on me the same way it had with Rio. She took my chin and tilted it up. I took a deep breath as I met her eyes. They were the same dim slate as when something bothered her. Small silver flecks fought to light up the shadowy parts. ¡°I appreciated the outing. It was a refreshing reprieve from the pressures I¡¯ve been under.¡± Rio gave me a thankful smile as she cupped my cheek. Her thumb brushed the corner of my mouth as it wiped at damp tear splotches. ¡°And your affectionate gesture was awkward, but flattering to say the least.¡± ¡°It¡¯s¡­not something I do a lot.¡± My face exploded with heat and my heart kicked up a few notches with silly hope I might be wrong about that let down. ¡°Is there a ¡®but¡¯ coming?¡± ¡°Sadly, yes.¡± Rio¡¯s smile fell and the silver flecks winked out. ¡°That encounter between Midir and I was accidental, but it served as a timely reminder. Were it only my pride riding on my victory, I could risk exploring what¡¯s between us. Now my survival depends on winning the High King¡¯s seat. This commitment requires my utmost focus. You are very dear to me. That means I cannot afford the distraction you pose, no matter how much I would like to.¡± ¡°You¡¯re saying you like me back but we can¡¯t do anything about it until after you get elected.¡± I gulped as my heart rate stayed up. This wasn¡¯t as bad as I expected. It gave me time to work out a way with Daire to bring her in on the plan. It was the most dangerous thing she could¡¯ve said. ¡°And what about then?¡± ¡°It would be better to have that discussion once we know for sure.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°You have reservations about how I deal with my blood kin.¡± Rio¡¯s irises darkened so they blotted out her pupils. ¡°You have a far softer heart than I. While I admire that, I do not intend to let any of my family escape punishment. They will pay for their crimes against me, and I will not hesitate to use the High King¡¯s seat for my retribution.¡± ¡°I get that.¡± My stomach twisted from those reservations she mentioned. I couldn¡¯t help thinking that Daire and Etain would get caught in her wrath. I couldn¡¯t accept that. ¡°But what if¡ªand I mean a giant hypothetical if¡ªthere was a way you could leave everything and make a clean start somewhere else?¡± ¡°Have you learned something?¡± ¡°It¡¯s an idea worth looking into. But only if you¡¯re willing to do it.¡± ¡°I would have to give the matter some thought.¡± Rio frowned as she made a rough hanky out of thin air and wiped the rest of my face with it. ¡°It has appeal. I think it¡¯s better that I spend my time working toward this campaign rather than fantasizing about potential alternatives. Had this come up before I announced my candidacy, it might have been more viable. We might have more time.¡± ¡°So if there was a chance of it earlier, you would¡¯ve tried it?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Rio sighed and brushed my bangs out of my face. ¡°Nothing like that exists with things as they are now, not until Tir Na Nog changes. And that¡¯s what I intend to do.¡± I resisted the urge to smile. If I played my cards like I was on a hot Rummy streak against Mom, I could make this plan work. I¡¯d keep going with Daire until we were almost done, then I¡¯d spring it on Rio and everything could fall into place. She¡¯d proved she trusted me, and she just implied she¡¯d be willing to make a new life somewhere else if things changed. That was all the confirmation I needed. * * * Later that night I showed Rio the small mirror Daire had made me and explained that he gave it to me so we could talk any time¡ªI packaged it as him being lonely and gabbing too much. I told her that I had to check to see if his dad was going to stop him from seeing me, and make sure he wasn¡¯t too ruffled. She went back to talking up the southern Bean Sidhe when I stepped outside by myself. I knocked on the mirror and lined my thoughts up to reach Daire. The frame glowed and pulsed like a ringing phone. I kept sending thoughts. Was he asleep already? My reflection swirled in the silver, and the colors rearranged into Daire¡¯s face. He groaned as his image shifted like he adjusted a smartphone screen. ¡°Hey, it¡¯s not a bad time is it?¡± I kept my voice to a whisper. Daire angled the mirror away from him. It showed his Mom sleeping in an ancient canopy bed and his dad laying in a cot beside him on the floor. ¡°Does that girl call again?¡± Midir had his back to the mirror. ¡°Yes, Father. I¡¯ll step out for but a moment, no longer.¡± Midir twisted around. ¡°I¡¯ll come with you.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not some child you must chaperone everywhere.¡± ¡°On the contrary, in this region you are. Unless you¡¯d like to give into Lady Una¡¯s advances¡­¡± ¡°I¡­¡± Daire hesitated. Was it because he was tired or because he was scared of this Una person? ¡°I¡¯ll be just outside the door. I won¡¯t wander any further.¡± ¡°Let him stand watch,¡± Etain said from the bed. ¡°Guard with the gold hair, I must speak with you privately.¡± Both Daire and Midir gawked at the bed like little boys caught in a prank. Midir sighed and waved Daire toward the only door in the background. ¡°Be quick about it.¡± Daire rubbed his eyes as he got up. The room around him wobbled and jerked so its details got lost in a brown and gray blur. A door thudded shut behind him, then the picture stabilized. He leaned back against it and looked down. ¡°Is something else amiss? Are you in the gardens again?¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m just outside of Rio¡¯s place.¡± Even though I knew Daire was alone, I kept my voice low. Rio might be able to listen in through the thick boulder covering the burrow. ¡°I wanted to check on you. You looked pretty bad back there, and your dad was pissed.¡± ¡°He thought you and Riona were attacking me. He¡¯s acted like Aunt Brigid ever since, fussy and protective.¡± Daire puckered his mouth and scrunched his nose. His expression settled somewhere between annoyed and confused. ¡°It¡¯s odd. He hardly even scolded me before we went to bed.¡± ¡°I¡¯m glad your dad¡¯s acting like a better parent, but he¡¯s still a big problem,¡± I said. ¡°If he wins, Rio and I are dead. He made that pretty clear.¡± ¡°That implication was strong.¡± He glanced behind him at the door, probably thinking of his parents inside. ¡°However, if my sister wins, she¡¯ll force me to watch as she dismantles my family limb by limb.¡± ¡°Yeah. Certain people in your family deserve it. Your mom definitely doesn¡¯t.¡± I drooped against the rock behind me. ¡°Either way hurts people we care about.¡± ¡°The only way to guarantee we escape before either happens is to gather all of the treasures well before Samhain and the election.¡± ¡°What about Rio? I can¡¯t leave her behind without knowing she¡¯ll be okay.¡± ¡°What are you proposing?¡± Daire groaned like he already knew. ¡°You can¡¯t possibly expect that we bring her with us.¡± ¡°That¡¯s exactly what I¡¯m getting at.¡± I leaned closer to my mirror. I meant business and he¡¯d see it whether he liked it or not. ¡°We take her out of here before the election, then Midir can¡¯t get his hands on her, and she won¡¯t take her revenge on your family. Everybody wins.¡± ¡°And how, pray tell, do you know she¡¯ll go along with this?¡± ¡°I asked her about it through what-ifs.¡± I made my voice even softer. ¡°She¡¯s got no idea about the plan. But she¡¯s willing to leave this place and start over if she has the option.¡± Daire sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. He squeezed his eyes shut and clenched his jaw. Either his exhaustion or frustration brought on that migraine. ¡°Well?¡± ¡°Gathering what we need is dangerous enough. It makes it worse if we tell her now.¡± ¡°That doesn¡¯t mean we can¡¯t do it down the line, right?¡± ¡°Correct. The reality is, we need either her or my father campaigning still so you can get the Sword. She cannot campaign as well if her plans change, and she intends to forfeit the election instead.¡± Daire sighed as he dropped his hand out of sight. ¡°We wait until we have what we need. If Samhain isn¡¯t upon us, we can include her. That¡¯s the best I can offer you.¡± ¡°That works.¡± I didn¡¯t resist a smile, and did my best to send him bear hug vibes. ¡°Now, how are we working this Cauldron heist?¡± ¡°I would hardly call it something that grand.¡± His eyes twinkled anyways. We spent the rest of the call hashing out the details for stealing the Cauldron. Our final plan seemed solid. We¡¯d get in and out without a hitch, as long as nothing went wrong. I knew better than to expect that. It didn¡¯t matter right then. I¡¯d take what little wins I could get until I flew out of my pretty prison, Tir Na Nog. And I¡¯d sweep my kidnapper right out with me. Chapter 39 - Daire I dreaded what might happen if Maya told Riona about our scheme. At worst she would ruin it out of spite. At best, if my sister helped, she would steal Maya¡¯s attention at every turn. Either way, the secret of Jennifer Diaz¡¯s true condition would come out. No possibility I foresaw favored any of us. But a bleak future is better than no future at all, I reminded myself as I slipped my mirror into my belt pouch. I opened the door to my family¡¯s quarters, half-thinking I¡¯d have to help Father mitigate another one of Mother¡¯s frantic episodes. Something entirely different met me. Mother yelped and tugged a fur blanket over her. It only exposed her bare shoulders. Yet she¡¯d had on a dressing gown when I left. Where had it gone? ¡°Mamai, what are you doing?¡± I glanced around at the empty room. Mother seemed to be the only occupant. ¡°Where is Father?¡± Deep, throaty laughter rumbled from underneath the furs covering the bed. It resembled a voice I knew very well: Father¡¯s. Nausea churned my stomach and heat flooded my cheeks as the implication of my parents¡¯ positions dawned on me. They had always slept in separate wings of the estate. We ate dinners and attended feast days together for tradition¡¯s sake. As far as I knew, they hadn¡¯t lain with each other since before my birth. ¡°I told you to stay quiet.¡± Mother uncovered Father¡¯s head and swatted his shoulder. ¡°He¡¯s grown enough to figure out what we¡¯re up to.¡± Father peeked out and beamed, his pupils rounded circles that consumed his irises. ¡°Do you remember who we are?¡± I gulped, wondering at the answer. Father wouldn¡¯t take advantage of Mother during one of her fits, would he? ¡°Little swan, I was the one who dragged your insolent father into my bed. He¡¯s done nothing but follow orders until now.¡± Even as she scolded him, a coy grin curved her lips. ¡°He¡¯s due for a little punishment while my mind is still clear.¡± ¡°You can wait in the hall a bit longer, can¡¯t you?¡± Father waved me toward the door. ¡°I¡­I suppose I can.¡± My mouth went dry. I¡¯d taken plenty of others to my own bed and never felt bashful beholding nudity unless it was distracting. My parents were a different matter. ¡°Remember to scream if trouble finds you,¡± Father added. ¡°What if trouble finds the two of you?¡± I asked, unsure whether I wanted an answer. ¡°If I should yell, you¡¯ll know it¡¯s serious,¡± Mother said. ¡°Should Midir call out, everything is fine.¡± ¡°Excuse me, I may have to retch.¡± I crept out, shuddering as I went. Their mutual laughter rang out behind me before fading into a different set of noises. I distracted myself from eavesdropping by practicing various meditation exercises Aengus had taught me. Despite my childish revulsion at seeing my parents like that, I couldn¡¯t help the bittersweet satisfaction that came with it. Mother showed her mischievous side and Father bordered on boisterous. Where had that family unity been when I was born and Father helped to place the Key¡¯s curse on me? Why couldn¡¯t they have reconciled sooner so I might¡¯ve known more of those moments? My thoughts wandered to visions of what might have been. It proved far more pleasant than dwelling on the daunting reality that loomed before me. * * * Finvarra¡¯s planning prowess and his efficient household made his impromptu gala ready within a matter of three days (as opposed to Uncle Bodb who took at least a week to prepare for small scale celebrations). He spent another two days sending invitations to all the lords, ladies, and underlings of Tir Na Nog. Father reinforced our room with extra defensive wards, and left for long stretches of time as he assisted in the preparations. Mother hadn¡¯t tried to attack me again while we were alone. She cried over her plight when she believed she was a human queen in my father¡¯s custody. Panic overcame her when she forgot where we were and that she wasn¡¯t an Aos Si any longer. There were short periods where she became herself again, with full awareness of who I was. When we talked, she danced around from subject to subject, but started to speak more fondly of Father when he came up. Before the celebration, Mother and I had readied ourselves and talked while we waited for Father to fetch us. ¡°Midir¡¯s still more somber than I remember, but he¡¯s trying to be sweet.¡± Mother sat on the edge of her bed and fiddled with a fold of her skirt as if it were a square of fabric she embroidered. ¡°It¡¯s a relief we haven¡¯t had to endure anymore of those dinners. I¡¯ve never liked nor trusted Finvarra, but his lecherous nature makes him easier to sway in this body. It¡¯s only difficult resisting his magic without your father around to counteract it.¡± ¡°I understand.¡± I leaned back on the wall I stood near. The cold stone pressing against my neck helped clear my weary mind. ¡°Una¡¯s flirtations border on obnoxious. She tries to force them on me. A part of her even seems to enjoy my squirming.¡± ¡°Your resistance does seem to fuel her desire.¡± Mother clenched fingers in her gown. ¡°I don¡¯t mean to imply you should surrender to her. Be careful to avoid giving her opportunities to corner you. Stay near the family.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll keep that in mind.¡± I¡¯d be sure to follow her advice for most of the night. For the rest of it, I required solitary subterfuge and stealth. Maya and I kept our plan for the Cauldron simple and solid. I had given my accomplice a dreamwalking draught to take earlier. Once I spent sufficient time socializing, I would retire early from the festivities to ¡°tend my gardens.¡± That excuse didn¡¯t stop me from sneaking to the Cauldron¡¯s chamber on the way. Maya would meet me there in her spectral form, then take the Cauldron from its pedestal while I created the portal to send it to Bri Leith. From there I had to follow her, bury our prize among my flowers, and await someone to escort me back to Father. But first I had to face my relatives, all of whom planned to attend Finvarra¡¯s feast. Convincing the entire Dagda¡¯s Brood none of them needed to watch over me would prove the most challenging part of my ploy. Father came through the door in all his gold finery. He held his hand out for Mother with another brilliant smile. ¡°Lady-Wife, shall we?¡± Mother returned the gesture with a fond curve of her mouth, though it didn¡¯t reach the corners of her eyes. She didn¡¯t seem unhappy as she crossed the room and locked arms with Father, but her eagerness had diminished since their reconciliation. I joined my parents, and we left Cruachan¡¯s empty halls together. Outside, Finvarra had altered the sky so it cast a bright summer sun over his plentiful fields, and a balmy breeze whipped through the rolling hills. The heat had enough bite that I craved Aunt Brigid¡¯s autumn trees or Aengus¡¯ crisp spring forests. The celebration sprawled across all of the sloping knolls surrounding the fortress. One area had horses corralled and ready to race, while another hosted a small tourney inside a roped-off arena. The dancing was already in full sway around a pair of musicians with a drum and a harp. A chunk of the guests already in attendance clustered around the long wooden dining table. Each hulking platter had a theme, a color, a unique design that coincided with the variety of foods upon them. Meats, cheeses, fruits, breads, pastries, jams, colorful wines. A few exotic Roman dishes had even found their way to the table. Uncle Bodb had never matched such a display in all his centuries of rule. Finvarra certainly proved himself the master of the Dagda¡¯s Cauldron. Father led Mother and I to a trio of seats to the right of Finvarra¡¯s, placing us as the host¡¯s honored guests. I took mine beside Mother and sampled different cheeses and breads. Since Maya was the only one taking the dreamwalking draught this time, I could have my fill. Eating might help provide the extra energy I needed to transport the Cauldron later. ¡°Is this seat taken?¡± Aunt Brigid lurked behind me. I hadn¡¯t sensed her coming among the sea of various powers gathered around the field. ¡°No, not at all.¡± I slid the chair to my left, away from the table, and waved her toward it. ¡°It feels like an eternity since I saw you last, beloved aunt.¡± ¡°Oh yes.¡± She sat and brought me into her arms, squeezing tight. ¡°Without you and Etain to take up my time, I¡¯ve caught up on my affairs at Cill Dara. But there¡¯s nothing else to do!¡± ¡°Hmm?¡± Mother leaned forward to see around me better, and her eyebrows furrowed. ¡°You¡¯re¡­I know you, don¡¯t I?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve only been your caregiver for the last few decades,¡± my aunt said, good humor and cheer in her voice rather than bitterness that Mother misplaced her identity. ¡°Brigid, your sister by marriage. You seem well, lass. Are these strapping lords doing right by you?¡± ¡°The boy is hardly strapping, but he¡¯s done well in bringing Etain back to herself,¡± Father said, offering me a small grin. Something odd made his eyes shine as he spoke of me. I¡¯d seen the same look on Aengus when I completed a difficult spell or arranged an intricate set of wards. Was that¡­pride? ¡°I¡¯m still learning to navigate her many moods.¡± ¡°You¡¯re handling me well enough, Lord-Husband. Give yourself due credit.¡± Mother¡¯s cheeks turned faint pink as she praised him. She seemed almost smitten, certainly more cheerful than before. Had I misread her? The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Mother¡¯s shoulders spasmed the next moment. She clawed at my leg under the table. Panic flashed through her face for a fraction of a moment before her genteel mask shrouded it. I squeezed her hand, offering her mine as an anchor while she needed it. Father patted Mother¡¯s shoulder as he shifted his attention back to Brigid. ¡°Would you mind having a look at Daire? He coughed as if he caught a fever a week ago. He has also been winded after using his glamour, even though he¡¯s slept more than ever.¡± ¡°You should examine Father, instead. He¡¯s been fussing over me like a mother hen.¡± I wrinkled my nose at Father as embarrassed heat flooded my face. If he worked in league with Bodb to see that the Key died with me, why reveal my condition to Brigid? She alone of his siblings seemed oblivious to the Key¡¯s curse, and would be the most likely to protest if she knew. Or was Aunt Brigid complicit after all, and Father wanted her to check the curse¡¯s progress? ¡°Fussing is a parent¡¯s way of showing they care.¡± Brigid patted my chest, an innocent enough gesture until her fingers glowed brighter. ¡°I don¡¯t need you to check after my health.¡± Sweat broke out along my neck as I swatted my aunt¡¯s hand. ¡°I¡¯m capable of taking care of it myself.¡± ¡°I will immobilize you if I have to,¡± Brigid warned. ¡°Stay still and let me see to you.¡± I heaved a dramatic sigh and slouched against my chair. Any spoiled prince not getting his way would do the same. If any of them suspected I knew, one would tell the others and then Bodb would lock me away like he¡¯d tried to do with Riona. Brigid¡¯s hot power poured through my chest, seeping under my own with a bizarre tingling sensation that stung as much as it comforted. I squirmed against the invasion as it surrounded my core where the Key lay dormant. My aunt¡¯s mouth went from curious concern to a grave frown. She turned a few of the strands of my hair over between her fingers. The silver streaks had spread since Maya first discovered them. While I¡¯d dispersed them among my naturally pale braids, they winked brighter in the sunlight. Why couldn¡¯t Finvarra have hosted his event at night? ¡°Fetch Bodb and Aengus straightaway,¡± Brigid barked at Father. ¡°What?¡± I didn¡¯t fake the panic that raced through my veins. ¡°Why do you need them?¡± ¡°Something is wrong with you, and the Key¡¯s energy blocks me from sussing out the cause.¡± Brigid had a growling edge to her voice and the same protective heat radiated off of her as when she had taken me to rescue Riona. Father nodded to his older sister and strode away toward the tournament ring. On his way, he threw a spark of light in the air in the shape of a swallow and sent it flying toward the dancers. It took him a matter of minutes to return with our current High King in tow. ¡°Make this quick.¡± Bodb tugged at his beard and scowled. ¡°I have the next match.¡± ¡°Is something the matter?¡± Aengus strolled up to the table, even quicker than his siblings, and quirked his head to one side. ¡°Is it time for another family meeting already?¡± ¡°Daire seems to be sick with something. The Key is blocking me somehow.¡± Aunt Brigid pointed her ire toward her recently arrived brothers. ¡°Bodb, your power controls it. Tell it to move out of the way so I can treat him.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t feel unwell at the moment,¡± I said, mustering the strongest protest I could with all four of the Dagda¡¯s Brood crowded around me like the main attraction at a traveling show. ¡°You should go back to enjoying the feast. This will draw unwanted attention.¡± Aunt Brigid turned her stern glare my way. My jaw clamped shut of its own accord. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Mother leaned over, hovering beside Brigid with her mouth pursed. ¡°Are my attendant¡¯s humors amiss? Should we call a physician?¡± ¡°I¡¯m a wise woman and a physician, m¡¯lady,¡± Aunt Brigid said, not even blinking at Mother¡¯s sudden shift in persona. ¡°I will be enough for him. I only need some insight from these associates of mine.¡± ¡°Do try.¡± Mother rubbed my forearm. ¡°He¡¯s most valuable and has proven crucial to me these past few days.¡± Bodb glanced to Father. ¡°Why don¡¯t you take your guest for a round of dancing?¡± ¡°Keep a watch on him for me, will you Brigid?¡± Father did as he was bid and offered his hand to Mother. ¡°Would you agree to a dance, m¡¯lady?¡± ¡°Such a kind gesture from a handsome suitor such as you, sir.¡± Mother¡¯s cheeks turned a delicate pink as she took his arm. ¡°I¡¯m sure my Father won¡¯t mind me spending one song with you¡­¡± ¡°Maybe even two,¡± Father said as he escorted Mother toward the music and the players. ¡°Well?¡± Aunt Brigid dropped her voice lower as she addressed Bodb again. ¡°I assume you sent them away to avoid Etain having a fit about what you¡¯ll do to her son.¡± ¡°It¡¯s more to spare her and Midir the unfortunate reality of their union.¡± Bodb gave me a fleeting glance of pity as he squeezed my shoulder. ¡°I cannot make the Key stop interfering with his power. Aengus made it, and tampering with it could very well kill the boy. As far as the cause of the condition you speak of¡­I see nothing amiss.¡± ¡°Then ale has blinded you.¡± My aunt thrust her finger at my silver hair, then to the dark undersides of my eyes. ¡°These are signs of aging and fatigue. This boy has never shown either before. Something is wrong.¡± ¡°Have you thought it could be his Mother¡¯s blood catching up with him?¡± Bodb offered. ¡°None of our other half-bloods ever aged unless they had contact with the mortal realm,¡± Brigid said. ¡°The Key links him to the mortal realm,¡± Uncle Aengus said as he moved to my side beside Brigid. ¡°Bodb¡¯s thought is sound.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t you reverse it?¡± Aunt Brigid scooted aside, gesturing for Aengus to take her place. ¡°You¡¯re the only one who knows the intricacies of how it works. I¡¯m aware you three swore an oath not to reveal them, but surely it didn¡¯t forbid you from working on it alone.¡± ¡°I suppose I can meet with him in private and examine it then.¡± Aengus squinted across my torso as if looking through my skin and tissue. ¡°I¡¯ll stay well enough until after Father returns home from campaigning, right?¡± A bit of pleading slipped into my voice as I addressed my mentor. ¡°No need to look at it anytime soon. I¡¯ve been managing myself fine, really.¡± The three of them looked down at me, each with their own puzzled expressions. ¡°Your condition could be serious if left to fester,¡± Brigid said, all matronly concern. ¡°You seem very calm about this, Little Daire.¡± Bodb¡¯s mustache turned down as he frowned. ¡°Untroubled even.¡± ¡°I am troubled to my core, Uncle. I don¡¯t want what Aunt Brigid describes growing worse. I like my youth. I would like to keep it.¡± I let the genuine panic I felt color my voice as my words came out in a rush. I wiped my sweating palms on my dress tunic. Yet what other reason did I have for wanting to wait, besides taking the Cauldron? ¡°But Mother has been better. The time we¡¯ve had together has helped her. Even being with Father is doing her good. She¡¯s remarked he¡¯s acted more like himself, and I have never seen this side of him before. Once Father becomes High King, all of that will change.¡± ¡°A fair point.¡± Uncle Aengus patted my back. ¡°Very well. We¡¯ll meet right before the Samhain feast, and try to make something of this condition.¡± ¡°I¡¯d like that.¡± I offered my uncle a thankful smile. ¡°Worry not, fair sister.¡± Aengus bowed low to Aunt Brigid, furling out his cloak in his dramatic fashion. ¡°I assure you he¡¯ll live until then, and I¡¯ll keep an eye on him in the meantime. Agreed?¡± ¡°I suppose.¡± Aunt Brigid rearranged some of my hair, better blending the blonde strands with the silver ones. Her glamour flowed into my head, and what gray strands I noticed disappeared. ¡°There. That should help preserve your vanity in the meantime, and keep Etain from becoming concerned.¡± ¡°I¡¯m glad you¡¯re finally seeing sense when it comes to your father, my boy.¡± Bodb clapped me on my shoulder. ¡°He has always cared far more than he shows. It¡¯s about time you began to see it.¡± I winced at the force of his well-meaning blow and followed it with a yawn. ¡°All this excitement has been enough stimulation for one night. I¡¯ll retire for the evening.¡± ¡°So early?¡± Aengus pouted at me and pointed off toward the dancers. Mother and Father twirled among them. Mother, at least, looked to be laughing as Father lifted her off the ground and hopped alongside her. ¡°I was about to drag you out there to find us a couple companions for the night. Connacht has hearty stock, if you catch my meaning.¡± ¡°In light of Aunt Brigid¡¯s recent discovery, I¡¯d rather conserve my energy.¡± I stood from my chair, my plate of food hardly touched save for the few bites I¡¯d managed before my family swarmed me. ¡°Something like a nap or light work in the gardens. I¡¯ve been visiting there most nights to keep them presentable.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll take you back to your quarters,¡± Aunt Brigid offered as she too rose from her seat. ¡°Finvarra¡¯s style is a bit too festive for me.¡± ¡°Allow me.¡± Uncle Aengus cut between me and my aunt. ¡°It¡¯s been too long since me and Daire spent any quality time together.¡± A wave of weariness swept over me, so much I had to hold the seat of the nearest chair to keep balance. It slipped away as quickly as it came. Maya fell asleep. ¡°Whichever of you it is, do keep up.¡± I turned on my heel and strode toward Finvarra¡¯s massive fortress. Anticipation made my heart pound harder in my chest. An unknown time limit had begun. I only had as long as Maya dreamed to find her, create a portal for the Cauldron, and bury it. I¡¯d have to lose whichever doting relative followed along behind me before those precious moments ran out. * * * Aengus had won against Aunt Brigid in guiding me back to my family¡¯s guest quarters in Cruachan. It was a further trek than I liked and would stall me in meeting Maya. My favorite uncle seemed to dance alongside me when I compared his easy stride to my stiff one. ¡°I hope you don¡¯t see Brigid¡¯s portent as too dire,¡± he said as we went. ¡°She does tend to exaggerate things because of her motherly nature.¡± ¡°Everything should work out by the election.¡± I glanced over, checking his sure expression for any hints. ¡°Right?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll make sure of it.¡± Aengus¡¯ relaxed grin gave nothing away. We came to the door, and Aengus tapped the proper spell combination on it. The latch came open and it swung wide for me. Blood wards kept anyone but my direct family from entering, yet anyone could exit if they pleased. ¡°What will you do from here?¡± Aengus asked. ¡°The nap or the garden tending?¡± ¡°Now that I¡¯m here, I¡¯m not feeling so tired anymore.¡± Which was technically true without Maya¡¯s fatigue influencing me. ¡°Why don¡¯t I join you?¡± Aengus leaned against the door frame with an excited glint in his lavender eyes. ¡°I could help lighten the load on you, since your magic seems to be weaker than before.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t spoil your night on my account.¡± While I had more trust in him and Brigid than Bodb and Father, I still didn¡¯t want to risk bringing either of them in on my plan. Part of my hesitation was preserving my pride and wanting to prove that I could save myself by my own power. More of it was common sense, that drawing them in might trigger some vow they had made to report their knowledge to Bodb. ¡°You had such grand plans to find someone to entertain, didn¡¯t you?¡± ¡°There will always be bed partners in Tir Na Nog.¡± ¡°And there is still time for us to spend together.¡± It bit my lip, my words bordering on rude. I didn¡¯t want to offend him, but his prolonged presence posed too much risk. My mirror pulsed in my belt pouch. I glanced down to it. That was Maya. Had she already made it to the Cauldron room? ¡°Who is that?¡± Aengus¡¯ eyebrows went up as he quirked his head to one side, much like the birds he so often transformed into. ¡°Someone.¡± My cheeks filled with heat at the hinting quality in his voice. ¡°Did you part from the feast early because of a clandestine meeting with a certain changeling?¡± My heart stopped for that solid moment, and I froze in place. ¡°Midir mentioned how you¡¯ve been seeing her more often with very little information to report.¡± Aengus tapped his chin. ¡°And that would also explain why Riona appeared as if she were going to attack you. You are taking after Midir, aren¡¯t you?¡± ¡°In what way do you mean?¡± My heart started again as I caught up with his conclusion about my suspicious behavior. My knees trembled, and I nearly collapsed from relief. ¡°You want what you shouldn¡¯t have.¡± Aengus offered me a sympathetic smile and pulled me into a hug. ¡°I won¡¯t stop you because it works to our favor. Just be careful, will you?¡± ¡°I will.¡± I blinked as I returned his embrace with a loose one of my own. ¡°As careful as I know how to be.¡± ¡°Do better not getting caught this time.¡± Aengus parted from me and swished away. ¡°I taught you better than that!¡± I waited until he disappeared from the hall, let the door to my quarters swing shut, then ran the opposite direction toward the Cauldron¡¯s holding room. Chapter 40 - Maya This time I was more ready to take the dream potion than with Manannan¡¯s cave. I fidgeted with my stomach as Rio served dinner. I gave her the excuse I wasn¡¯t hungry¡ªI¡¯d binged for breakfast and lunch to make sure. The roast beef smell still taunted my nose and made my taste buds cry. Rio sat across from me, but further away. The distance stung when I didn¡¯t think about it. I had to remind myself she was avoiding temptation: me. As she ate, I gabbed about other kinds of poker I should teach her once she got elected. She nodded along but spaced off into her plate as she nibbled at the food. Sometimes her eyebrows would go up and down with some unspoken thought. It seemed like neither of us were in the mood for dinner right then, having it for ritual¡¯s sake. ¡°You still there?¡± I snapped in front of her. ¡°You¡¯re not really into the card game talk, are you?¡± Rio jumped, and her attention bolted to my hand, then my face. ¡°You just described the difference between Texas holding something and a card going wild.¡± ¡°Oh yeah, you¡¯re spacing out hard.¡± I laughed and leaned back on my hands. ¡°What¡¯s on your mind? More planning how to win over the southern queens?¡± ¡°Not them.¡± Rio sighed and flicked her meat to the side of her plate. ¡°No Bean Sidhe or subject of Mumhan will answer when I call them now. With less than a fortnight until Samhain, my time runs perilously short. I¡¯m strategizing for the one I already expected to vote in my favor.¡± ¡°That¡¯s the guy to the west that Midir¡¯s visiting, right?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± She glanced over her shoulder and her lip curled. ¡°Speaking of the horselord¡­ stay here. Don¡¯t wander into the hallway and be quiet no matter what you hear.¡± I blinked. She¡¯d shown me off to a few of the people in the sun and moon mirror. Daire had warned me this guy had a kink for human women, though. Was that why she wanted me to stay hidden? Rio got up and headed toward the mirror with naked women riding a herd of horses. She swiped the black curtain over it away and addressed a reflection I couldn¡¯t see. ¡°Yes, King Finvarra?¡± ¡°I noticed you didn¡¯t reply to my invitation.¡± He had a deep voice and his chill cadence made him seem buzzed on something. ¡°It¡¯s a pity. I was hoping I could show you and your pet the wonders of my hills.¡± I kept where he could shove his hills to myself. ¡°I don¡¯t mean to offend, but I received word that the entire Dagda¡¯s Brood would attend.¡± Rio¡¯s tone stayed even, diplomatic. ¡°Circumstances being what they are, I would rather visit you when they are off seeing to other matters.¡± ¡°Midir plans to head to Uliad tomorrow morning,¡± Finvarra said with a pleased lilt. ¡°You both come the evening after he leaves, and I¡¯ll give you a grand little welcome, just the three of us.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a tempting proposition.¡± Rio stayed cordial, but tight. ¡°My companion will be indisposed for that night, though. You¡¯ll have to make due with the two of us.¡± ¡°What possible plans can a changeling have that her master can¡¯t alter?¡± His pleasant demeanor turned skeptical. ¡°I only caught a glimpse of her when Bodb announced his stepping down. Why deprive me of what Manannan¡¯s hoard has already seen?¡± ¡°I will not debate this point, your majesty.¡± Rio¡¯s fingers clenched to fists at her sides. Her glow didn¡¯t darken, even though her eyes started to. ¡°I will be happy to meet with you and discuss my intentions of how to use my reign, but my companion will not accompany me.¡± ¡°Your sire brought his and she was a pleasant eye-full. He¡¯s been a proper guest, and even helped me host this little gathering you refuse to attend.¡± The underlying threat made his laid back nature turn creepy. ¡°If you can¡¯t even offer to do the same, perhaps casting my vote his way is the best thing for Connacht. He¡¯s proven far more flexible than Bodb already. Imagine how liberal he could be when he has the Key¡¯s power behind him.¡± ¡°If you think for a moment Midir the Proud of Bri Leith will allow you to pursue your whims as you like, you¡¯ve let yourself be deceived by what few charms he has left.¡± Rio hid her mocking, catty giggle behind her hand. ¡°Are you so gullible? Perhaps Connacht is as lowly as the other provinces say. Plentiful but never prosperous. Is that how you want your rule remembered?¡± ¡°Insulting the council you wish to sway is a terrible idea if you desire to rule over them, Lady of Irons.¡± Finvarra¡¯s vocal color went flat. ¡°It sounds as unwise as siding with the old regime, who have never given you what you desire in exchange for your loyalty.¡± Rio ran her hand over the mirror. The glow went out. A hang up without saying goodbye. Rio reined in her dark particles as she walked back over and methodically sank to her old spot. Her posture stayed rigid as she folded her legs under her and smoothed her airy gown. Stiff and controlled, in a mood. ¡°You handled him like a pro,¡± I said when the quiet stretched too long. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you want to bring me, though? He pretty much promised he¡¯d vote for you if you did. I¡¯ve put up with pervy ogling at work plenty.¡± ¡°The only way to buy his vote is to allow him to do more than stare. He would want to spend a night with you unsupervised.¡± Rio shook her head as she dug her nails into her skirt. ¡°From there, he would ply you with potions or magic to win your compliance, then give you back to me as a shell of yourself. Do you think that¡¯s worth his vote?¡± Every hair on my body stood up. Chills ran through my veins at the casual way she described it. All I could do was gulp and shake my head. ¡°My thoughts exactly.¡± Rio¡¯s stiff shoulders dropped, and she set her dinner aside. ¡°However, his vote is still crucial. If I am to win it without involving you, I have to stoop to tactics that would churn your stomach. That¡¯s why I wanted to save him for last when I had secured the other votes I need through merit.¡± ¡°That¡­makes sense.¡± Part of me didn¡¯t want to know what she meant and brushed it off as making deplorable, but empty promises. I got up and escaped to my cot. Hopefully I¡¯d let enough time pass for Daire to get ready. ¡°I should head to bed.¡± Rio came to the cot with me and tucked the blanket under my legs. When I laid down, she smoothed my bangs back and pecked my forehead, her lips barely brushing my skin. She¡¯d made that a new nightly habit ever since she told me she liked me. It was still restrained, but enough to tell me her interest. I breathed deep, closed my eyes, and slipped into the dangerous dreamland Daire¡¯s tea concoction sent me to. Time to pull another heist. * * * I woke up to that sensation of swimming through the air, the same I¡¯d felt when Daire and I went for the Spear. Rio had changed to Queenie the fox and laid curled up beside my cot. She had her hackles up and her eyes narrowed down the hallway. Was she watching for something? Guarding me? Waiting? I nudged my sleeping body¡¯s arm off the cot so it fell on Queenie. The fox jumped as the hand landed on her dainty head and sagged down to her stomach, tipping her over. That would buy me a minute. I glided down the hall to the mirror with the horses and slid its curtain aside. The mirror let me slide on through so much easier than when a fleshy body weighed me down. The empty welcoming area I flew into had swirling horse carvings in every wood beam, long table, and chair like an artfully vandalized cafeteria. Muffled music and chatter rumbled from the other side of the massive double doors behind me. Its thick beams and copper hardware made the exact words and notes too rough to understand. I turned my ghostly self toward the smaller openings on the opposite wall that led down more halls. One on the right and one on the left. Reciting ¡°eenie meenie minie mo¡± landed my finger on the left. It was as good a place to start as any. Finvarra¡¯s place had as many guest rooms as Tara, most of them with lights under their doors. Bodb¡¯s abandoned maze couldn¡¯t compare to that much activity. I passed one room that stood out¡ªits door was taller than the others and had a grown horse surrounded by baby farm animals carved into it. Calves, lambs, chicks, all of them stood around the bigger animal¡¯s hooves. The livestock could be the king¡¯s way of reminding everyone he stored the food dispenser in there if he had a dark sense of humor. The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. I crouched with my cheek pressed to the cool floor and peered in the gap under the door. It was thinner than the space between bathroom stalls, but if I squinted I could make out the bottom of things. Daire described the Cauldron¡¯s room as full of mirrors with a pedestal in the middle. This one had flickering light on one side and a rounded board with a long curtain pooled around it. The empty guest rooms at Tara had fireplaces, and the shape of the curtained off area reminded me of Daire¡¯s circular bed. A couple of sandaled feet stepped into view with a tan skirt dragging behind them, confirming my guess. Another occupied bedroom. I took off further down the hall and turned the next corner. Going straight ahead led to more closed rooms with flickering lights, then occupied guest rooms, until a large open arch broke them up. It led to a wide staircase going deeper in. I slid down those stairs and another huge archway framed a copper bowl as big as me, surrounded by mirrors. Bingo! The domed space could¡¯ve held a small stadium and hundreds of mirrors layered the ceiling. Their reflective middles were browned out like when Bodb cut off Rio¡¯s access to her burrow, a bunch of empty frames waiting for pictures. That must mean no one could use them like security cameras. I hadn¡¯t run into any guards on my way. Daire had somehow convinced Finvarra to leave his sacred treasure vulnerable. So far, so good. Next: wait for Daire to catch up so he could make the portal. He could also explain how we¡¯d carry and bury this massive thing. It could hold at least three people with room to spare, like the big pot from the kids¡¯ story about a town that makes stone stew for everyone. I floated circles around the room while I waited, and made twenty laps before I got worried. Daire should¡¯ve been there by now. He said he¡¯d know when I fell asleep. Should I have signalled him that I was there already? I dug out the silver mirror that had crossed over with me from the side of my bra and tapped it. The past week or two calling him made sending mental signals through it as easy as using a cell phone. The mirror pulsed on and off. Daire usually picked up before ten flashes. It went on for twenty, then twenty-five. No answer. ¡°I¡¯m coming.¡± Daire¡¯s face appeared in the glass, and he bounced like he was on the move. Watching his background made me dizzy as it swerved up and down with his jog. ¡°I was dealing with my family.¡± ¡°Everything alright?¡± ¡°For now,¡± Daire said. ¡°Father told Aunt Brigid about my sickness. Bodb guessed aloud that my human blood was causing it, and Uncle Aengus promised to look into it later.¡± ¡°Your dad¡¯s bringing it up in the open?¡± I squeezed my eyebrows together. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t he want to keep that private?¡± ¡°Yes, considering he¡­¡± Daire trailed off as he looked up, off in the distance where I couldn¡¯t see. The image in the mirror blurred as something shoved it somewhere else. My next clear picture was a generous shot of Daire¡¯s backside with his gold embroidered dress shirt barely covering his ass. What was he¡ª ¡°Who¡¯s that, Little Daire?¡± A woman¡¯s smooth crooning interrupted my thought. ¡°You¡¯re still too young to have a sweetheart among any of the Aos Si.¡± ¡°Lady Una.¡± The picture quivered. Daire¡¯s hand shaking? Was he scared because she almost caught him? ¡°I tired of the feast and decided to wander your estate a bit. I didn¡¯t expect anyone to be around.¡± ¡°You¡¯re making trouble?¡± Lady Una spoke higher like a patronizing stranger when a kid did something cute. ¡°I also grew bored of the feast. This estate and the entire celebration is more my husband¡¯s domain than mine. Shall we spend our mutual boredom together?¡± Daire¡¯s muscles tensed under his long shirt.The whole image shifted as he stepped back. I caught the edge of a door with a horse surrounded by baby farm animals. ¡°I¡¯d rather retire to my own quarters, m¡¯lady. Your offer is generous, but I would make terrible company at the moment.¡± ¡°How could Tir Na Nog¡¯s only youngling displease me?¡± A looming shadow and a tan skirt blotted out anything beyond Daire. ¡°You strike me as just the right company.¡± Daire pressed himself against his mirror and the frame scraped against something hard. That lady cornered him against a wall. I¡¯d passed the horse door earlier. It¡¯d be easy finding my way back. Daire¡¯s magic was weak, and if that woman was as much of a cougar as she sounded, he couldn¡¯t defend himself. I sped away from the Cauldron, sprinting up the stairs and launching myself off them into a glide. * * * I zipped down the hall and turned that corner, bumping into a wall as I took my turn too wide. A brunette about Rio¡¯s height dressed in a tan gown with shimmering decorations leaned over Daire. He inched and side-stepped away. She glided in his way, cutting off his escape and herding him toward the bedroom door with the farm animals. I pushed off the wall and flew through the air, making a beeline for her. My Superman moment landed my elbow into her spine. It threw my weightless body off course. I flipped and twirled into the opposite wall. She fell forward and caught herself on Daire, planting both hands on either side of his head so she trapped him between her arms. ¡°Was that an attack or a nudge to keep going?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure what you mean m¡¯lady.¡± Daire¡¯s Adam¡¯s apple bobbled as he gulped. Could he not see me? ¡°I need to leave, and you are being very discourteous by preventing that.¡± ¡°I am not your host, my husband is.¡± She swept his loose hair away from his neck. ¡°I¡¯ve seen how you carry on with any pretty thing who comes your way. Why am I so different? I should be better. I wield tenfold the power they do with experience to match.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve had my fill of experience and power from my family. Those don¡¯t attract me. You don¡¯t attract me.¡± ¡°What does? I can become anything your heart desires.¡± ¡°I desire that you cease invading my intimate space without my clear invitation,¡± Daire said through gritted teeth. ¡°Now you¡¯re playing coy.¡± Una smiled, eager and pointy. ¡°None of my family will stand for this treatment.¡± Daire reached for a dagger in a sheath on his belt. ¡°My father, King Aengus, Queen Brigid, even the High King Bodb Derg will retaliate.¡± ¡°Not if you don¡¯t remember.¡± Una traced down Daire¡¯s neck to his collarbone. Daire drew his knife. Una grabbed his wrist in a too-fast-to-follow motion, and pinned the knife over his head. ¡°It can be my little secret.¡± This chick wasn¡¯t leaving me another choice. I threw myself at her from a different angle and grabbed for her arm, the one holding Daire¡¯s weapon away. Una swayed as I bounced off her like a trampoline. I had force, but no mass to back it up. ¡°Yes. Struggle. Raise your power against me.¡± Una glowed brighter and a hot force came off her in waves. She dug her nails deeper into his wrist. ¡°But you won¡¯t deny me!¡± ¡°I¡¯m not¡ª¡± Daire¡¯s voice cut off into a whimper as an unseen power clamped his jaw shut and threw him flat against the wall. The dagger fell out of his jerking fingers and clattered at Una¡¯s feet. Rio had shown me how to knife fight a little during her combat lessons. The best places to shoot for in my reach were all the soft parts of Una¡¯s face: ears, cheeks, eyes. I grabbed the little knife from the floor and risked another second to take aim. She could bat me aside or the tip might bounce off a bone. I¡¯d only have one shot. I couldn¡¯t miss. I lunged and thrust at her eye. It¡¯s point went in with a pop like cutting into a ripe grape. The blade caught on something hard and curved¡ªa bony socket? I jerked away and the handle shuddered against my palm as it scraped. Una shrieked and reeled back, rattling my ear drums. She pawed at the knife sticking out and slipped on the slick blood oozing over it. I grabbed Daire¡¯s arm and dragged him until he got the idea and ran after me. We kept going through the hall, to the arch, down the stairs. I let go of him and flew to the Cauldron. Once his stalker caught up, she¡¯d be pissed. We didn¡¯t have time to be methodical. ¡°Maya?¡± Daire focused on me as he panted, my hand to be specific. But he couldn¡¯t see me, right? I followed his eyeline and looked at my hand. My arm had the same faded quality as back in Manannan¡¯s caves where I could see through it. A red splatter covered my fingertips to my wrist in solid contrast. Daire must have followed that. Light from the room¡¯s dull glow flickered off the blood as my hand trembled. I¡¯d never seen that much before, not even when I accidentally cut my forehead on some scissors while cutting my own hair. That knife had gone deeper than that, and the red dribbling down my wrist wasn¡¯t from me¡­ No, we couldn¡¯t panic yet. If Daire could see the blood, so could other people. I gave Daire a thumbs up, then jabbed my finger at the giant copper bowl on its pedestal. ¡°Right.¡± Daire dug out his mirror from his belt pouch. ¡°Grab its handles and rumors say it will shrink for you.¡± Those rumors better be right. I grabbed one side as I hovered above it. Only holding that didn¡¯t seem to do the trick. It stayed huge. I stretched across to the other handle. Daire clenched his jaw as he glowed. His labored breathing staggered. He grabbed the ends of his mirror and pulled, grunting with the effort. ¡°Find him!¡± Screeched Una from the hall. Faint, rolling footsteps pounded after her. I stretched as far as I could go, only holding on by my longest fingers. Tapping the other side wasn¡¯t enough to trigger a change. A shadow darkened the arch way at the top of the stairwell. The wave of runners passed over it, but a few strays raced down the stairwell. Daire gasped as he yanked his mirror as wide as his arm span and held it there. My shoulder popped as I pushed myself an inch further and curled my fingertips around the other handle. The Cauldron snapped from the size of a decorative park sculpture to a punch bowl. I fell on top of it, almost losing my grip. Daire fell to one knee, and the mirror spasmed with his hold. The image in the glass had pine trees and rolling patterns of white and pale blue flowers, the winter section of his garden. It flickered a beat, reflecting a polished copper pot attached to a floating red hand. I dove from the pedestal and rolled into the garden. It spit me out by a small pool of water in the middle of a gray-stoned courtyard. I looked behind me. No one else came through. I dropped the Cauldron and it clanged against the rocks paving a path. Maybe it blew up again, maybe it stayed small. I didn¡¯t check as I rushed to the water. The pool rippled and showed an empty pedestal with a browned out layer of mirrors behind it. It flipped around, and Daire heaved over the edge of the picture. Sweat dripped off his forehead, dribbling down his neck and staining his collar. Webs of blue sky reflecting off the water interrupted his green outfit. He¡¯d almost lost the portal. ¡°Fetch the King and Queen. Now!¡± a guard shouted behind him. Had he seen the Cauldron, Daire, or both? I shoved my hands into the water and grabbed two fists fulls of Daire¡¯s shirt. Bracing myself on the courtyard, I tugged back on him. Chapter 41 - Daire The portal in my mirror turned between a vision of blue-tinted flowers and solemn pines and my own shuddering limbs and fading glow. My eyelids were great weights wanting to fall. Once they did, my legs would come down with them. I couldn¡¯t sustain the portal long enough to push myself through. The pounding steps of guards thundered behind me and one called to the others. My end was at hand. They would catch me. Whether they took me prisoner or submitted me to my family, I would rot in a dungeon pit awaiting Samhain¡¯s final hour. A crimson-stained hand, my only indication of Maya¡¯s presence, broke through the remnants of the portal. Two strong, solid limbs seized my tunic and pulled. I tipped over and fell into the mirror. I lost purchase on one end of the frame. My fingertips caught and held fast to the other. The soft liquid magic closed over me, and by extension the mirror I grasped. I closed my eyes and girded myself for whatever happened next. A firm, but cushioned surface with a stiff frame absorbed my fall. I opened my eyes to find myself hovering over the courtyard¡¯s rough-hewn stones rather than laying upon them. Something tightened and shifted under me. Muscle? A body? ¡°M-Maya?¡± I stammered as my face filled with heat. What parts of her did I lay on? Her chest, her stomach, her thighs? I would¡¯ve scrambled off, but my limbs slumped as if the bones had melted and all they left was loose bags of flesh and joint-less sinew. Maya¡¯s smeared hand cupped under my arm. The rest of her pushed me up and dragged me toward the grass. The green stalks tickled, but served as a far less embarrassing pallet than my full-figured friend. After long moments of deep breathing and rest, I lifted my mirror to my face. I had seen and spoken to her through it earlier because she had its twin in the dream state with her. I tapped it once to trigger the connection, but nothing happened. That portal had drained my power to the final drop. ¡°By Danu¡¯s bosom.¡± I borrowed Aunt Brigid¡¯s favorite curse as I fumbled through the haze clouding my mind. How else could I remedy this? Maya¡¯s red hand rummaged in the air where her chest should be. Through her brassiere? The bronze ivy leaves on my mirror¡¯s frame flashed. Of course! If she initiated the enchantment, I wouldn¡¯t need to expend energy sustaining it. Maya¡¯s crooked grin appeared a moment later. ¡°That plan¡­sucked,¡± Maya said, her voice hoarse. ¡°How are we burying this thing?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll need your help for as long as your shape lasts.¡± I pushed myself upright. ¡°I can¡¯t make my flowers do anything in this condition. We will have to dig with our hands, I will need to rest, and then I can muster the power to properly hide the Cauldron.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve got the time, I think.¡± Maya sighed but something firm thumped my back. ¡°Catch your second wind. I¡¯ll start digging.¡± * * * Maya¡¯s dream-self lasted as long as it took for us to dig the hole for the Cauldron. The sacred object stayed small as she dumped it in, then her bloody hand vanished. My breathing came easier, and I had better mobility in my limbs. I glamoured any bloody remnants from my clothes, marked the Cauldron¡¯s place with a little mound, and drizzled what other power I¡¯d recovered into it. A few green shoots sprouted along the soil before I collapsed on the path. Running footsteps reverberated by my ear. I jolted up. Father raced toward me. ¡°Father, I didn¡¯t expect you yet.¡± I looked beyond him. No one trailed after. ¡°Where¡¯s Mother?¡± ¡°With Brigid at Tara.¡± Father stooped before me and offered his arm. ¡°Bodb has called an urgent gathering.¡± ¡°What for?¡± I locked my arm on his and forced myself not to check the bald gap in my flower bed where the Cauldron hid. Later I could come back to finish my work. A summons from the High King didn¡¯t leave me much choice. ¡°He only told me that something jeopardizes my campaign.¡± Father hoisted me to my feet and led me toward the nearest scrying pool. His power flowed into the water and the reflection of the sky transformed to Tara¡¯s main fortress. ¡°And that all of us must attend.¡± My stomach soured as I speculated. It could be about Una¡¯s disfigurement, or the Cauldron. Would Una have brought her testimony to Uncle Bodb? Refuting her claim that I attacked her would be simple, considering the truth was far different. I was unsure if the guards had seen me go through the portal, but they would notice their region¡¯s treasure missing. So long as I could say with certainty I had not stolen the Cauldron, since I had only aided Maya, that should be enough to convince them of my innocence. Father and I entered through the pool and emerged from one of the feasting yard¡¯s many standing stones. We walked into Tara¡¯s fortress and stopped inside the main hall. Bodb sat in his golden throne with the Dagda¡¯s Club in hand. Mother huddled with Aunt Brigid and Uncle Aengus to the left of the High King¡¯s seat. Father led me to stand with them. Across from us stood one of Tir Na Nog¡¯s legendary figures: Manannan Mac Lir. The enigmatic Master of the Seas was our most ancient elder who had seen every war and conflict of our race. He had fashioned Tir Na Nog itself and was the only surviving original patriarch of a house, the most numerous family left. His blue eyes shifted like pools without any whites or pupils within them. The shifting stone gray cloak he wore concealed his fabled third leg, a deformity he¡¯d kept despite that it prevented him from ruling according to the Aos Si¡¯s ancient laws. His presence dominated the room. Its influence matched all of the Dagda¡¯s Brood¡¯s powers combined. ¡°We have all assembled.¡± Bodb tapped his club against the floor and the peal boomed against the empty walls. ¡°Manannan Mac Lir of Emain Ablach, Master of the Seas and Enchantment, state your purpose.¡± ¡°I have come to find what is rightfully mine.¡± Manannan¡¯s words flowed from his mouth, penetrating my thoughts as if he projected himself rather than spoken. ¡°The Spear of Lugh was recently discovered missing from its chamber. No traces of residual magic were found, but my spells were tampered with and my security measures activated. It did not disappear on its own. It has been stolen.¡± ¡°And what made you insist that I call together my house for this matter?¡± Bodb tugged on a small braid of his beard. ¡°The testimony of Connacht¡¯s Queen.¡± Manannan narrowed his focus from Bodb to Father. ¡°She claimed that her agents could not find the Cauldron after Lord Midir of Bri Leith proposed their latest feast that would leave it unguarded, and after the Key Bearer attacked her just this very night. One of my trusted healers is tending to her eye as we speak.¡± My family collectively gawked at me. I shrank nearer to Mother, reverting to a small child. Should I have felt humiliation at their prying eyes with secret exposed? Their gazes pinned me there and brought flashes of Una¡¯s slithering magic holding me captive. What if Maya hadn¡¯t come? The possibilities of what her wandering hands would have done once they joined her creeping energy¡­ I rubbed my arms to stave off my sudden chill. ¡°I highly doubt my son would attack anyone.¡± Mother wrapped her tender arm around my waist. ¡°He has too gentle a nature.¡± ¡°And he¡¯s incompetent at combat.¡± Father stepped between Manannan and me, rubbing the pommel of his sheathed sword. His barb didn¡¯t have the same sting behind it when he used it in my defense. ¡°He would only have need of violence if he had to defend himself. Lady Una has hounded him at every turn since we first came to Cruachan.¡± ¡°That does not change the facts of her testimony.¡± Manannan shifted under his cloak, but the fabric hid him too well for me to tell how. ¡°Either you or your heir seem to have contributed to the Cauldron¡¯s disappearance.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll grant you the circumstances seem suspicious. Let King Finvarra confront me himself,¡± Father said. ¡°You have no reason to link us with your missing treasure.¡± ¡°Do I not?¡± Manannan raised his eyebrows as he looked to Aengus next. ¡°Your foster son and youngest brother is known as a wily trickster. He persuaded King Ilbrec to invite him to Emain Ablach before the Spear of Lugh was taken and is more than capable of performing such a feat.¡± ¡°I was there to offer balance while you entertained the Lady of Irons.¡± Uncle Aengus rolled his eyes, but all humor dropped from his expression. ¡°You have to recognize she will wreck what¡¯s left of us if she wins the High King¡¯s seat.¡± ¡°I will not be deterred, welp.¡± Manannan¡¯s sharp tone cracked the air and I winced. ¡°Two out of four of our race¡¯s dearest possessions are lost. This has not happened since you created the Key. Someone saw that change is coming and chose now to strike. The fact that none of you seem concerned strikes me as suspicious. This house has defied tradition by naming a chosen successor rather than calling for candidates, securing their rule for ages to come. Do you seek to centralize your power even more by claiming the most powerful objects the Aos Si possess?¡± ¡°Our priority has been and always will be the preservation of our people,¡± Bodb cut in. ¡°I commend you for bringing this to my attention. I will see to it that this thief is found.¡± ¡°If you truly wish to find them, allow me to assist.¡± Manannan swept his cloak aside and withdrew a silver chalice encrusted with jewels. I knew that magical object from tales. If three lies were spoken over it, the vessel would break. If three truths, it would join together again. ¡°The Dagda¡¯s Brood has nothing to hide, aye? Hold this as you answer my questions and I shall be satisfied.¡± ¡°What use is a truth-telling cup with those who cannot speak falsehoods?¡± Brigid raised a brow Manannan¡¯s way. ¡°It discerns both lies and deceptions.¡± Manannan held the goblet out to Bodb first. ¡°Shall the oldest start?¡± ¡°How are we to know you aren¡¯t putting on this show to hide your own guilt, m¡¯lord?¡± Uncle Aengus crossed his arms over his chest. ¡°Then allow me to demonstrate how my creation works.¡± Manannan returned the cup to his breast while he set his cloak over his shoulder, leaving his chest exposed. ¡°I did not take the Dagda¡¯s Cauldron from Connacht, nor do I desire to. Neither me nor any of my family or subjects fabricated the theft of Lugh¡¯s Spear, nor do we desire to. I do not seek the power of any of the sacred treasures of the Tuatha De Danann, only that they be restored to their rightful places.¡± The chalice glowed a soft blue after he finished reciting his statements. Soft power made its surface glisten and its jewels twinkle. It seemed to accept Manannan¡¯s word as truth without a hint of misdirection. Father tightened his grip on his sword and Uncle Aengus¡¯ arms stiffened infinitesimally. I set my own hands behind my back, hiding how my fingers twisted around one another. How could I manage to outwit such blunt magic? This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. ¡°Since I am the oldest, I will pass the cup to you next, my liege.¡± Manannan held the goblet out to Bodb. ¡°Then you may give it to Queen Brigid, and down the line by age.¡± ¡°If this farce is the only way to satisfy you, ask your questions.¡± The High King took it. Manannan asked the same three questions of Bodb and Brigid: ¡°Did you take the Spear or the Cauldron? Did you help take the Spear or the Cauldron? Do you know who took the Spear or the Cauldron?¡± They were simple and clear in their wording, which made them all the harder to avoid. When both Bodb and Brigid answered all three with plain denials, the cup shone brighter. It went to Father next. He held the goblet to his chest, grumbling about how the entire activity was a farce. To the first and second questions, he answered no. Manannan focused on the cup as he asked whether Father knew who took the treasures. That would be the third truth. I watched with baited breath. Would the enchantment differentiate between certain knowledge and conjecture? Did Father even suspect me? Father hesitated a fraction of a moment before his reply. ¡°No, I do not know who took them.¡± The silver shimmered and the sapphires sparkled. Manannan scrutinized Father as he passed the goblet to Aengus. Father revealed nothing behind that stoic mask. He had centuries of practice, after all. ¡°The craftsmanship is lovely.¡± Aengus made a little show out of taking it when his turn came, turning it this way and that as he did when examining something¡¯s spellwork. ¡°I take it the number of truths had to be three so that the magic could tell between true truth and deception? A good balance.¡± ¡°You would do well not to patronize my arts, infant.¡± Manannan¡¯s eyes darkened and swirled like whirlpools. The room darkened as wisps of storm clouds formed over our heads. ¡°Did you take the Spear or the Cauldron?¡± ¡°I assure you, I have no reason to.¡± Aengus tapped one of the jewels along the goblet¡¯s rim. ¡°Next question.¡± ¡°Did you help take the Spear or the Cauldron?¡± ¡°You couldn¡¯t come up with a better sign than something that repairs and destroys itself?¡± Aengus mumbled a few more criticisms under his breath. ¡°As for your query, why would I help if I had no reason to take it?¡± ¡°I will continue to ask questions until that chalice gleams or breaks. Avoiding answers will not help you.¡± Manannan¡¯s clouds thickened and a rain drop pricked my nose. ¡°Do you know who took the Spear or the Cauldron? A clear answer this time.¡± ¡°No, I don¡¯t know for sure. I could give you a host of theories though.¡± Aengus rubbed his throat. ¡°Do you think you could fill this for me? I¡¯m parched.¡± Manannan didn¡¯t respond to my uncle¡¯s last taunt as he watched the goblet. It glittered as bright as it had with the rest of the family. ¡°You should divulge those theories,¡± Manannan said as the clouds overhead thinned. ¡°And you said you would stop your questions when it gleamed.¡± Uncle Aengus thrust the goblet out to me. I considered it as an idea dawned on me, inspired by my mentor¡¯s irreverent behavior. As long as the enchantment had less than three truths it would not shine, so the same must be true of deceptions. I could outwit this thing at the cost of irritating Tir Na Nog¡¯s creator. ¡°The Lady Etain is not exempt from this test.¡± Manannan trailed his gaze to Mother beside me. Mother¡¯s shoulders twitched and the corners of her eyes crinkled as she squinted. She dug her nails deeper into me and trembled. ¡°My wife is not part of the Dagda¡¯s Brood,¡± Father interjected. ¡°And her truths change with her moods. Not even your magic could discern between them.¡± ¡°She is within a human body, is she not?¡± Manannan raised his brows at Father. ¡°My enchantment should work best on her.¡± ¡°I won¡¯t drink from it!¡± Mother stepped behind me and made me a shield between her and Manannan¡¯s intense gaze. ¡°It¡¯s a potion to fog my wits again. Do you think me dull? I am the Queen of all Eire and I did not earn my place by being so naive.¡± ¡°See what I mean?¡± Father said dryly. ¡°Enough of this game.¡± I snatched the cup away from Uncle Aengus. ¡°Mother has not the means nor the motive to aid or commit a theft so grand.¡± The cup grew cooler in my hand as I recited that absolute truth above it. Only two more left. Manannan¡¯s nostrils flared as he addressed me. ¡°Tread carefully, child.¡± ¡°I will do as I please.¡± I tilted my chin up to better face him since he towered head and shoulders over me. ¡°Go on with your questions.¡± ¡°Did you take the Spear or the Cauldron?¡± Manannan started. ¡°That would be a terrible idea. I wouldn¡¯t take them. It would ruin me.¡± I spun the goblet as if imaginary liquid swirled within it. It pulsed cold again. Two truths down. One more left. The clouds over our heads thickened until they blotted out the ceiling. Fat and gray, they resembled Riona¡¯s toxic aura when she lost her temper. Manannan persisted. ¡°Did you help to take the Spear or the Cauldron?¡± ¡°Why would I help rather than take them myself?¡± I couldn¡¯t answer this one without deception. ¡°My power isn¡¯t as grand as all that.¡± The silver grew warm on my palm. If it pulsed cold with truth, then it must have sensed my deceit. ¡°You take too much after Aengus.¡± Manannan¡¯s lip curled. ¡°Do you know who took the Spear or the Cauldron?¡± ¡°If I did not do it and did not help, then it would stand to reason that I don¡¯t know who did it.¡± The goblet pulsed warmer. I added my final truth: ¡°And yes, I do take after Uncle Aengus. He taught me everything I know.¡± The cup turned icy under my touch, its jewels twinkling as it made itself whole. ¡°There you have it. All of us clean and your toy left without a tarnish.¡± Aengus took the goblet from me and handed it back to Manannan. ¡°This one hardly provided any definitive answers, only conjecture.¡± Manannan looked away toward Bodb. ¡°I seek to question the Key Bearer further.¡± ¡°You stated that you would be satisfied when your Cup of Truth shined for all the Dagda¡¯s Brood. It has done so. You have no need to bother us further.¡± Bodb pounded his club against the ground. ¡°This gathering is adjourned.¡± ¡°I volunteer my services in finding this thief, as repayment for my son¡¯s cheek.¡± Father stepped up and scruffed my neck. He pulled me into a bow as he offered Manannan the same. ¡°I¡¯ll take him and his mother home straight away and meet you at Emain Ablach.¡± ¡°See that you do.¡± The storm clouds rumbled and flashed with thunder when Manannan wrapped his cloak around him anew. A curtain of fat raindrops fell around him and the Lord of Enchantment vanished behind it. The precipitation winked out after him. Father groaned as he removed his circlet and smoothed his hair back. ¡°This is a fine mess you¡¯ve gotten me into.¡± ¡°It seemed nothing more than a silly power play.¡± I shook his hand off my neck. ¡°Why should I go along with it?¡± ¡°Because Ilbrec listens to him and according to you he already favors Riona.¡± Father wagged his circlet at me. ¡°I¡¯m placing Brigid in charge of the estate while I¡¯m gone. I should hope you treat her and your mother better than you did Manannan Mac Lir.¡± ¡°I will behave as I¡¯d like to behave.¡± I glanced over my shoulder to Mother, still huddled behind me. ¡°Do you wish to go back with me and Aunt Brigid? We will keep your wits intact. No more fog.¡± ¡°I won¡¯t believe it unless I witness Midir giving Brigid the order with my own eyes.¡± Mother let go of me and readjusted the disheveled part of her bodice. Her transition back to calm seemed far smoother than it should. ¡°I deserve as much after demeaning myself with that performance.¡± ¡°That was an act?¡± I looked over her, hardly recognizing the woman. ¡°I thought the timing of your fit was too convenient.¡± Father offered his hand to Mother with a proud smile. ¡°Shall we?¡± ¡°Yes¡ª¡± Mother blinked too hard, and her shoulders locked up. She stumbled back a step and rubbed her eyes. When she next looked upon us, Father and I, it was as if we were strangers with the panic that filled her face. ¡°You¡¯re not Eochaid. You¡¯re¡­where is my daughter? Where is Little Tainy?¡± ¡°She died an old woman with a heroic son who cherished her.¡± The happiness fled Father¡¯s face as Mother reverted. He held her eyes, his own pleading. ¡°Dear heart, please remember the progress we¡¯ve made since then.¡± ¡°No! You are not my true husband.¡± Mother smacked his hand away. ¡°You keep me locked away and steal my children for your own ends. May the Morrigan take you so I can wither away in peace.¡± ¡°Mother, I¡¯m right here. He hasn¡¯t taken me away.¡± I took her fingers in mine. ¡°Please think back on this past week. Do you recall what happened, where we were?¡± ¡°Daire?¡± Mother flinched at my touch but didn¡¯t pull away. She closed her eyes and pressed the heel of her hand against them. ¡°I said sweet things of him but¡­but then why would I strike him? I hate him. I would not bed someone I hate. Who put these images here? I¡¯m¡­I¡¯m so confused.¡± ¡°Breathe in and out Mother, slow and steady.¡± I frowned as I took her shoulders and guided her toward the mirrors at the front of the room. ¡°Let¡¯s go home. Then you can rest and recollect.¡± ¡°Yes. Rest¡­give me eternal rest.¡± Mother¡¯s voice came as a pleading whimper as she held onto my fingers tight enough to rub my knuckles together. ¡°I don¡¯t want this anymore. It hurts too much. End me, please.¡± I didn¡¯t reply as I walked with her the rest of the way to Bri Leith. Right when I thought things might be improving, she reminded me that the problem still persisted, no matter how we tried to help it. * * * I covered the Cauldron¡¯s hiding place with the same purple flowers I¡¯d used to conceal the Spear. It would be easier to find after we had the Sword and were ready to complete the ritual. Once sweat stuck to me and dirt caked my boots from so much manual labor, I settled into my bed. Brigid had taken Mother on a walk of the grounds after we returned, advising that I stay behind for both of our sakes. The domed walls pressed in rather than comforted. Light from the glowing stones set into the ceiling glared oppressively against the softer stars coming through. It all felt wrong, too vulnerable. Had someone invaded my most private sanctuary? I checked the wards along my skylight, my door, my mirror. They remained solid and without tampering. Augmenting them would take more power than I had. At the very least I shouldn¡¯t be alone. By myself I was defenseless. I called Maya through my small bronze ivy mirror. It flashed white in time with my heart. Fear wormed its way through my bloodstream and the light pulsed faster. Why didn¡¯t she answer? The larger gold looking glass hanging from my wall rippled. I scooted against my bed¡¯s nearest pillar, gripping at my dagger sheath. Empty. Maya stepped through, and concern knitted her heavy brows together. ¡°You look like a cornered opossum. How¡¯d it go after I left?¡± ¡°Warn me next time you plan to enter unannounced.¡± I held my chest, willing my heartbeat to slow. ¡°Manannan interrogated my entire family and I to see if we had taken his Spear or Finvarra¡¯s Cauldron. I managed to outwit his Cup of Truth, but he still suspects me. We have to work fast. We don¡¯t have much time left.¡± ¡°How long is that?¡± She slid my desk chair over and sat. ¡°Ten days.¡± The number had seared itself in my memory, a counter that flashed every morning, letting me know how long I had left to live. No¡­how long I had left to save myself. ¡°We¡¯ll have to take a different tact with the Sword, in case one of us is caught again.¡± ¡°Do you need to talk about that?¡± Maya leaned over me. ¡°My family knows that I had to defend myself against her. They won¡¯t suspect that you¡¯re involved.¡± I wiped my soil-smeared palms on the hem of my tunic, my fingers trembling some. ¡°Are you¡­that cannot have been easy for you.¡± ¡°Adrenaline helped. I¡¯ll get over it,¡± Maya said. ¡°That¡¯s not what I¡¯m worried about. Screw cultural differences. What she did wasn¡¯t right.¡± ¡°But she¡¯s a political ally.¡± I sighed as I laid back. ¡°I¡¯ve been lucky so far that none of my family has asked why I was wandering the halls alone. If I bring it up, then they might suspect I was behind the Cauldron.¡± ¡°I get that.¡± Maya squeezed my knee, the closest part of me in reach of her. ¡°But I¡¯m still here when you¡¯re ready, alright?¡± ¡°I will¡­remember that.¡± I gulped down the quivering lump in my throat and refocused my thoughts. ¡°It¡¯s better we talk of other matters first, like how we¡¯re going to get the Sword, then steal the book back from Uncle Aengus.¡± ¡°Your dad still planning on visiting all the council leaders?¡± ¡°No. He¡¯s stopped his campaign to help investigate where the treasures are. What about Riona? Any progress?¡± ¡°She¡¯s dead set on leaving west for last.¡± Maya wrinkled her nose in thought. ¡°But so far the south queens haven¡¯t budged any. She¡¯s hit a dead end.¡± ¡°We should plan for when the Sword is available to us at least.¡± I rubbed the bridge of my nose as flashes of that experience went through my mind. ¡°It will probably do us as much good as this last time.¡± ¡°Hey, we still pulled it off,¡± Maya insisted. ¡°Think of how bad it would¡¯ve gone if we didn¡¯t have that plan, huh?¡± I repressed a shudder at that imagined disaster. Me painting half-thought excuses to escape Father and attempting to sneak past a legion of guards to reach the Cauldron. I would¡¯ve expended all of my energy bringing Maya to Cruachan, then hurt myself trying to send her away. Una¡¯s agents rather than the queen herself would drag me to her chambers and no one would know, not even Maya. ¡°Sorry, I didn¡¯t mean you should actually imagine that.¡± She frowned and fiddled with her lip piercing between her teeth. ¡°Let¡¯s plan a little, talk a little, and see where it goes, alright?¡± ¡°I doubt I¡¯ll be able to do more than one portal by then. Perhaps in the meantime I can add a detection enchantment to your mirror so you can find the Sword. We¡¯ve used the dream draught too much and shouldn¡¯t use it again, lest someone start to suspect me using that magic.¡± The logical steps came mechanically, one thought after another. It wasn¡¯t long before other feelings crowded over the cool comfort of reasoning. I trailed off as my ideas shriveled. Silence emptied the room while varied noise filled my mind like an overflowing cup. Only ten days left. Mother¡¯s condition worsening. The unknown abyss of death looming like Una when she had me pinned with her magic. Waiting for the inevitable to happen and unsure if anything I did could change it. ¡°Woah, slow your breathing.¡± Maya moved from the chair to the edge of the bed so she sat with me rather than nearby. ¡°Sit up. Bend over. Remember: in, hold, out, hold. That¡¯s it.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t stop this. Why can¡¯t I stop this?¡± My voice came out thick as phlegm obstructed my throat. ¡°We should be further by now. I should be able to do something more.¡± ¡°It¡¯s been awhile since you panicked. I can¡¯t blame you.¡± A firm arm came around my shoulders. ¡°Good ideas for the Sword. I¡¯m happy with those. Now tell me what¡¯s going on with you.¡± My doubts and fears and conflicts spilled out. The Key, Mother¡¯s condition, even how both situations paralleled my encounter with Una. I almost let slip that I¡¯d felt jealous of Riona for having Maya¡¯s affections, but held it in. That burden was so much lighter, it weighed nothing right then. After all, Maya wasn¡¯t with my sister, she was with me. And as long as I had her solid presence to cling to while I floated adrift, that was enough. Chapter 42 - Maya I went to Rio¡¯s burrow with hefty worries and murky expectations. Daire had unloaded and cried long enough to recover all his magic and put a Nuada¡¯s Sword detection spell on my mirror. Doing that made him pass out. He deserved the nap. Rio bumped me and jolted me out of my haze. ¡°Oh, you have returned.¡± ¡°Were you waiting up?¡± I peeked behind her. A line of smudged footprints were tracked in the dirt floor going up and down the hall. Anxiety made her pace like that. ¡°He called you as soon as you woke and you often take longer than necessary when visiting him.¡± Rio crossed her arms and her tight mouth soured in a frown. ¡°You know how he likes to talk.¡± I winced at the excuse. Dismissing my jealous crush¡¯s issue while badmouthing my friend who¡¯d just had a full blown panic attack? That took some crappy talent. ¡°Did he give you something we can use?¡± ¡°Um, some.¡± I sifted through the metric ton of info Daire had confided to me. We usually agreed ahead of time on what we¡¯d tell Rio and his family after our meetings. I hadn¡¯t remembered to check with him this time. She¡¯d love to know how Manannan had interrogated his family. That seemed too private, though. ¡°Did you forget or did you let him take up so much of your time for something inconsequential?¡± Rio¡¯s eyes settled into a dark gray. ¡°There¡¯s something big that got stolen.¡± I shrugged, reminding myself that pressure made her catty. It didn¡¯t help that every lie and half-truth I told justified her attitude. ¡°Daire¡¯s dad stopped campaigning to help look for it.¡± ¡°Such an item must be quite valuable to earn his attention.¡± Rio tapped her chin and pursed her lips. ¡°What was it? Perhaps if I can find it first, I may earn enough favor to make Queen Cliona and Aine take notice.¡± ¡°Some kind of weapon. A spear I think.¡± ¡°Did he mention anything else? Give any hints?¡± Rio¡¯s pupils got big as dinner plates. ¡°No, he didn¡¯t.¡± I turned away and headed for my cot. Nerves cramped my insides like a crumpled paper wad. ¡°You cannot need to sleep again.¡± Rio swerved around me and cut off my way to bed. ¡°When can you go back and ask for more details? This could be what I need to tip the scale in my favor.¡± ¡°Weren¡¯t you just complaining how I spent too much time over there?¡± ¡°That was before you learned something that could guarantee our survival come Samhain. I can bear through his advances toward you for the sake of living past the election.¡± ¡°Two things.¡± I shoved two fingers at her. ¡°One: if I go back again this soon, then either Daire or his family is going to figure out I¡¯m spying for you. Two: there¡¯s nothing you¡¯ve got to be jealous about. He¡¯s a friend. That¡¯s it. Lay off.¡± ¡°I doubt he feels the same way.¡± ¡°Look, you trust me, right?¡± ¡°Trusting you does not mean I can trust him.¡± ¡°Say you¡¯re right, and he wants to get me into bed or something. I can handle it.¡± I rubbed my eyes, too emotionally exhausted to deal with this crap. ¡°It¡¯s not like we¡¯re together¡­¡± Rio went quiet and magnetized static built in the air around her. Why? Wait¡­I¡¯d said that aloud. ¡°Shit.¡± A cold weightlessness settled over my chest like I¡¯d woken up still stuck in a mild nightmare. I reached out for her hand. ¡°I didn¡¯t mean it like that¡ª¡± Rio flinched away. Any hint in her face about her feelings vanished behind a hard mask. ¡°Come on, don¡¯t give me the silent treatment.¡± I pulled away. ¡°We can talk through this. That¡¯s what we do.¡± Rio opened her mouth, probably to say something cutting. I¡¯d never find out. She looked away behind me toward the mirrors. I looked over my shoulder. The curtain hiding the one with apples and celestial bodies beamed yellow. Rio rushed to the curtain, lifted it up, and touched the flashing glass. The light dulled into a couple of ladies standing in the frame. One had pearl-white skin and hair with a subtle sheen while the other had a bronze tan with yellow hair that shined bright enough to make me squint. It¡¯s like they were a couple cosplaying as the sun and moon. ¡°Good day, Lady of Irons!¡± The sunshine blonde on the left waved with a wide smile at Rio that bordered on childish. I nicknamed her Sunny, only because it was the only thing that fit her aesthetic theme and bubbly greeting. ¡°How are you and your changeling?¡± ¡°Far better now.¡± Rio offered a convincing plastic grin and a short bow of her head. ¡°To what do I owe the pleasure of your call, your majesties?¡± ¡°Our attendants have chattered about wanting to have an audience with Tir Na Nog¡¯s only modern human since Aoife first bragged about meeting her.¡± Sunny hung on the paler woman¡¯s arm and looked up at her with exaggerated adoration. ¡°Then Clia, the most stunning wife in all of Tir Na Nog, had the brilliant idea to invite the two of you.¡± ¡°She exaggerates,¡± Clia, the moon-themed one of the pair, indulged her wife with a humble snicker. Then she sobered and raised her chin at Rio. ¡°My realm¡¯s loyalty to High King Bodb Derg still stands, for now. However, Lord Manannan has reported some disturbing news from Tara that has me concerned. Both Lugh¡¯s Spear and the Dagda¡¯s Cauldron have gone missing. I wanted your thoughts on the matter. And if the conversation should wander to the election, so be it.¡± ¡°Why are you being so serious about Papa?¡± Sunny pouted. ¡°He hates it when you do that.¡± ¡°This is official business, Aine,¡± Clia said under her breath. ¡°It calls for a dose of formality.¡± ¡°Name the time and we will come,¡± Rio slipped in. ¡°Tonight,¡± Both Clia and Aine (a.k.a. Sunny) said together. Rio exchanged goodbyes with the queens and let the black curtain fall back over the mirror. The cold mask covered her face again as it swung. ¡°Take your rest. I¡¯ll fetch you dinner from the woods. Without the Cauldron to supply it, the cabinet won¡¯t work.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not really tired.¡± I started down the hall toward her and the boulder. ¡°I¡¯ll come too. We can¡ª¡± ¡°I don¡¯t need you,¡± Rio said, quoting another time I¡¯d lost my temper and run off. Fine. If she needed her alone time, I¡¯d give it to her. If she wanted to be petty, I¡¯d be the bigger person and hope she got over it. As she rolled the boulder away from the entrance and shrank into Queenie, my doubts crawled from where I¡¯d repressed them. Was this a one time thing or the start of a pattern? Could I stand that for a chance at a long term relationship? Did I want to risk it? I sighed as I sagged down the wall and pulled Daire¡¯s mirror out of my bra. That stuff didn¡¯t matter yet. My priority was getting Rio out of Tir Na Nog alive. Once we were past that, then I could think about the consequences. I tapped the glass and got a sleepy Daire on the line. ¡°Get ready,¡± I told him as he looked back at me with bleary eyes. ¡°I¡¯m going for the Sword.¡± * * * I rested with the mirror safely tucked away with its pointy leaf corners poking me the whole time. This was it. The Sword was the last object we needed before I had to bring the three scattered sacred objects to the stationary fourth, the Stone of Destiny, and Daire could do the spell to send me home. Once I had it, I could talk to him about how we were going to bring Rio into this to save her life and get her to abandon the election. Rio came back with some wild nuts and berries. I ate in silence while she stewed and avoided looking directly at her in the awkward quiet. If she wanted to come to me, fine. I¡¯d wait until then. We both went to the mirror once I finished eating. Rio took my shoulders a bit rougher than usual, and the familiar tingles of her magic trailed down my arms. ¡°Woah, a little permission.¡± I shrank away from her and rubbed my shoulders where she¡¯d touched. ¡°You never protested before.¡± ¡°You always asked first.¡± ¡°Do you suddenly dislike me making you formal attire?¡± Rio eyes shifted to a cloudy gray. Her energy crackled like before a spring thunderstorm. ¡°Or is this about keeping Daire¡¯s mirror stored with you?¡± ¡°I do like it, that¡¯s not¡­¡± I sighed, raking my bangs out of my eyes. ¡°Look, you can do whatever you want to my clothes, but leave my bra. I keep the mirror on me in case he calls. Normally it¡¯s not important, but if I miss it, he gets suspicious. I need him to trust me.¡± ¡°Can his trust in you be so fragile after all this time?¡± Rio set her fingertips back on my shoulders and warm tingling poured down from them. My shirt lengthened to a black under-dress, my tennis shoes changed to soft boots, then a flowing purple cloak with silver Celtic-knots covered it all. ¡°Surely you see that he must have ulterior motives, if not to woo you then to ply you for knowledge of my plans.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s do this later,¡± I said as I braided my hair to the side. ¡°Please.¡± ¡°Why else would you lash out if he hadn¡¯t turned you against me?¡± ¡°Because I¡¯m frustrated!¡± I yanked out the progress I made on my hair and spun around to look at her. ¡°One minute you¡¯re pushing me off on Daire because you have to keep your distance. The next you¡¯re asking me to stop seeing him so much like a jealous girlfriend. You say we have to wait to see what¡¯s between us while acting like we¡¯re already together.¡± ¡°Our situation is¡ª¡± ¡°Yeah, the election drama is complicated. But this,¡± I said as I gestured between us, ¡°needs to be consistent. I¡¯ll go along with whichever you want, but you need to pick one way and stick to it.¡± Rio deflected behind me and touched the edge of the mirror over my shoulder. Wind hit my back in a great big woosh as I turned around and went through, whipping my half-dyed bangs in my eyes. We walked out onto a low peak surrounded by taller green mountains. I¡¯d caught a glimpse of a range or two when Mom and I went to California for Abuela¡¯s funeral, but never that close. A large lake sat in the central valley with water so clear it cast a perfect reflection of the twilight sky. An oval courtyard sat in the middle of it with trees growing out of it. In the middle was a gleaming gold one whose branches lit the entire lake like a tiny sun. The silver ones around it rimmed the perimeter and their roots, trunks, and swaying leaves seemed like they were made of jewelry. Rio led us down a faint path between long grass and overgrown shrubs. The foliage scratched at my boots and the edge of my cloak caught on thorns. We followed that gentle slope, and I spotted smaller white platforms and lakes nestled in the distance. They were arranged at random throughout the landscape, the only man-made structures dotting the mountain sides. Rio and I hiked on. The ratio between night and day on the horizon stayed fifty percent warm, fifty percent cool with stars dotting the darker parts. Daire told me once that the time of day only shifted in his part of Tir Na Nog, not the others. Did the queens always keep their part stuck between sunrise or sunset? If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. We approached the lake and Rio walked a straight line on top of the water. At first I jerked away, but she tugged me along and I stumbled onto a solid, invisible path. I rushed behind her until we passed under the silver trees. Glistening apples dangled off them just out of reach. Daire¡¯s mirror got warm against my side. The Sword must be nearby. But where? In a tree? Gray-dressed women dropped from the branches without shaking them. More climbed from the depths of the lake, not making a ripple on the water. They all had monochromatic hair with combs holding it up and their cat pupils went round as they studied me. The center tree that made its own light rolled open like curtains for a window. Queen Clia walked out with Queen Aine coming up behind her. Clia wore a dark purple dress that faded into an even darker blue until it became pitch black at the bottom of her skirt. The black cloak hanging over her shoulder sparkled where clusters of small stars dotted it. Aine had put on a tiara of flowers that held her gold curls back from her face. Her intense shine drowned out the finer details of her outfit and made me see flashing spots on everything else. ¡°Your luminous majesties.¡± Rio dipped her head. I copied her, relieved at the chance to look away from all that light. ¡°Riona, Lady of Irons, and my companion Maya of the Mortal Realm.¡± ¡°Yes, we have been told much of your ward,¡± Clia said and three small birds flew around her head and parked on her shoulders. She gestured to the other side of her wife. ¡°You already know my other guest.¡± Aengus of all people stood there, bowing to Rio and me with his hands behind his back. ¡°You had just come up in the conversation.¡± ¡°Speak of the devil,¡± I muttered as I scowled at him. ¡°I always thought it better to know someone in the flesh than by listening to rumors,¡± Rio said, giving Aengus a stiff, but cordial nod. Her skin didn¡¯t hum, but her nostrils flared. ¡°Were you invited as well?¡± ¡°One of the Bean Sidhe happened to be entertaining me, we ran across these two, and things went from there,¡± Aengus said with a crooked smirk. ¡°Her hair is so strange, don¡¯t you think Clia?¡± Aine remarked, her voice as bubbly and sweet as when she¡¯d talked in the mirror. ¡°Do you like her colors?¡± ¡°Yes, both are exceptionally pleasing to her shape,¡± Clia, the white-haired queen replied. ¡°Did she let you assemble her attire, Lady Riona, or did she come up with it on her own?¡± I hid my fists behind my back at the patronizing talk. At least they were nicer about it than Manannan¡¯s son. ¡°She graciously allowed me to dress her according to our ways.¡± Rio wrapped her arm around my shoulders, using her other to wave toward the white-haired queen. ¡°This is her majesty Cliona of Southern Mumhan.¡± She then gestured to Aine who twinkled at me like a kid to a birthday present. ¡°This is her majesty Aine of North Mumhan who rules alongside Cliona, though she does not sit on the election council.¡± ¡°Lord Manannan talked about them, right?¡± I said, racking my brain to try and sort through all the information crammed in my head. ¡°He bragged about Aine¡ªQueen Aine a lot.¡± ¡°Oh, Papa does that to antagonize my brother.¡± Despite the mock modesty, Aine puffed her chest and her light pulsed brighter a second. I squinted and she dulled it back to normal levels. ¡°My enthusiasm can be overwhelming to most. I will attempt to keep it reigned in your presence, Maya, for Lady Riona¡¯s sake.¡± ¡°Was it difficult to tame such radiance, Lady Cliona?¡± Rio commented with the same hint of mischief she used when flirting with me. ¡°Her radiance is always nigh untamable.¡± Cliona laced her fingers with her wife¡¯s. ¡°I would have it no different. It pleases my song birds to have her light up Mumhan. It makes the apples grow much better as well.¡± ¡°The two of you do compliment each other.¡± Aengus waved to the sky like an afterthought. ¡°I do enjoy the twilight your union has put in the region, as well. The colors remind me of this weather trick Fuamnach¡ªI¡¯m sure you remember my foster mother¡ª did to bend sunlight with clouds when I was much younger. Always a beautiful thing.¡± ¡°She told the loveliest stories as well.¡± Rio¡¯s nails dug into my shoulder and her irises turned black. ¡°A great pity to lose such a mind to a coward¡¯s sword.¡± ¡°Indeed she did. Growing up with her, for the most part, was a treat. She did have quite a bad jealousy streak, though,¡± Aengus said, nodding along like mentioning Rio¡¯s mom was normal small talk. ¡°Her punishments were very strict, I remember. A very tyrannical Lady of Bri Leith for anyone who fooled around as I often did.¡± I could feel Rio¡¯s whole body shake through her hand before my whimper slipped out. She dropped it to her side so both her hard clenched fists hung in sight of everybody. Her chain bracelet wrapped up her arm like a cobra uncoiling to strike at a bigger predator. Aine and Cliona studied Rio during her and Aengus¡¯ back and forth, probably measuring her reaction. The tension in the air rose like an electric charge, ready to zap the next person who moved. Somebody had to break this up. I glanced over at the closest tree and the shiny apples camouflaging inside the branches. Even the lines of the bark were silver, like a kid had gone crazy with metallic spray paint. The exact patterns and knots were hard to make out with how they reflected the light of the sun tree. ¡°Can you eat those?¡± I blurted as I pointed at an apple hanging from a lower branch. Everyone¡¯s attention flicked to me, gawking like I¡¯d questioned the most obvious common sense ever. Rio¡¯s intensity snapped and her chain slinked back to its home on her wrist. ¡°Yes. Their skin only matches the trees so they stay hidden from would-be-thieves,¡± Cliona explained. She placed a hand on the small of her wife¡¯s back and nudged her toward the beaming tree. ¡°Lady Riona, we would prefer to discuss this business of ours in private. I know how my Bean Sidhe like to gossip. Are you comfortable leaving your ward to entertain them?¡± ¡°Will your other guest be joining us?¡± Rio raised her eyebrows at Aengus. ¡°I¡¯ve taken up enough of their time, I think. Besides, I have something brewing back home that I must check before it boils over.¡± Aengus strolled down the path, passing Rio and I with a satisfied grin. ¡°Until next time, little niece.¡± I scratched my nose with my middle finger conveniently facing Daire¡¯s uncle as he walked by. Whether he understood it or not, I helped me feel better. ¡°As for leaving my companion with your attendants¡­¡± Rio didn¡¯t acknowledge him, like he was empty air. ¡°Maya, do you wish to come in with me?¡± ¡°Not really.¡± My mirror started making a sweaty patch where its heat touched. ¡°I¡¯ll be bored out of my mind. Me and the Bean Sidhe can keep each other busy.¡± ¡°Very well.¡± Rio turned back to the queens. ¡°Do I have your word your attendants won¡¯t take Maya or bring her harm if I leave her with them?¡± ¡°Of course.¡± Cliona turned toward the small herd gathered behind us. ¡°Your word?¡± ¡°Yes, your majesty,¡± sang the chorus of gray women. Rio trailed after the queens into the glowing insides of the central tree. The trunk twisted back to its original shape, leaving me alone with a gaggle of much taller women. At first they kept their distance and held an unsaid contest of who could watch me the longest without talking or blinking. A busty one with familiar hips came up to me first. Where did I know her from? ¡°Your name¡¯s Maya, then?¡± Her smile gave her cheek a slight dimple on one side. ¡°Do you remember me?¡± ¡°Feels like I should.¡± I couldn¡¯t match a name with her face. ¡°You found Daire and I tangled up in his bed.¡± She snickered as my cheeks heated up. ¡°Gave you quite the fright, if I remember right. I am Aoife.¡± ¡°Well his and a stranger¡¯s bare ass isn¡¯t really my thing.¡± I held out my hand on reflex. ¡°Nice to meet you again.¡± ¡°I cannot fault you in preferring Lady Riona¡¯s backside.¡± Aoife examined my hand instead of shaking it. ¡°Were it not for the chains and her prickly disposition, I would have a go at her myself.¡± ¡°Is Lady Riona sharing her title with you?¡± The shortest one approached and bent to my left wrist where Rio¡¯s bracelet dangled. ¡°Um, no, not really.¡± I leaned away and the mirror in my bra heated up a few more degrees. Daire had said the Sword was silver¡­same as the trees. Was it hiding in plain sight like the apples? ¡°Why do you shear your hair so short?¡± Came another Bean Sidhe with her black hair tied up in loops. ¡°Are you masquerading as a man in your world for inheritance, or to escape a crime?¡± ¡°Actually a lot of women do this to their hair. Easier to wash and stuff.¡± I scooted a smidge to the right. The mirror cooled back to luke warm. I shifted my weight in the other direction and it flared up. ¡°How did you make it that color?¡± I bumped into yet another Bean Sidhe that came up behind me and plucked one of my faded purple strands right off. ¡°Is it like dying cloth where you crush berries, or by some spell?¡± I jerked away and stumbled yards away from the closest two trees edging the courtyard. The mirror scalded like a too-hot bath. The Sword was close. ¡°Careful sneaking up on me like that. I buy a tube and bleach and there¡¯s this whole process.¡± I rubbed my head where she¡¯d pulled. ¡°Enough about my hair. Have you guys heard of ¡®The Quiet Game¡¯?¡± ¡°Seems dull to me,¡± the short one said. ¡°Games sound entertaining, though. Do you know any new human ones you can teach us?¡± ¡°Too many people for cards,¡± I muttered, half to them and half to myself. Including me, there were about twenty. The list of games I knew that could fit that number of players was short. There were playground games that could work, but which would distract them long enough to let me look for the Sword? They would all watch me and kick my ass in Tag, even if I played the kind with a ¡°base¡± that everyone could touch. What if I was one of those kids that spent forever counting while they peeked where everyone went? ¡°Do you guys know ¡®Hide and Seek¡¯?¡± They went quiet for a second, probably waiting for the interpreting spell to find a similar meaning in their language. ¡°A children¡¯s game?¡± Aoife asked first, her nose wrinkling. ¡°I¡¯ll be ¡®it¡¯ and count to¡­one hundred,¡± I said, pointing at myself. ¡°Then while I¡¯m counting, all of you have to find a really good place to hide. After I¡¯m done counting, you all have to stay where you are and wait for me to find you. When I find someone, they have to help me find the others. The last person found wins the game and gets to be ¡®it¡¯ during the next round. Simple enough, right?¡± ¡°It sounds more dull than the Quiet Game,¡± another one said, her aristocratic nose up and her arms crossed. ¡°At least that is a game that we do not already know about.¡± ¡°I guess Hide and Seek is pretty old.¡± There had to be a variation or a taunt that would keep them interested. I scratched the side of my bra as the heat from the mirror made me chaff. ¡°It¡¯s not just for kids anymore, you know. A lot of adults play these massive games of it in huge stores. They have tournaments. Not to brag, but I¡¯m pretty good.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve won a tournament?¡± the short one asked. I blinked. The next second she bent inches from my nose. ¡°I won a tournament at my school when I was younger, yeah.¡± The last time I won Hide and Seek was second grade, and the teacher gave me a Hershey bar. ¡°I got a prize too.¡± ¡°What kind of prize?¡± Aoife leaned in almost as close at the little one. Even the snobby one perked up at a possible reward. ¡°We don¡¯t really have chocolate here.¡± I had to keep it something simple, but Aos Si weren¡¯t eight-year-old girls. ¡°I can teach you to make animals from paper, no magic needed. Or I can tell a really epic story that really happened. Your choice.¡± ¡°The story!¡± The short one bobbed her head hard enough to rattle her brain. The rest parroted her in agreement. ¡°What if you lose?¡± Miss Nose-in-the-Air asked. ¡°You might not even find one of us. We have the advantage of knowing the land and staying silent, even without our power. Promise us something if you should you fail.¡± ¡°If I don¡¯t find anyone, then I¡¯ll teach everyone how to make the animals and tell the story.¡± I did my best imitation Daire¡¯s most irritating smirk. ¡°That¡¯s only if I don¡¯t find any of you. If I find even one, then she¡¯s got to help me find the rest.¡± ¡°Does everyone agree to these terms?¡± Aoife asked. A chorus of ¡°Aye!¡± came from the rest of the Bean Sidhe in unison. ¡°Let the game begin!¡± The snobby one smiled and showed off her sharp canines. I went over the ground rules: no magic, keep it around the lake, nothing underwater, and absolutely no peeking at anyone else. Finding my place to count would be the hard part. I focused on the mirror¡¯s heat as I turned back to the two trees that had set it off. One had bigger apples dangling in sight. The mirror¡¯s temperature went down half a degree. I turned on the ball of my foot to the other tree with smaller apples and a narrower trunk. The mirror burned. I breathed through the pain and settled there. ¡°One. Two. Three¡­¡± They scattered with a pattering of lighter than air footsteps that I could only hear because there were so many. Next came splashes and rustling grass before my own voice was the only sound on the platform. ¡°Nine. Ten. Eleven.¡± I guided my eyes by feel as I shoved my fingers into every crevice of the trunk, trying to make out a shape against the light reflected in my face. The smooth bark might as well have been a metal sculpture pretending to be a tree trunk. Would my fingers run right over the small knobs in the handle or brush right past the blade edges? No, I had to keep trying. I concentrated on the hilt, how it had that circular part at the end of an hourglass grip with little human face notches. My nail caught on something round with three indentations clustered together. A knot in the tree? It ran into a horizontal line! Everything else flowed vertical. I closed my eyes and my fingers explored the area better. There were little bumps along a long part, a half-cylinder, finger grips! More hair-fracture lines around that. I dug my nails into the cracks between the hilt and the bark like I wanted to pry off a plastic jewel glued to a shirt. The Sword didn¡¯t give easy and two of my nails bent back. I¡¯d need something tougher to pry it off. ¡°Fifty-five. Fifty-six. Fifty-seven.¡± I dug through my bra and pulled out my mirror. A few of the edges had those leaves with sharp corners that poked me. I felt out where the hilt was again and stuck the frame in the small line between it and the tree. Nothing chipped, nothing budged. I wedged it under and pushed. My eyes watered from the constant invasion of bright light and flashing spots covered everything I saw. The mirror lifted the hilt enough that I could try getting my fingers around it. King Arthur¡¯s legend had him pulling a much bigger sword from a rock. I tried channeling some of that energy into my arm. Slide out like you¡¯re stuck in butter, I thought to the Sword. I don¡¯t want to use you that long, just a little bit. ¡°Eighty-eight,¡± I counted on. ¡°Eighty-nine. Ninety.¡± I managed to curl the tips of my fingers around it and pulled. The little eye-like indents in the head piece glowed white. The Sword slipped free and I stumbled back, my whole hand closing around it. A flash of intense, white hot pain punching through my nerves. I squeaked and gnawed on the inside of my cheek to stamp it down. I tried dropping it, but the short blade burst into more white light, brighter than the gold tree. Rays from the Sword played off the silver plantlife while that raw burning lanced up my arm like somebody forcing me to touch a hot stove. I wanted to scream and it gurgled in my throat. Daire appeared in the middle of my mirror, waving me toward him. Something channeled my pain into aggression. My scream threatened to come out as a rampaging shout. I had to stab something, anything. The only choice I had against the compulsion was the mirror. ¡°One hundred!¡± The last number came out like a battle cry. Don¡¯t hit Daire, I thought to the Sword as I stabbed it into the mirror. ¡°Ready or not, here I come!¡± Chapter 43 - Daire I held my small ivy mirror in front of me, pacing about my Spring section by the small trench I had dug among the crocuses. The enchantment I¡¯d placed on Maya¡¯s mirror would tell me when she had the Sword in hand. Nuada¡¯s Sword of Light was rumored to give battle frenzy to its wielder. I¡¯d assumed it wouldn¡¯t find Maya enough of a warrior for that gift, so I hadn¡¯t mentioned that. But it might be hungry for battle like Lugh¡¯s Spear. My accomplice had a capable mind, but would that be enough to outwit two accomplished Aos Si queens and their entourage of death heralds? She¡¯d told me to trust her to handle the Bean Sidhe after I gave her the detection spell. Worry gnawed at me all the same as I waited. The glass flashed gold. Relief flooded me as I drove the power I¡¯d conserved into making a portal. The reflection in it shifted to a blinding array of white light driving away all other color. Maya¡¯s shape hoisted the Sword of Light high with its hilt¡¯s eyes ready for battle. I motioned her toward me, prompting her to pass the Sword through before it overwhelmed her and exposed our ruse. She thrust the blazing brand at me. I swiveled aside as the Sword pierced through my mirror and flew into the crocuses. It cut a coal-black swath past the hole I¡¯d prepared and through the purple and yellow flowers. The panicked shrieks of their blossoms rang between my ears. I swayed on my feet as I shut the portal and the drain on my magic caught up. There would be no dealing with the garden¡¯s fears until I had rested with how the sweat dribbled from my cheeks and my knees wavered. I gingerly padded around the blackened carnage of a poor patch of poppies the Sword had stopped in and scooped handfuls of soil over the blade. ¡°Something¡¯s made a right mess of your handiwork,¡± came Uncle Aengus¡¯ voice, ripe with withheld laughter. ¡°I was fixing it.¡± I put my back to the Sword and sat in the way of my uncle seeing it. He might not sense the Sword yet with my power flowing so thick around it. I leaned against the dirt and massaged it, coaxing the flowers into growing over the Sword. New cold sweat broke out under my tunic. ¡°What brings you?¡± ¡°Usually you greet me with a hug first, then the tide of questions.¡± Aengus walked one foot in front of the other along the original line I¡¯d dug as if demonstrating some great feat of balance. He stooped in front of me and propped his elbows upon his knees. ¡°Do you need any help patching everything up? I imagine the little ones are rather frightened.¡± He picked up the burnt stem of one of the Sword¡¯s victims and rubbed it between his fingers. ¡°Something scorched them, did it?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t need your help.¡± What little remained of my energy trickled more than surged through the delicate roots of the flowers, urging them to move. ¡°These poppies can be more timid than the rest of the lot. Wouldn¡¯t want to risk them becoming skittish with the introduction of a foreign power.¡± ¡°You always forget whose power flows through all of Midhe¡¯s soil every day, my young apprentice.¡± Aengus winked and scribbled a few Ogham lines into the dirt. The tiny red flowers lashed around my legs and thickened over my lower body, much like one of Mother¡¯s tapestries. Always the prankster, my uncle. ¡°And you can never resist the opportunity to show off, can you?¡± I wriggled under the stems, oddly strong for such a dainty species. ¡°You¡¯ve had your fun. Let me out of this.¡± ¡°I haven¡¯t seen or heard from you since Finvarra¡¯s party.¡± Aengus mimicked my cross-legged stance. ¡°Have you been dallying anymore with Riona¡¯s changeling?¡± ¡°Not quite dallying.¡± I gave up wriggling and slouched forward. ¡°I¡¯ve been focusing on a private project. I wanted to show you when I finished.¡± ¡°Hence the mess?¡± He pointed to the seared earth under his legs. ¡°Precisely.¡± I grinned, relieved he didn¡¯t try to pry further as others might. ¡°A part of it went awry earlier. It¡¯s nothing I can¡¯t salvage.¡± ¡°Has Etain been well since Midir left?¡± His smile drooped some. ¡°It¡¯s always hard seeing her like that, knowing how she used to be.¡± ¡°Come see her yourself,¡± I said, letting myself become caught up in the conversation. So long as he didn¡¯t seem to notice the Sword¡¯s presence, I could indulge a friendly chat. ¡°She has roamed the grounds with Aunt Brigid since Father left.¡± ¡°He won¡¯t give me one of his legendary diatribes?¡± Aengus chuckled and his shoulders shook with it. ¡°His last one was to us, wasn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Yes, the infamous lecture about how he permitted us to use his library for magic lessons, not water play.¡± My own shoulders trembled with subdued laughter remembering Father¡¯s face. It contorted so much that it almost wrinkled as mine did. He¡¯d rushed around the room to make sure all of his precious scrolls had their seals intact. All the while Aengus splashed me and prompted me to do the same to him. ¡°I believe in a well rounded magical education. Was it my fault we were studying elements at the time and we hadn¡¯t practiced water yet?¡± Aengus pressed his hand to his chest and feigned boyish innocence. ¡°As mentor, it falls on you to impart respect as well as knowledge.¡± I held up an authoritative finger as I imitated my father¡¯s deep voice. ¡°As my younger brother¡ªnay, as my fosterling¡ªI entrusted you with the sanctity of my personal domain to salvage what potential my son has squandered. Yet you encourage his antics. I wash my hands of the both of you!¡±Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Aengus laughed, hearty and full as he clutched his stomach. He wiped tears from the corners of his eyes when he spoke next. ¡°It¡¯s uncanny how well you impersonate him. He has improved with Etain, though?¡± ¡°For the moment, yes.¡± I pressed my lips together, remembering their shared laughter at my embarrassment. ¡°They laid together and she was smiling with him.¡± ¡°While of her own mind? No spells?¡± ¡°Yes. She never seems like the same woman twice, but she hasn¡¯t attacked me once since the last time.¡± ¡°She did seem calmer.¡± Aengus¡¯ gaze met mine, so intense it disturbed me for a moment. ¡°She even seemed like she had made some progress coming to terms with her continued existence.¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s a good thing.¡± I leaned as far as the poppies let me and squeezed my mentor¡¯s shoulder. His youthful face was known for fooling others into forgetting that he was one of the oldest Aos Si left. For the briefest flicker, that age showed millennia of lost loved ones and harsh choices all at once. He seemed human, almost. ¡°You never told me how your dalliances with that changeling were going.¡± The wizened man changed back to the boy-king of Midhe. ¡°Riona¡¯s pet, what sort of young woman is she?¡± ¡°She is pleasant company.¡± I raised my brows toward my uncle for the sudden change in subject. ¡°Her sensibilities are practical to a fault and blunt to the point of uncaring at times. However, she makes witticisms enough to spar with me and her resilience in the face of being taken from her home to an impossibly foreign realm is admirable.¡± ¡°You like her, then?¡± ¡°I do.¡± ¡°That makes this easier.¡± Aengus rose. All mites of cheer fell from his expression, leaving it a blank mask. No longer a loving uncle or a happy king, but a foreboding messenger. ¡°Talk sense, will you?¡± I wriggled my legs, held fast under the mass of red flowers. ¡°And let me up. This sudden tone shift of yours has made your antics lose their luster.¡± ¡°No antics this time, sweet prince.¡± He concealed his fingers and their fidgets behind his back. ¡°When I first found my tome missing I didn¡¯t think I had to worry about you figuring it out. It was linked to you from birth, yet you passed it more than a thousand times without notice.¡± ¡°You¡­you weren¡¯t the one that left it?¡± I thrust my hands into the soil behind me and forced the little power I had left into overcoming the poppies. But I was so tired. The portal had drained so much. ¡°Had it been left solely up to me, Daire, you would be wasting away without a hope.¡± A passive regret flicked across his features, but not enough for how my heart cracked. ¡°Who¡­But you¡­¡± I could hardly form words, let alone coherent thoughts. ¡°Midir asked to meet with me right after Bodb issued the order for your¡­the Key¡¯s destruction.¡± Aengus¡¯ forearms tensing with restraint as if he held back his tendency to gesticulate. ¡°He pled with me in the same way as when he begged me to manufacture the escape for you. After he left¡­well I didn¡¯t think you would be able to succeed so I let it be.¡± ¡°All these years of lessons and raising me didn¡¯t convince you that I valued my own life enough to try and save it?¡± ¡°Making a way to unbind you meant creating a reverse image of the spell that sealed the Key into you. The treasures holding the fabric of Tir Na Nog together made the seal. Tying you to the High King required his presence, or his blood, the latter of which you already share. However, releasing you from the Key without killing you was the puzzle.¡± Aengus¡¯ hands freed themselves, pointing to the invisible elements of his explanation as he introduced them. ¡°There also had to be a vessel to transfer Tir Na Nog¡¯s powers into, which required a fresh birth. In this case, it wasn¡¯t the Key I needed to move, it was the High King¡¯s tie. Having the vessel alone handle the items helped to channel the powers better and added more challenge, so if successful that meant a more effective result. Making the vessel human was much the same, since humans represent mortality and there were not many to be found. To make it permanent, though, the spell needed to do the opposite of new life. It must serve as a sacrifice.¡± ¡°You¡­set me up to choose between my life or Mother¡¯s.¡± Between my life or Maya¡¯s. ¡°That¡¯s why I expected you to fail.¡± Aengus nodded, folding his arms in front of him. ¡°What I could not foresee was your sister fetching a changeling and you taking advantage of that. At first I wasn¡¯t sure if she would be a problem. But then Manannan came to us asking about his Spear and the Cauldron going missing. And now I find you hiding the Sword.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not here to help me, are you?¡± I stopped struggling against the plant binds, my legs limp as if his very words had paralyzed them. That sensation crept upwards through the rest of my body bit by bit. I wasn¡¯t sure if it was my own shock numbing me or my uncle¡¯s power. ¡°No, I¡¯m not.¡± ¡°My father raised you as his own. My mother was a lover to you once. I¡¯m¡­¡± ¡°My beloved shadow, almost like a son.¡± ¡°Why?¡± Tears built and pricked my eyes. ¡°Because I have no other choice.¡± Aengus crouched in front of me, smoothing my hair from my face like when he comforted me as a mere child. I didn¡¯t want it to give me solace, but it did. ¡°Bodb is also my brother and my liege. His priority has always been our people and our preservation. When he asked me to seal Tir Na Nog in the midst of that human invasion, I had only a matter of hours, maybe a day to prepare a spell of that magnitude. With your birth so close I could only cobble together the resources I had on hand. Given proper time and collaboration with someone like Manannan, we would not have needed to make a Key at all. We might have protected our portion of the Otherworld better. I miss humanity, especially hearing about their achievements through your eyes, but with that progress has come more risk if we were to go back. Explosive pellets that shoot like arrows, buildings with iron in their very bones, rolling steel containers that shoot fire. They don¡¯t think we exist now, but what happens when hundreds of us swarm out? Don¡¯t you see that they could use those devices that can capture a moving image in an instant to gather their masses and attack? We have spent too long away. They would wipe us out without a second thought.¡± ¡°The moment I was born you doomed me. I only wanted to take Mother and leave,¡± I pleaded, my voice cracking. ¡°Why not banish me to their world and let me be?¡± ¡°So long as you and the Key exist, the risk of extinction hangs over all of us. Even worse if you were free of the High King¡¯s bond.¡± Aengus cupped my cheek. ¡°I can grant part of your wish. You¡¯ll spend what time you have left experiencing humanity¡¯s wonders rather than watching them.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to die!¡± I clutched his shoulders and pulled him closer, making him feel my every breath. ¡°Please, find another way. Think of Mother, think of Father! Does he even know you¡¯re killing his only son?¡± ¡°The only people who know are me and you. Soon that girl will join us. That is how it must stay.¡± He covered my eyes and cradled the back of my head. A supernatural weariness overcame my muscles as he gently lowered me to the ground. ¡°Now sleep.¡± Chapter 44 - Maya The mirror sucked the blade in and smothered its light. I let it go as my body¡¯s natural instincts kicked in and buried my whole arm in my chest. The underside of my hand was red all over with puffy blisters bubbling on my palm. Someone would notice that. Even if I kept it under my cloak and talked through the throbbing ache, Rio would see. She¡¯d have questions I couldn¡¯t answer yet. I turned too fast toward the central gold tree and winced at its glow. Did it just give off light or did it have heat too? Would it hurt me if I happened to climb it to see if anybody was up there? I ran for it, fresh out of smarter ideas. The balmy air stung my naked burns. No warmth radiated off of the bark when I came close. I reached out to climb up the sun tree and whimpered as I forced my damaged fingers to touch it. New heat shot up both my hands. I screamed. If holding the Sword was forcing myself to touch a hot stovetop, the tree was me shoving my hand in raw fire. My nerves hollered worse than me as I bolted back and fell on my ass. It numbed every sense so the world didn¡¯t have texture or temperature, only pain. The next few minutes were a white-out of blurred details. A high, clear cry broke through like a wolf¡¯s howl with the same haunting undertones. More beautiful wails echoed behind it. They sang to me in too many notes to make out. The melody¡¯s message sank as deep as my DNA: Death is coming. Death is coming. The pain dulled to a thumping pang. A strong grip turned me over and pried my arms away from my chest. ¡°Maya.¡± Rio. She shakily brushed my cheek and the air around me became a bath of cool metal specks. I needed that and sighed into it. ¡°Look at me, dear one. What happened?¡± ¡°Hands¡­hurt.¡± I let my eyes open to Rio¡¯s red-haloed face framed by gray tinted stars. I managed to point where I thought the brightest light came from. ¡°Game. Light tree.¡± ¡°We played a human game of hers to pass the time.¡± A gray woman inched over with wider hips than the rest, Aoife. ¡°She came to find me and attempted to climb Aine¡¯s Tree.¡± ¡°This is your fault?¡± The air around Rio darkened until it absorbed every speck of light in the area as it spread over me. Its hungry whine stretched toward Aoife¡¯s voice. ¡°N-no, Lady of Irons,¡± Aoife stammered in a rush. ¡°She appointed herself the seeker and did not establish Aine¡¯s tree as a forbidden place to hide. I thought it a sound idea. She promised a story to the victor. I did not coax her near. I did not want her near.¡± ¡°You purposefully chose somewhere that would hurt her if she ventured near.¡± Rio¡¯s black silhouette jerked upright. ¡°Part of the game, a child¡¯s game.¡± Aoife pleaded. ¡°She figured out my perch, but I did not cause it.¡± Rio¡¯s chain jangled and shifted the particles of the field as it swayed like a pendulum. ¡°I stayed true to my oath not to hurt her.¡± Aoife thudded into something like she¡¯d backed up and run out of room. ¡°I swear on Mumhan itself!¡± The iron specks chipped away at the white rocks under me and eroded them to cracking ruins. Rio took a step, then another. Why hadn¡¯t the other Bean Sidhe or either of the queens helped their friend yet? The magnetic fog blocked me seeing anything but their shapes circling us. Did they figure they couldn¡¯t calm Rio down, or that Aoife deserved it? It shouldn¡¯t matter, they should do something. ¡°Leave it, Rio¡­¡± I took a fistful of her skirt and a wave of fresh hurt ran up my arm. Bad idea. ¡°I¡¯m fine. Please.¡± ¡°This is about more than you.¡± Rio gathered her chain around her wrist and her energy thinned enough for me to pick out details. ¡°Hospitality has been violated. An injury has happened within this domain under the watch of its attendants.¡± ¡°It¡¯s Hide and Seek. Aoife picked a good hiding place. I shouldn¡¯t have climbed a radioactive tree.¡± I grunted as I tried standing without using my hands. Rio lifted me the rest of the way by my elbow. ¡°It was an accident, nobody¡¯s fault.¡± ¡°Justice is still owed us.¡± Rio turned her slitted pupils on Ciona and Aine. ¡°Do I have your word she will receive due punishment for her actions? I leave the method to your discretion since this is within your domain, more than reasonable under these circumstances. While I could use this as an opportunity to buy a favor from you as my sire has done in the past, such would be a pointless manipulation of the laws meant to keep order in our society. I only request retaliation as repayment for the suffering of my own charge.¡± ¡°Our prospective High Queen is generous with her justice,¡± Cliona gave a pleased grin. ¡°Dearest, is the Lady of Irons not merciful for phrasing her terms so vaguely?¡± ¡°Merciful and fair.¡± Aine turned to Aoife who had huddled against a tree and hovered inches from her. ¡°Your punishment will be a firm reprimand. Keep a better watch of our guests so they do not come to harm in the future. Save your clever ideas for games with less fragile company.¡± Rio escorted me through the crowd of Bean Sidhe and they parted for us like a hoard of scared ghosts. ¡°What¡¯s the verdict of the game?¡± The shortest Bean Sidhe squeaked as we passed. ¡°She was to teach us to make animals from paper and tell us a true tale should she not find one of us.¡± ¡°I will be in conference with your queens to decide when that is to happen,¡± Rio said over her shoulder. ¡°Though she did find all of you before the game was officially over.¡± ¡°They win, Rio.¡± I tugged us faster to the water. ¡°Hands. Pain. Remember?¡± * * * My swollen blisters were redder than Rio¡¯s hair before she grinded some herbs into a paste and rubbed it on. The medicine numbed the nerves enough so I could flex my fingers and touch things without flinching. ¡°That helps.¡± I flexed my fingers, testing the goop for the twentieth time. ¡°Can you fix them more than this?¡± ¡°This is the best I can help since your wounds came from magic.¡± Rio swiped at the air and a linen strip flew out. ¡°They should not take long to heal on their own.¡± ¡°Will I get scars?¡± ¡°Either marks or some other unknown effect. You shouldn¡¯t worry.¡± Rio took one of my wrists and wrapped the cloth bandage around my palm. ¡°Why would you think to touch a tree that bright?¡± ¡°It didn¡¯t feel hot when I got close.¡± I watched the careful way she tied off the linen and smiled. All the angry frustration from earlier seemed silly when I thought about it. As long as it was the two of us without the election or my secret missions for Daire interfering, we worked. The quiet, natural moments made me remember why I wanted to stick by her. ¡°That means nothing.¡± Rio huffed, much like Abuela used to after I got in trouble. ¡°Surviving as a human in Tir Na Nog means you should presume everything will hurt you. I thought you had learned that.¡± ¡°It won¡¯t happen again.¡± ¡°The fact that she hid in such a place and put you in that danger¡­¡± Rio¡¯s fingers tightened around the bandage and my other forearm that kept steady. She loosened up when I winced. ¡°I would of liked better to have flogged her myself, but that would jeopardize my progress.¡± ¡°I was scared you were gonna explode,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯m impressed how diplomatic you came off.¡± ¡°Your good counsel helped a great deal.¡± Silver sparks jumped in her irises as she finished wrapping my other hand. ¡°I would have done much worse without you.¡± I gulped and sucked in my labret stud. No moment would be better than that one, would it? Daire and I had the objects and we¡¯d need more help than ever to finish this thing with Samhain speeding toward us. ¡°So, about before when I said I was frustrated¡­ I figure now¡¯s a good a time as any to talk about us. We need to get ideas about how that¡¯s going to work when we¡¯re ready. Plus I still want to go home¡­¡± ¡°You could give me a tour.¡± Rio resisted a smile, as if secretly excited but trying to hide it. ¡°What?¡± I blinked. ¡°Are you messing with me?¡± ¡°The reaction today from Aine and Cliona was favorable, despite a certain thorny presence. That means I only need to win Finvarra.¡± Rio¡¯s thumb stroked under my wrist as she tied off the last bandage. ¡°Becoming High Queen means gaining authority over the Key. Do you follow my logic?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± I laced my fingers together, one after another, avoiding her eager attention. I always had issues with eye-contact when hiding something. ¡°You can send me back.¡± ¡°Not only you. I mean to open Tir Na Nog to everyone again.¡± Rio moved on the cot beside me and leaned in close enough that her breath brushed my neck as she talked. ¡°Think of it, we could find a private place of our own to share away from Tara. I could show you such secrets, teach you things¡­¡± ¡°Even if you didn¡¯t have the Key, what do you think of staying in the human world together?¡± My throat went dry as my life with her in it went by like a movie reel. First I¡¯d introduce her to everyone. She¡¯d have to glamour herself shorter, but some strappy heels could help her feel like her actual height. Nico would wolf whistle at us when we walked in. Nate would make snarky comments and want to her to taste a new coffee as we played cards. We¡¯d make a killing on Bridge nights and could use the money we won to head to a movie after¡ªshe¡¯d probably like dancing in Ybor better with all its bright lights and pounding music. ¡°You could stay with Mom and me until she got her memories back.¡± ¡°One step at a time, dear one.¡± Rio nuzzled her mouth against the side of my neck, under my jaw. Heat flooded up my whole face from where her lips touched. ¡°Are you trying to sweet talk me into something?¡± I curled my fingers into the blanket around my hips, the friction pulling at my bandages. ¡°Perhaps. I realize I have said I won¡¯t be able to indulge distractions until after the election, but we¡¯re so close to the High King¡¯s seat. I have thought over what you said earlier, when you wished me to decide whether to be with you now or wait. I choose now. If you are still willing, I¡¯d say that calls for us to celebrate.¡± Rio nibbled lower down, electrifying my nerves. She snaked her hand over my knee and her nails grazed my thick underdress hard enough to give me shivers. ¡°Your pulse is all aflutter. Is my ¡®sweet talk¡¯ working?¡± ¡°Maybe¡­.yeah.¡± I swallowed the lump making my voice so thick and took a deep breath to keep my heart from racing out of control. It figured she found the mystery place guaranteed to fire me up on her first try. ¡°Not just anybody¡¯s allowed to do this. You get that, right?¡± ¡°You do seem more particular about choosing your lovers.¡± Rio moved from my leg to the small of my back. ¡°I¡¯m the same way.¡± I opened my mouth to say something else, but Rio scattered more open mouthed bites up and down the side of my neck. Next I knew, she pressed me back on the bouncy cot¡¯s canvas while she laid over me. Her propped up elbows kept a sliver of space between us. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t we talk about this first?¡± I panted too much to take myself seriously as I clung to her waist.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. ¡°In my experience, talking delays more than helps.¡± Rio perched her forehead against mine. ¡°You have something to say?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve¡­only wanted to do this when I cared about somebody a lot,¡± I said, my voice cracking halfway through. ¡°Ah. So you hesitate because you¡¯re unsure.¡± Rio¡¯s gray eyes dulled, no more silvery sparks streaking through them. She glanced away and went to push herself off me, giving me more space to think. It was too much. I tugged her down and her supernatural reflexes saved us before we bonked heads like a Three Stooges sketch. She yipped, making the same sound Queenie made when something startled her. ¡°What I meant is I want to do this and you¡¯re somebody I care about a lot.¡± I wet my mouth and gave myself a couple more microseconds to think. Daire would yell at me for getting this intimate with her. Maybe it wasn¡¯t the best idea. I wasn¡¯t head over heels yet, but I couldn¡¯t deny that she was more than a crush to me. I didn¡¯t want to go back to a life without her in it. I wanted to try for the future she¡¯d painted. ¡°I needed to tell you before we went further.¡± ¡°I feel the same.¡± Rio smiled small, a slight curve of her lips with a hint of teeth. But her eyes sparkled with those shiny flecks and the same blue sheen as when I first kissed her. I slid my hand to the base of her neck under the waves of red hair covering us and pulled her down to me. She got the hint faster than I could finish and crushed her mouth to mine. A sweet current rolled through me from my heart to my toes, freezing then melting as I pulled her tighter. The world and its problems fell away and for once I could block everything else except that one blissful moment. Rio broke the kiss and hovered over me, delighted eyes darting all over my torso as if debating where to go first. Then her shoulders tensed and she looked toward the hallway. She bared her teeth and growled at the rows of curtained mirrors. ¡°Everything okay?¡± I sat up a little to see better, but my skin still buzzed with anticipation. A yellow glow came through the curtain at the farthest mirror down the row. ¡°The final king of the council beckons.¡± Rio sighed and pouted at me. ¡°If I don¡¯t answer he may take it as an insult.¡± ¡°Go on and get it.¡± I pecked her cheek. ¡°We can finish up after you¡¯re done.¡± ¡°I hope it won¡¯t go too long.¡± Rio hopped up from the cot and rushed to the mirror with a prance in her step. ¡°Your majesty, is this another invitation?¡± Rio said after she tapped the mirror and the glowing faded. ¡°You haven¡¯t come crawling back to me yet,¡± Finvarra said, his accent sounding almost like a country twang through the translation spell. ¡°Do you think acting disinterested will win my vote?¡± I finger combed through my messed up hair and smoothed down my skirt. It wouldn¡¯t hurt to peek while I evesdropped. I went to the mouth of the hall and edged in enough that I could see his mirror without him seeing me. Finvarra had his sandy hair slicked in a ponytail, some days old stubble on his jaw, and a baggy brown vest he let hang open. The entire feel of his slouched posture and casual medieval costume was if a gritty Western met a Viking epic. ¡°At least bring her for a short visit,¡± he said with an easy smile. ¡°I have yet to even see her.¡± ¡°I can visit now. How gracious of you to invite me,¡± Rio said, bowing her head. ¡°My companion is still unable to accompany me.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not fair, is it?¡± Finvarra sighed a little too dramatically. ¡°Samhain is almost upon us, Lord of the Field,¡± Rio said. ¡°I believe what plans I have for the Key will align well with your desires.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve heard of me, haven¡¯t you lass?¡± Finvarra chuckled and sent a sharp chill down my spine. ¡°Unlike my cousins, I need proof of something before I get behind it. All I ask is a taste of all those promises.¡± ¡°Let us be plain, then,¡± Rio said, all polite sweetness leaving her voice as she crossed her arms. ¡°You have a reputation for ruining every human woman you touch.¡± ¡°Ah, but if you don¡¯t win me over, then you forfeit the High King¡¯s seat.¡± He tilted his rough chin up at her in a dare. ¡°Your sire isn¡¯t fond of you. Do you think he¡¯ll let you survive that?¡± ¡°You cannot have this one, she¡¯s mine.¡± Rio¡¯s proud posture stayed straight and firm. ¡°If Midir of Bri Leith does win, then your little obsession will never be sated. We are each other¡¯s only hope.¡± ¡°What difference is one night? If I make sure she stays repulsed by me, it won¡¯t ruin her.¡± Finvarra¡¯s accent whined with desperation. ¡°It¡¯s been over a thousand years, Lady of Irons. I need some kind of satisfaction.¡± ¡°Then what difference will another week make?¡± Rio lifted her eyebrows. ¡°Will you invite me in?¡± Finvarra narrowed his eyes at Rio with a hard frown, making his devil-may-care persona turn ugly. ¡°Come then, see if you can sway me to your cause.¡± ¡°Excellent. I¡¯ll come along soon.¡± Rio bowed deeper this time and Finvarra winked out of the mirror. ¡°Are you planning to let him take other women?¡± I ran up to her and grabbed her arm. ¡°You don¡¯t have to give into that guy.¡± ¡°You heard the conversation as clearly as I.¡± Rio rubbed my arm, trying to reassure me. ¡°Our time grows short and I must have him on my side to ensure my victory and our survival. If this is the fastest way of persuading him without subjecting you to his treatment, then so be it.¡± ¡°But promising to let him run wild if you win?¡± Even saying it made my stomach cramp. ¡°I made it clear I would have to do things you wouldn¡¯t like.¡± Rio avoided looking directly at me, slanting toward Finvarra¡¯s mirror instead. ¡°It would sting if you began judging me now.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not judging you.¡± I took her cheeks and turned her back. She had to see my conviction to believe me. ¡°You don¡¯t have to promise something you¡¯ll regret. We can find a different way to save ourselves.¡± ¡°Your concern is endearing but I¡¯m skilled in deception and he is desperate, a perfect victim.¡± She tapped her forehead against mine with our noses brushing, reminding me how close we¡¯d been minutes ago. ¡°Go occupy yourself with Little Daire for the night. By the time you wake, I¡¯ll have returned with my victory and our continued lives assured. Then we may resume our celebrating.¡± ¡°You sure?¡± I couldn¡¯t help the same ominous feeling I¡¯d had right before Bodb tortured her. Something big loomed, some change. If only I¡¯d asked Daire to bring her in sooner. ¡°I mean it. You don¡¯t have to keep trying to win them over and get elected to save us. I can help you find another way.¡± ¡°If you think of any alternatives I haven¡¯t while I¡¯m away, we¡¯ll talk of them when I return.¡± Rio pried herself away from me toward the dreaded horse mirror. ¡°Until then, I cannot risk losing this chance.¡± ¡°Just don¡¯t commit to anything until we talk again, alright?¡± I drifted over to the ivy-framed mirror. I had to run it by Daire first. We had to make a plan to bring her in. It was time. ¡°Away with you, then!¡± Rio waved me away with a giggle. ¡°The sooner you leave, the sooner I may finish speaking with this mongrel.¡± ¡°Wait for me!¡± I bolted through Daire¡¯s mirror. * * * I rushed into Daire¡¯s room, giddy even though he might get mad. As long as we talked it through, everything would work out. He might sit me down for a long lecture, but he¡¯d come around in the end. He always did. Daire sat at his desk with his back to me. He tapped his toe like a song got stuck in his head, or he¡¯d been waiting for awhile. ¡°Hey Daire, remember how I said I¡¯d ask you before I said anything?¡± I gulped as he turned his head and raised his eyebrows at me. ¡°This is me asking.¡± ¡°Of course. Can we take this to the garden?¡± Daire bounced to his feet with an eager grin. He had that double-layer accent like Rio. Since when did he stop speaking English with me? ¡°What¡¯s with you speaking Aos Si language out of nowhere?¡± I inched back to his mirror. White streaks still peppered his hair and the dark circles under his eyes were as puffy as mine. But his posture was too loose, too springy. He¡¯d moved like that when I first met him and wilted worse and worse as the weeks went by. ¡°It is my native tongue.¡± Daire shrugged. ¡°Why not?¡± I glanced away at the white flowers along his desk. Their stalks hung, bent and brown. Stiff white petals covered the narrow dirt bed they were planted in like melting ice chips. The only parts of them with any life left were their buried roots. Daire wouldn¡¯t be so alive if his little lilies weren¡¯t. ¡°De acuerdo, usar¨¦ el espa?ol entonces, si vamos a usar nuestros primeros idiomas.¡± Okay, I¡¯ll use Spanish then, if we¡¯re going to use our first languages. I narrowed my eyes at him, making fists. ¡°?Est¨¢s bien con eso, verdad?¡± You¡¯re good with that, right? ¡°You two are more clever than I gave you credit for.¡± The guy pretending to be Daire sighed. His entire appearance melted into an androgynous man with bouncy blonde curls, slitted purple eyes, and a young face. Aengus. ¡°Where¡¯s Daire?¡± I jumped back. ¡°No need to fear me, Maya.¡± Aengus bowed to me with a theatrical flourish of his cloak. ¡°This has nothing to do with politics and everything to do with my nephew, I assure you.¡± He waved toward the door again. ¡°The little prince is waiting for us in the garden.¡± ¡°If Daire¡¯s too busy to see me himself, I can visit later.¡± I grabbed the frame of the mirror behind me, ready to dive through. Daire¡¯s uncle¡¯s promises kept him from hurting me or forcing me to do anything against my will. That didn¡¯t mean he couldn¡¯t trick me into another kind of trap. ¡°Have no fear, I already know everything about your helping him gather the four sacred treasures so he can break the High King¡¯s control. I was the one who created that spell.¡± He held out his arm. ¡°Come come, we shouldn¡¯t leave him in suspense.¡± I touched the mirror glass, thinking about Rio¡¯s burrow. The smooth surface didn¡¯t become ge,l but stayed solid like a normal mirror. I pounded on it as hard as my bandaged fingers could. ¡°I disabled the spell on the mirror when you first came through.¡± Aengus scratched the back of his head. ¡°I want to help send you home.¡± ¡°You expect me to believe anything you say after that shady shit you pulled?¡± ¡°I did try to trick you earlier but Daire is waiting for us in the garden.¡± He put his hand over his heart, probably some medieval version of Scout¡¯s Honor. ¡°He¡¯ll go with you.¡± ¡°Yeah, after he gets better,¡± I said. ¡°He¡¯s dying.¡± ¡°Correct. There¡¯s no changing that.¡± ¡°You said you wrote the spell that¡¯s supposed to cure him. Why aren¡¯t you helping him with it?¡± ¡°I also made the spell that¡¯s killing him and loyalty to my High King demands that I complete that one.¡± Aengus gave me the same sad, dimpled smile as a crying clown. ¡°Is it so wrong to ask that you help me let him die with some dignity, surrounded by the world he has always loved? And you have a family, do you not? Brothers, sisters, parents? While you have played the pet they have surely missed you.¡± ¡°You know jack about my family so don¡¯t use it to guilt trip me into killing my friend.¡± My fists clenched and aggravated my healing palms. ¡°Point is, you¡¯re screwing over the only two people I care about here. If I go home, it¡¯s my way.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have to be willing.¡± ¡°Those oaths Rio made you swear say I do.¡± ¡°Rio¡­you two must be close if she tolerates that nickname.¡± Aengus planted himself between me and the door. I couldn¡¯t climb anything to get to the skylight in the ceiling. He blocked my only way out. ¡°My goals and methods are well within the bounds of my limitations. So far I have not laid a finger on you and this encounter has nothing to do with my ill will for Riona. Regardless, I came here wanting nothing but the best for my little nephew and my race, and I tried to be peaceful. That should count for something when you reflect back on me.¡± He¡¯d cornered me into going through him. There could be all kinds of spells on the door he¡¯d prepped ahead of time. Daire said he sucked at fighting and his uncle had a similar physique. If Aengus had focused all his time on magic and not on hand to hand stuff, then I might dodge by if I caught him by surprise. ¡°I¡¯m going to cheer when Rio kicks your ass.¡± I tensed up my legs, ready to charge. ¡°If she catches me, you¡¯ll do more vomiting than cheering I¡¯m afraid¡ª¡± I put on a burst of speed and rammed into him. No witty one-liners like a movie hero, just blind hope my half-cooked plan would work out. Aengus caught me and used my own momentum to twirl me around. He banded his scrawny arms across me and trapped me against his chest. ¡°Centuries of dedicated combat training. You wouldn¡¯t have done much. Good effort, though.¡± Aengus sang it into my ear like some sick lullaby. ¡°Take heart. You will wake next at home with your dear ones.¡± My eyelids got so heavy and I sagged in his grip. No. I had to stay awake. I couldn¡¯t go back to late bills, lost work, and people I loved forgetting me yet. Rio might die and Daire would die without me. They needed me. ¡°Everything will be fine,¡± Aengus whispered as I crashed. ¡°Sleep.¡± * * * ¡°Mija, despierta. Todos estamos esperando por ti.¡± Mija, wake up. We¡¯re all waiting for you. Someone with thumb calluses from using scissors too much shook me. Abuela? I opened my eyes. A sturdy woman in her early sixties with caramel high-lighted black hair and my same brown eyes waited over me. There was the mole nestled in her right eyebrow that always drove her nuts. ¡°L¨¢vese las manos para la cena. Date prisa, no quieres que el chile se enfr¨ªe.¡± Wash your hands for dinner. Hurry, you don¡¯t want the chili going cold. She wiped her choppy bangs away from her eyes. ¡°Esta es la ¨²ltima vez que dej¨¦ que un aprendiz me cortara el pelo. Todo lo que hacen es agregar flequillo.¡± This is the last time I let an apprentice cut my hair. All they do is add bangs. I swung my legs over the edge of a bed with a box spring mattress. Abuela gave me five more minutes before they¡¯d eat without me and left the room. I sat there for the first couple of those minutes in stunned silence. The apartment¡¯s only bedroom had all its drawers tucked in and the tops of everything dusted. The bed¡¯s comforter smelled like fabric softener and Abuela¡¯s favorite floral body spray floated on the air. Framed pictures of my aunt and each little cousin stood on the dresser. A photo booth strip of Mom, Abuela, and I leaned against my dead dad¡¯s high school portrait on the end table. I¡¯d packed the frames away in a box and kept the photo booth strip safe in my wallet. I patted all over my clothes. Instead of Rio¡¯s layered dress and cloak outfit, I had a cut up t-shirt with a koi-fish logo and some gym shorts. I¡¯d retired the koi-shirt to pajamas and used the shorts for around the house. Were the last few months one big, vivid dream? Had I grieved a death that never happened, fell for a kidnapper who never existed, tried to save a guy who wasn¡¯t alive to begin with? The memories should have blurred together as I woke up. Their contrast made me see them even clearer. Daire¡¯s best try at a burger made me nauseous. Rio kissing me sent tingles through my skin. Nightmares haunted me of my hands pressing against Abuela¡¯s still chest as her empty stare watched. Voices chattered outside the door over the clattering our good dishes. I recognized Abuela¡¯s and Mom¡¯s mix of Spanish and English. A familiar third language that lilted like a song filled the gaps. I bolted out of the bedroom. Abuela stirred the chili pot at our kitchenette stove while Mom passed out silverware and paper towel napkins. Etain and Daire sat at two of the folding chairs set up around our card table. Etain wore a blue maxi-dress, the closest to modern clothing that would match the flowy gowns she wore in Tir Na Nog. Daire had a green button-down shirt with dressy black jeans, but the top half of his hair was up in braids with ivy vines tying them off. The artificial smiles Daire showed my family didn¡¯t touch the far off, mystified look in his red-veined eyes. I walked over and he noticed first. My questions had to show in my face: Was any of this real? Was there any way it could be? The short shake of his chin and his arm tightening on his mom¡¯s shoulders gave me my answer. Tir Na Nog wasn¡¯t a dream. This was. Chapter 45 - Daire ¡°?Daire, ya te has lavado?¡± Daire, have you washed up yet? Maya asked me as she emerged from the home¡¯s only bedroom. ¡°We need to talk.¡± ¡°Deber¨ªas haberlo hecho antes de venir a cenar. T¨² tambi¨¦n, Daire.¡± You should have done that before you came out for dinner. You too, Daire. Maya¡¯s grandmother, Mercedes, clicked her tongue at both of us. ¡°En mi defensa, Maya a¨²n dorm¨ªa y el ¨²nico ba?o est¨¢ dentro del dormitorio.¡± In my defense, Maya was still asleep and the only washroom is inside the bedroom. I stood up from my chair and patted Mother¡¯s shoulder, muttering a reassurance in Aos Si that I would return soon. The translation charm on Maya didn¡¯t seem to work inside her dream world. ¡°?Vamos, vamos!¡± Hurry, hurry! Maya¡¯s grandmother made the reprimand with a pleased smile. Shortly after I woke, Jennifer and Mercedes had greeted me in English with Jennifer socializing more. Then I caught the elder matron of the household muttering to herself in Spanish the same way I spoke to myself in Aos Si around Maya. Mercedes had taken over the conversation shortly after I revealed that I spoke her mother tongue. ¡°Necesito que preguntes qu¨¦ hace tu madre con su pelo. Es bonita.¡± I need you to ask what your mother does with her hair. It¡¯s beautiful. I left the small dining table and followed Maya into the bedroom. ¡°Why are they together?¡± Maya spoke in a hushed whisper as she jabbed her finger toward our loved ones on the other side of the door. ¡°What the hell is going on?¡± ¡°I can only figure that Aengus has sealed us within a dream construct of his own making. He perfected the technique by using it as a merciful punishment for worthy enemies. He¡¯s never demonstrated one before, but this seems to fit his description.¡± My attention slipped away from her toward the common area. Conversing with Mother and Maya¡¯s family was the best sort of distraction from the weakness burdening my limbs and the knowledge that my closest uncle meant to kill me. ¡°He must have manufactured it to fill our hearts¡¯ desires.¡± ¡°They¡¯re not real, are they?¡± Maya asked, her expression sinking. ¡°No. They¡¯re convincing counterfeits weaved from our memories.¡± ¡°Is there any way out?¡± Maya choked on the words as they left her mouth. ¡°Not by my power.¡± I ran my hand over the ivy leaves in my hair, shriveled and brown like the remnants of my magic. ¡°That means you¡¯re¡­¡± Maya trailed off. ¡°It is only a matter of time.¡± I settled into a disinterested monotone as if I observed the events from afar. ¡°Uncle Aengus will erect a grand pyre in my gardens and the entire family will gather round to watch as my body burns after the election. Aunt Brigid will be puzzled since she didn¡¯t know about any of this. More than likely Bodb will blame it on my human blood. Father will put Mother back into seclusion as she grieves. I fear she will be beyond help and all of the progress we made with her will be for naught. I¡¯m not sure what will become of you. At best Aengus will keep you caged here with my specter, asleep for the rest of eternity. I¡¯m truly sorry I couldn¡¯t keep my promise.¡± ¡°Come on, we can¡¯t give up that easy.¡± ¡°What do you propose that we do instead?¡± ¡°You¡¯re the magic brains of this operation. How would you make it?¡± ¡°Not every spell is so easy to unravel.¡± It would be so much easier to go back into the refuge of those pleasant memories and forget. Still, my mind rose to the challenge as it sorted through what such a construct would need. ¡°Aengus taught the value of simplicity. One would need the extent of his magic to supply a glamour this massive and convincing. The simplest source would be leeching off of your memories for our environment and using both of us for the copies of our loved ones. Every spell must have a loophole to balance it, though. His style is hiding that in plain sight and making it something the target would never accomplish.¡± ¡°So he made a way out and put a heavy rock in front it that we can¡¯t push by ourselves. That means we have to think of a weirder way to move it?¡± ¡°It needs more poetry than that.¡± I tapped my chin. Aengus¡¯ loopholes had unique meaning behind them. It pleased the magic best. ¡°Poetry?¡± Maya bit her lip piercing as she followed along. ¡°Kid stories and fables teach a lesson or have something that comes back and bites someone¡¯s ass. Like that?¡± ¡°This entire construct seems to center around you even though it was meant to stop me.¡± Something about her ¡°teaching a lesson¡± comment struck a chord. ¡°That doesn¡¯t seem quite right, don¡¯t you think?¡± ¡°Si quieres seguir hablando, puedo dar tus cuencos a los gatos callejeros.¡± If you want to keep talking, I can give your bowls to the alley cats. Mercedes called.You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. ¡°Let¡¯s finish talking about this after dinner.¡± Maya opened the door without hesitation. ¡°Maya, she¡¯s not actually here.¡± I grabbed her forearm, stopping her midway. ¡°I know.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have to go in there.¡± ¡°Daire?¡± Mother¡¯s uncertain voice called. I found myself leaning toward it. ¡°You sure about that?¡± Maya asked. I didn¡¯t have had a fitting answer for her. We went back into the dining area. I took the seat next to my mother. Maya took hers between Mercedes and Jennifer. * * * Maya¡¯s mother suggested playing a game called Rummy using their deck of cards with a winged child riding atop a bicycle. The five of us gathered round the dining table and I interpreted Jennifer¡¯s refresher of how to play into my mother¡¯s native Gaelic, then the game was on. Maya¡¯s mother conducted herself like Father, aggressively grabbing at any points she could within the discard pile no matter how large it made her hand. Somehow she emptied them all on the table before anyone else could put down more than a few cards. Mercedes chided Jennifer to play nicer with my mother and I. Maya¡¯s mother still reigned victorious for that game and the one right after. Sunlight shone through the window as we played and never darkened with time¡¯s passing. The warmth of their company comforted my weariness enough that I could stay awake. If I gave into that urge to sleep, would death overtake me? The sky changed as bloated storm clouds filled its vibrant blue hue. Thunder shook the walls and Maya ran for the window, taking her mother and grandmother by their wrists. The family of three crowded around the transparent glass and Mother and I funneled behind them to see what the sudden excitement was about. The rain in the distance fell first as a thick blue-gray mist merging into a massive curtain. The droplets tapped against the window pane and gray fell over the street below with it¡¯s speeding cars and decorative palm trees. ¡°There¡¯s the angel shower, sweetie.¡± Jennifer nudged her daughter with her elbow. ¡°Washing everything clean.¡± ¡°You sure it isn¡¯t God peeing all over us?¡± Maya smirked and her mother sighed. ¡°Whatever it is, God made it and it¡¯s beautiful,¡± Mercedes said in her accented English as she rubbed her hands together. ¡°No importa que este clima haga que me duelen las articulaciones.¡± It doesn¡¯t matter that this weather makes my joints ache. ¡°Why all this commotion over the rain?¡± I asked. ¡°Maya cried and fussed all the time back when Maya was Little Mad May,¡± Jennifer explained. ¡°Whenever it started raining, I took her to the window to watch and it calmed her right down.¡± ¡°Even after she moved in when I adopted Jenny, she stared out of this same window until the storm stopped,¡± Mercedes reflected. ¡°I picked her up and joined her as long as she wanted.¡± ¡°Now when the rain starts we drop everything and watch for a few minutes.¡± Maya¡¯s eyes shone from the added moisture in them. She wiped it away with the heel of her hand. ¡°You know, sappy family crap.¡± ¡°Y mientras llueva, no necesitamos comprar ninguna de esas fuentes de piedra tontas.¡± And as long as there¡¯s rain, we don¡¯t need to buy any of those silly rock fountains. Maya¡¯s grandmother rubbed her lower back and grunted. ¡°I need to lay down. Too much standing. Take care of company while I nap.¡± Maya nodded and kissed her grandmother¡¯s cheek before Mercedes withdrew to the couch. Both Maya¡¯s mother and mine exchanged a scheming look. Jennifer tapped Mother¡¯s arm and mimed playing more with the cards. Mother scurried back to the table, arm in arm with the shorter woman. That left Maya and I by ourselves. ¡°Shall we continue watching this rather ordinary display, Little Mad May?¡± I came up beside her. ¡°You¡¯re lucky. Not even Nate and Nico know that nickname.¡± She side-stepped to give me more room in front of the window. ¡°And it¡¯s more than watching. Haven¡¯t you ever closed your eyes and listened to rain?¡± ¡°I have never experienced true rain before.¡± I leaned with her against the sill. ¡°Only when Uncle Aengus altered Bri Leith¡¯s weather for the sake of a jest. All things considered, it¡¯s difficult to be fond of it at the moment.¡± ¡°Well my rain is better ¡®cause it¡¯s based on the real stuff.¡± Maya blocked my view with her hand. ¡°Close your eyes a sec and listen.¡± I did as instructed and waited through a moment of repetitive, muffled rapping. The random rhythm made no music and my patience ran thin until I peeked out one eye at Maya. Maya had narrowed her eyes, the dark circles under them made softer by natural shadows. Her subtle smile lended her round profile a heart-shaped curve. It was a serene expression that didn¡¯t stretch her face into extravagant wrinkles or show a slip of teeth. Pure peace poured into her slouching shoulders and sprawled fingers. She glowed brighter in that storm than any creature of the Aos Si. If I could preserve that contentment and watch it unfold, I would be satisfied. The fondness that blossomed in my chest felt as if I had touched her happiness and soaked in some for myself. Then it hit me: that was the lesson, the impossible task I couldn¡¯t accomplish. The illusionary construct around us was anchored to Maya because she collected the treasures. To free myself from the High King¡¯s control, I had to kill her. Aengus must have made his trap parallel that. I could either kill Maya and try to save myself by killing my mother, or accept a quiet death trapped with her and very skilled imitations of our loved ones. My uncle knew me far too well. I shifted my weight and my smallest finger grazed Maya¡¯s. Her touch reignited the brazier in my chest. I couldn¡¯t foster those tender emotions much longer, yet I knew I shouldn¡¯t burden Maya with them when she harbored the same feeling for my sister. Perhaps Father could somehow take mercy on Riona, and Maya might still live with her as she wanted. That was the best outcome I could ask for now. ¡°Any luck thinking of a way out of here?¡± Maya asked as she blinked up at me. I nodded. ¡°And?¡± ¡°Severing the anchor, as I suspected.¡± I focused on the rain behind the window pane. ¡°Killing you.¡± ¡°You can¡¯t do it.¡± Maya flinched, breaking the meditative trance the dreary weather had cast. ¡°Can you?¡± ¡°Never.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± She set her hand on mine and that earlier jolt when our fingers brushed intensified. ¡°No need. You¡¯re why I was never alone in any of this.¡± I moved our hands from the sill and held on. ¡°Thank you.¡± Maya opened her mouth, then closed it as if unsurety tied her tongue. Her meaningful silence lasted for a few moments more. I took in her face, her full mouth. Temptation guided me to swipe her hair from her forehead and let my thumb linger against her temple longer than it should. I swallowed and found myself leaning into her before I could think better of it. Chapter 46 - Maya There was this second. The rain drizzled out the window and the news that Daire had to kill me to get out left me stunned. He started this low-key maneuver of taking my hand and leaning closer. I got a special want to see where it went. Did it come from emotions running high or had it secretly built alongside my more aggressive feelings for Rio? Either way, that second I felt as connected to him as I did his sister. That didn¡¯t make acting on it right. ¡°Now you know why rain is a big deal.¡± I rubbed his fingers and leaned away, out of reach. ¡°How about we join our moms at cards? Think you can win a game?¡± ¡°Oh.¡± Daire¡¯s cheeks got pink like he¡¯d just realized what he was about to do. He dropped my hand and nodded with an awkward, but thankful smile. ¡°Of course. I¡¯m sure I¡¯ll snatch victory from Jennifer¡¯s clutches before you will.¡± ¡°Oh yeah? If I win first, you have to help with chores.¡± I smirked. And like that, things were back to status quo. The moment passed, leaving me with a dangerous twinge of disappointment and guilt for missing it. The sun never moved after the clouds cleared. Hours bled into each other, but I never felt tired enough to sleep. Mom won most of the Rummy tournaments¡ªEtain won the one she didn¡¯t, proving all her practice with Mom had paid off. Abuela ran Mom and I through chores and I roped Daire and Etain into helping. I had fun and let myself get lost in the copies of the family I missed so much. Everything had an end though. This would too. Daire moved more sluggish and spoke in a drowsy haze the longer we spent with the memory-clones. When his life ran out, would I notice him missing or would he become another copy? At some point, Daire whispered between our moms. Abuela started cooking something that involved banana leaves while Etain and Daire mixed another something in a bowl. Everytime I tried to help, Abuela sent me to the futon to watch TV. Why were they suddenly into baking? And Abuela only broke out that family favorite on special occasions. I watched whatever reruns of Telenovelas and cartoons were on while I waited for my dream Abuela to give me the all clear. The same commercials played between them and gave me nostalgia for home instead of making me wish I could fast forward. Daire had said that the commercials were half the fun of T.V. I had to agree with him a little. The smell of tomatoes joined the pork and steam made a wet mist around what I¡¯d seen of the kitchen. I¡¯d caught Etain handling a giant shaker of sprinkles earlier. What were they up to? As soon as I swiveled around, Abuela barked an order at me. I turned back to the screen. I should be doing something. Daire said I was the thing holding the dream-reality together. Maybe I could wake myself up? What would that take, though? If I tried hurting myself there, then that could affect me in the real world too. Could that jolt me awake? Daire wouldn¡¯t let me do that. I wasn¡¯t even sure I could do that to myself. But what else could I do? What lengths was I willing to go to help Daire if he was past the point of fighting? Daire and Etain came up behind me and joined me on the couch. Etain licked something white off her fingers, vanilla frosting? Abuela loud-whispered at Mom to set the table behind us. ¡°What¡¯s your game?¡± I side-eyed Daire. ¡°Whatever do you mean?¡± He flashed an innocent smile my way. I didn¡¯t like how thin his cheeks were. But he had a spark back in his eye. ¡°By the by, you were ten and eight years of age this past year, correct?¡± ¡°Yeah. Next I¡¯m nineteen.¡± Late connections went off in my head. The pork and banana leaves were for tamales, which Abuela always saved for parties. The sprinkles and vanilla frosting went together for my favorite cake, confetti. ¡°Excellent. I counted enough candles.¡± The overhead light went off and someone closed the blinds over our window. The glow of the T.V. lit up Daire¡¯s triumphant smirk and Etain¡¯s confused, but expectant stare. I looked behind me. A mass of flickering candles brightened up our card table. It had transformed into a serving area with a pile of leaf-wrapped packages on one side and a frosted white cake drenched in sprinkles on the other. Any comeback I had fell out of my mouth as I gaped at the surprise. ¡°Come along before they burn out.¡± Daire took my arm and dragged me off the couch toward the kitchen. Etain giggled as she trailed behind us. I stopped in front of the card table with Mom¡¯s and Abuela¡¯s glowing faces smiling at me. My family¡¯s signature birthday foods filled my nose and nineteen candles warmed my cheeks. I wouldn¡¯t have that sight with another birthday. I wasn¡¯t supposed to have it with this one. My eyes watered and my nose snotted up as I held back an ugly cry. It was a bittersweet happiness that made my chest hot and my knees weak. I threw my arms around Daire, needing someone real and solid to hang onto among my fake family¡¯s smiles. I was grateful and heartbroken all at once. I had no idea which emotion I should settle on, only that he¡¯d gone and made them happen. ¡°Oh!¡± Daire stumbled back at my extra weight and set gentle arms around my shoulders as I buried my face in his sternum and used his shirt as a tissue. ¡°You did mention your birth celebration was near Samhain, right? Was celebrating it early a bad idea?¡± ¡°No. It¡¯s perfect.¡± I squashed him tight. ¡°You did good.¡± Daire went quiet and held me as long as I stayed there, not too tight that I couldn¡¯t pull away at any time if I wanted to. That moment sealed it. His relatives could screw themselves. Fate and magic was going to get out of my way. I wasn¡¯t losing him. No matter what I had to stoop to or what crazy thing I had to try, I¡¯d make sure he stayed around. I wasn¡¯t losing another member of my family. I got a hold of myself and blew out my candles. Mom moved my cake to the counter while Abuela served the tamales onto everybody¡¯s plates. Then Mom coached Etain on how to eat the new food while Daire¡¯s failed tries to go it alone had me giggling. Once everyone had enough, Abuela packed the leftovers while Mom cut the cake and served it. We all moved to the living room and ate dessert in front of the T.V. It was a perfect end to the last minute surprise party. I strong-armed everybody else to let me handle cleanup and recruited Daire to help. ¡°Hey,¡± I said as I passed Daire the first dish out of the pile we¡¯d gathered. ¡°Thanks for all this.¡± ¡°It was an impromptu celebration that broke up the monotony of the endless day.¡± Daire shrugged as he took the dish and ran a towel over it. ¡°I¡¯m only glad the cake tasted as well as it did.¡± ¡°I doubt even you could mess up a box mix.¡± I kept that it had been a little too sweet to myself and let him have the win. A question prodded the back of my brain, though and it slipped out. ¡°Why¡¯d you do it?¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°You¡¯re¡­y¡¯know, and one of the last things you do is plan a birthday party for somebody else?¡± Daire¡¯s cheeks darkened to a red and his Adam¡¯s apple bobbed as he gulped. ¡°It¡¯s a logical course of action when you care about that somebody else.¡± I opened my mouth but nothing came out. What could I say to that? Did I want to ask what kind of care he meant and open up that can of worms when I still cared about his sister in a non-platonic sense? Did I want to explore what ways I cared about him that may have popped up while we were stuck in that dream-world paling around with our families? Etain came up behind Daire and tapped his shoulder, interrupting my opportunity. She had a concerned look on her face with her eyebrows pinched together. ¡°Daire, something is wrong.¡± Wait. I could understand Etain. She spoke with the same lilting language running underneath her English as when Aos Si talked to me. But she hadn¡¯t talked like that since we¡¯d woken up. ¡°Maya¡­¡± I turned toward my name. Abuela leaned against the couch, gasping for air like she wanted to say something while clutching her chest. She collapsed. I dropped the dish I held. It crashed to the floor as I ran across the main room, dropped to my knees beside Abuela, and pumped both hands against her chest. ¡°?Abuela! ?Despierta!¡± Abuela! Wake up! It was happening again. I knew it wasn¡¯t actually real. The sternum I pushed on hard enough to crack wasn¡¯t actually hers. The way her shiny black hair sprawled out like so much exploded pen ink was pulled from a memory. ¡°Not again, not again¡­¡± I couldn¡¯t help muttering it to myself as I kept pushing down in vain against Abuela¡¯s chest. I turned to Daire to get his help. Etain loomed over him, a kitchen knife raised high and ready to stab into his back. ¡°Daire, behind you!¡± I shouted. He turned right as Etain lunged. The knife stuck in the floor instead of between his ribs. ¡°It¡¯s your fault! If you aren¡¯t here, I don¡¯t have to be!¡± Etain screamed, but it still had that magic double talk that made it English at the same time. Tears spilled down her cheeks and her eyes were red and veiny. She yanked at the knife lodged in the laminate floorboard, but it stayed. She wiggled it and pulled again. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± I couldn¡¯t think, couldn¡¯t process with Abuela dying all over again. The black hole in my stomach sucked the feeling from the rest of my body. He didn¡¯t tell me about this, he hadn¡¯t say anything. ¡°She¡­she tried to kill me.¡± Daire stared at the knife in disbelief. I tore my eyes away from Abuela¡¯s blank stare. Etain pulled the knife from the floor and pivoted on Daire again. I ran behind her and hiked both of my arms under hers in my best imitation of a Full Nelson. Etain bucked and kicked my shin hard. I winced but bit down on the pulsing pain spreading through my leg. ¡°Explain!¡± I strained against Etain¡¯s flailing. ¡°Mother tried to kill me¡­before all of this,¡± Daire said, gaping at Etain¡¯s tear-ridden, snarling face. ¡°She tried to kill my father before, but never me. She had deteriorated that much.¡± ¡°Maya? Maya?¡± Mom called behind me. She stood by the card table, eyes darting around the room, looking right past me so many times. ¡°Honey, where are you? She didn¡¯t take you. Tell me she didn¡¯t take you¡­Maya!¡± ¡°Reality is breaking in, the truth.¡± Daire backed away from Mom and me in horror. ¡°Something is wrong with the construct.¡± ¡°What?¡± If the truth was breaking in, then why was Mom up and walking? Why was she looking for me when she¡¯d forgotten who I was? ¡°Why does Mom remember me?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry I¡­I can¡¯t.¡± Daire opened his mouth as if trying to talk, trying to tell me something, but nothing came out. His face struggled between unspoken shame and apology. ¡°Riona knows. Ask her.¡±Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. My arms went limp around Daire¡¯s mom. Rio knew? But she couldn¡¯t lie about Mom not remembering me. She could hint at the wrong answer and play along if I assumed wrong. Had she hidden this the whole time? What actually happened to my mom? Etain fell to her hands and knees on the floor, knife clattering away as she sobbed. ¡°She¡¯s gone, my baby¡¯s gone.¡± Mom shook her head, straggly blonde hair hanging in her face as she stared at her hands. ¡°My fault, it¡¯s my fault. I should have told her sooner, done something. I¡¯m useless and now they¡¯re both gone.¡± ¡°Mom, I¡¯m right here.¡± I ran to her and almost slammed into her when I grabbed her shoulders and shook. ¡°Look at me!¡± She stared straight into my eyes, straight through me like I wasn¡¯t there. ¡°I¡¯m touching you Mom. Snap out of it!¡± She didn¡¯t even blink. Red, fresh blood gushed from the side of her skull, soaking her hair. Her hazel brown eyes became as blank as Abuela¡¯s as she slumped in my arms. No. Not her too. I sank to the floor and cradled Mom in my lap, rocking her back and forth. Her blood made my pants damp and sticky. My vision blurred with tears, so much I could barely pick out the finer details of her narrow face. The blurry colors melded together. They brightened until I only saw white. * * * I blinked up at the underside of Rio¡¯s neck. For a blissful second, I couldn¡¯t remember a thing. I squinted away from the light of the cloudless sky above us and saw Daire¡¯s aunt Brigid standing across from Rio on one of his garden paths. Brigid held Daire¡¯s sagging body the same way someone would hold a fainted princess. The careful braids twining his hair together hung loose, white and wiry. The vibrant greens and golds of his medieval costume had changed into dull browns. Even his skin was sallow with pockets of shadows around his cheeks, his joints, and his sunken eyes. I couldn¡¯t see his chest move. Etain hunched over and sobbing with a knife. Abuela¡¯s blank stare. Mom¡¯s blood-soaked head. Everything came back. ¡°What did you do?¡± Riona pulled me tighter to her chest, holding me like I¡¯d held my mother¡¯s limp body. The air became magnetized and static as everything in my field of vision filled with gray and her color surrounded me. Behind Brigid, two men ran up. The taller one I recognised by his wavy hair and gold decorations: Daire¡¯s father. The other one¡¯s face was hazy at first, then his swooshing purple cloak and wild curls made me press into Rio¡¯s chest. Aengus. The guy who¡¯d thrown us in there. ¡°It wasn¡¯t enough to take my mother, was it?¡± Rio followed my eyes toward Daire¡¯s uncle. She gritted her teeth behind her jaw and swept my uneasy legs up. ¡°You will suffer by my hands, Aengus Mac Og. You will grovel, beg, and plead but I will not stop until my vengeance is sated. This I vow.¡± ¡°A vow you know you won¡¯t be able to keep.¡± Aengus wiggled his fingers at me with an insinuating wink. ¡°A pleasure working with you, Maya. I hope you enjoyed your little sojourn with my nephew. I did notice the two of you were becoming very close. You¡¯re welcome.¡± Rio dug her nails into my skin. The pain sharpened my awareness of my situation. Daire. He hadn¡¯t even twitched in his aunt¡¯s arms. I bit down on my lip hard, hard enough to taste blood. I couldn¡¯t save Abuela. I couldn¡¯t help Mom. I had to help him. I thought the order at him to wake up in my head in both my languages. I prayed, bargaining with God, whether he could hear me from that world or not. ¡°Daire, wake up,¡± I croaked, my voice hoarse and throat dry like I hadn¡¯t used it for a few days straight. ¡°Wake him up.¡± Midir came up beside his taller sister, face hard as he held out his arms for his son. ¡°Give him to me.¡± Brigid handled Daire as gingerly as a porcelain doll. She didn¡¯t say anything, but it seemed like it was her own son she passed over. Midir¡¯s expression didn¡¯t flinch as he turned away from Rio and I. He never met eyes with Aengus. Daire¡¯s favorite uncle still grinned like it was all some game. ¡°Wake him up, you bastard!¡± I shouted, squirming in Rio¡¯s firm hold. ¡°You did this to him! Fix it!¡± ¡°You should tend to her before she has even more hysterics, little niece.¡± Aengus turned away, his purple cloak billowing behind him. ¡°Calm yourself, dear one.¡± Rio tucked my head under her chin, even though all of her shook. ¡°We will speak of this more at home.¡± Rio carried me back through Daire¡¯s garden and we passed a sunset themed patch of flowers with a gaping hole where the purple center used to be. The entire mass of plants seemed duller, bent in mourning. I supported myself with an arm around Rio¡¯s neck and the other curled around my stomach. She approached a pool of water surrounded by roughly cut stones. I recognized it as the same place Daire and her had shown me my mom spread out on the road, then safe and sound in a hospital bed surrounded by Nico and Nathan. I rested my voice as Rio gazed into the water¡¯s surface and the reflection of the blue sky clouded into the muddy brown of the burrow¡¯s dirt walls. She stepped through the water and it glided over us without a drop escaping until our horizontal descent became a vertical entry. The mirror we came out from had a gold frame covered in dented rams and butterflies. Rio walked me to the padded cot and set me down. My arms and legs moved like boiled noodles at first as I sat up. Every thought came thick like I was still stuck in that groggy phase after a too-long nap. ¡°What happened to you?¡± Rio knelt and folded her skirt under her knees, all careful composure and precise movements. The gray field around her raged on and cracked the ground under her. ¡°Your asshole uncle happened.¡± I sat up, propping myself against the dirt wall. The room spun a little. ¡°We have to go to Daire¡¯s room and find his notes. I have to fix this.¡± ¡°Answer my question first!¡± Rio sat one second, then shoved herself into my space the next. Her hands were fists, but after a second her angry eyes softened with flecks of silver flickering in them them. ¡°After my negotiations with Finvarra failed, I waited for your return. You never came. I searched all of Bri Leith, the rooms of my father¡¯s house, the lengths of the gardens, to no avail. I even stooped to calling Brigid to help me. It was only by chance I stumbled upon you when I searched Daire¡¯s gardens another time. Think if my magic wasn¡¯t able to break the enchantment on you.¡± ¡°Wait¡­how long was I gone?¡± I asked, trying to figure out a guess in my head. It had only been a long day in there. ¡°Too many days.¡± Rio¡¯s energy rolled over me and the cot. ¡°Samhain is almost upon us! Did he take you as ransom to prevent my election? Did he hurt you? What happened?¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine!¡± I nearly smacked my forehead into hers as I shoved myself at her the same way she¡¯d invaded my space. ¡°He¡¯s trying to get rid of the Key by killing Daire. Daire needs my help so that doesn¡¯t happen. But now Aengus knows so I¡¯ve gotta find another way to help him.¡± ¡°Finally, an answer.¡± Rio¡¯s eyebrows came together as she looked down at me. The gray shrank when her animalistic curiosity flared up. ¡°Why is Aengus trying to destroy the Key?¡± ¡°Are you going to help Daire?¡± ¡°If you tell me I will help.¡± Rio sat on her knees and backed off. She held onto my leg, tense like she thought I wouldn¡¯t stay there. ¡°I need that welp alive. The core of my campaign relies on assuming control of his power. Unless I can somehow persuade Finvarra to relent his support of Midir, I won¡¯t survive after the election.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a promise? A deal?¡± ¡°Have I not yet done enough to show you can trust me?¡± ¡°I know about my mom.¡± I said through gritted teeth. It didn¡¯t matter that I needed Rio¡¯s help. The careful trust I¡¯d built with her fractured as soon as Daire said to ask her why my mom remembered me, why she didn¡¯t wake up. ¡°I was trapped in a dream dimension that used memories. I had to see my Abuela die again when you pulled me out. Mom fell down right after her. I never saw that part. It means Daire saw it and you two faked the rest.¡± ¡°I did that to spare you heartache.¡± Rio folded her hands in her lap with a delicate frown on her mouth. ¡°I had no way of sending you back and for all I knew, your mother had died. I wanted us to get along and did not want you to needlessly go through that pain. It was the most merciful option.¡± ¡°Bullshit!¡± I stood up and sneered down at her. ¡°You set up a lie so I wouldn¡¯t bitch at you. The only reason you¡¯re saying anything now is because I caught you. How the hell can I trust a thing you say?¡± ¡°Every word I have said to you and every move I have made while in here has been from my heart. And the trust, dear one, has been broken both ways.¡± Rio¡¯s innate field became so dark I had to squint to see through it. ¡°I deceived you for your own well being. Can you say as much about your helping Daire? You mentioned something of notes, of helping him save himself from death? It¡¯s peculiar you never said as much in all the times we have been together up until this point, even after you knew I needed him to win the High King¡¯s seat.¡± ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ve lied a lot about that.¡± I didn¡¯t have time to talk around it. If she needed everything out in the open to help me, then I¡¯d give it to her. Daire was counting on me. ¡°Daire roped me into helping him early. He needed a human to steal the sacred treasures. I wanted you to run so I could get to them. Then I stole the three that went missing. We were supposed to finish the spell to cut the Key off from the High King before Samhain, then he was going to take his mom and I was going to take you. He didn¡¯t want me to tell you about it earlier because he was scared of you, scared of his family finding out, scared of dying. Now Aengus found out and Daire¡¯s going to be gone by the election if I don¡¯t do something.¡± ¡°You¡­you intended to take me with you?¡± Rio¡¯s field deflated. Shock and confusion warred on her face like I¡¯d just proposed. ¡°Yeah, to give you a way out of the campaign and give us being together a shot,¡± I said, my shoulders relaxing as I held her eyes. I tried seeing her through the same lens as I had before I knew about Mom, before I had to go through losing her all over again. Threads of doubt crept in as everything she¡¯d done up until then got thrown into question. ¡°I can¡¯t stay in this place with all the magic and backstabbing. I always wanted to go home, Rio. I want that more than ever now. But first I need to save my friend.¡± ¡°One question, if you¡¯ll indulge me.¡± Rio crossed her arms over her chest. She seemed calmer, more calculating as her pupils narrowed to slits. ¡°Essentially, you¡¯re saying the way to save him is to sever the Key from Bodb, correct?¡± ¡°Pretty sure that¡¯s how it worked, yeah,¡± I said, struggling to remember how exactly Daire explained it. ¡°Bodb gave the order to trigger the curse, like a failsafe or something, and Daire¡¯s been getting weaker ever since. Him and the Key will run out at the same time as the election.¡± ¡°And Aengus now has the treasures you gathered for the cure?¡± ¡°I think he does, so that won¡¯t work.¡± Then there was that last step Daire and I had never found. ¡°Seems like he wants Daire to die too, even though Daire always said they¡¯re really close.¡± ¡°My mother raised Aengus and he killed her easily enough. I would bet that he was following Bodb¡¯s orders in making sure the Key and its bearer actually died.¡± Her lips curved into a satisfied grin. There was almost a purr to her voice. ¡°Did it occur to either of you the simplest solution is removing the source of the order? Based on the logic of the cure, it should work the same as eliminating the link between the two.¡± ¡°Is there another spell you know that can do that?¡± ¡°Much easier than that, for you at least.¡± Rio lifted a disbelieving eyebrow at me. ¡°You kill the source, Bodb.¡± ¡°Excuse me if cold-blooded murder doesn¡¯t jump to my mind as my first resort.¡± My shoulders slumped again with my own disappointment as the spark of hope snuffed out. ¡°Plus, he¡¯s a giant magical man-beast. I¡¯m a pudgy, normal human.¡± ¡°Of course you won¡¯t openly challenge him to hand-to-hand combat.¡± Rio chuckled, like she found it funny that I would blindly punch at her ex before he crushed me with his club. ¡°You must be stealthy about these things.¡± ¡°Okay, he¡¯s royal and probably has guards. I¡¯m just me.¡± I ticked that reason off on my next finger. ¡°Then its big, scary magic people and a numbers game.¡± ¡°I am also an asset, that evens your odds,¡± Rio said, her voice sweet with only a little condescension. ¡°Well, unlike everybody else here who¡¯s stuck in the dark ages, people don¡¯t have to kill each other to survive where I¡¯m from.¡± I ticked off that third reason on my thumb. ¡°I¡¯ve never killed anybody and I don¡¯t want to.¡± ¡°Even it would save Little Daire¡¯s life?¡± I wrinkled my nose at the thought of trying. Hadn¡¯t I promised myself I¡¯d try anything in the dream world? ¡°You¡¯re obviously fond enough of him to gather ingredients for a strange spell. With most spells that require another creature¡¯s aid, sacrifices are not uncommon. More than likely he would have you spill blood if you were allowed to continue. At least with this way, you know whose blood it is and that they are not an innocent.¡± ¡°Why can¡¯t you do it?¡± ¡°I have restrictive vows and universal edicts holding me back,¡± Rio explained. ¡°You, however, do not have a drop of Aos Si blood nor the obligation to follow any vows, making you a perfect assassin.¡± ¡°That makes sense.¡± My stomach cramped with fear and dread. ¡°Are you sure you can¡¯t just use me to do it like you did to threaten Etain?¡± ¡°For this, I cannot be directly involved.¡± Rio bent down and took my chin between two of her fingers, tilting my face to meet hers better. ¡°I can give you the means, and even the opportunity if you wish it. However, you must be the killer of your own free will.¡± ¡°I really don¡¯t like this.¡± I paced to the other end of the cavern. I had to move. I couldn¡¯t keep still while my mind raced trying to find a work around to forces I didn¡¯t understand. ¡°What happens to Daire if this works? The election happens anyways and Midir gets control of him if you don¡¯t have Finvarra¡¯s vote. All he wanted was to get out of here with his mom. He never wanted any part of this political crap.¡± ¡°What he wanted won¡¯t save him.¡± Rio stayed put in front of the cot and watched me. ¡°There is still a narrow span of time between the election and the coronation he might be free to govern his own power.¡± ¡°That means there¡¯s a chance he could still make a way out of here.¡± My heart picked up, anxiety turning to excitement. ¡°This can work.¡± ¡°And you could go home to your world,¡± Rio said, finishing my thought. ¡°What about you? If you stayed here without him, you¡¯d die for sure.¡± ¡°If I do not win the election, then you are certainly right,¡± Rio said, her mouth tight. ¡°Going with you to your world would be preferable to dying.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a funny way of saying it.¡± Was she being so backwards about her phrasing for a reason? I tossed my head. No time. ¡°Nevermind. How long do we have to pull this off?¡± ¡°A matter of hours,¡± Rio said. ¡°If Daire lasts that much longer, given his condition. We must also arrange the means of getting you close to Bodb, plan how you will dispatch him, the minutiae of your escape, the list goes on.¡± ¡°I got it.¡± I walked up to Rio and held out my hand for a shake. ¡°You¡¯ll help me save Daire?¡± ¡°Only under the condition you follow my every direction without question. What we must do to save Daire and the Key will not be pleasant for you. A first kill is hard. The only way this is possible is if you trust me.¡± Rio had the snake-like precision I remembered from when we first met, before I knew the cuddly creature she could become when she let her guard down. ¡°Do we have a deal?¡± Warning alarms sounded in my brain. She had her walls up as high as I¡¯d seen them with her rivals. This wasn¡¯t my Rio I was dealing with, but scary Rio. Without anyone else to go to for help, though, I didn¡¯t have any choice but to take the deal and hope scary Rio didn¡¯t have the reins. ¡°Yeah, we have a deal.¡± Tingling sensations ran up my arm as she clapped her hand in mine. She smiled, beamed even, but the morbid satisfaction in it only made cold goosebumps crawl up my back. I focused on Daire¡¯s limp body, all sallow and thin, looking so much like Mom laying in my lap with blood tangling her hair. I couldn¡¯t let that happen to him too. ¡°Now, tell me what I have to do.¡± Chapter 47 - Daire Last I saw, my mother had made an attempt on my life. Maya cradled a dying Jennifer in her arms. I confirmed her suspicions that Riona and I had deceived her. I¡¯d wanted to comfort Mother through her tears, beg Maya¡¯s forgiveness, find some way to bring Jennifer back from the brink. That illusionary realm brought familial fellowship in a world where my existence wasn¡¯t the only thing protecting my race from monsters and zealots. It was true freedom. Then everything went dark and I lost all sense of time and place. Trapped in my own bone-weary body, I was dimly aware of the bickering voices around me with their words too far away to understand. Had Maya screamed my name and demanded that I wake up before she became lost to the abyss? Strong fingers applied careful pressure to my eyes, my ears, my temples. Warmth flooded my body, making me uncomfortable enough to shift and readjust. Yet it was as if I were under water, my body sinking to the bottom to settle on an ocean floor and provide shelter to swimming creatures. Soft singing lifted some of the weight holding me down and drew me back to the surface of my personal sea for a time. I couldn¡¯t distinguish the words of the song from the magical undercurrents skimming across my skin. The darkness cleared as I opened my eyes. ¡°The election is upon us, Midir. He doesn¡¯t have much longer,¡± Uncle Aengus said. ¡°You should say goodbye before you leave for the gathering.¡± Father didn¡¯t reply, but his thudding footsteps paced beside where I lay. They made a rhythm to Mother¡¯s soft, whimpering sobs. ¡°He¡¯s waking.¡± My aunt¡¯s voice. ¡°It¡¯s alright, little swan. I¡¯m here.¡± Mother¡¯s face filled my vision with her waves of rose-gold hair hanging around me. ¡°What¡¯s wrong? What hurts?¡± ¡°Ask your High King.¡± My hoarse voice came scarcely loud enough for anyone to hear. Mother nodded her understanding. ¡°Ask Aengus.¡± ¡°What¡¯s going on, Aengus?¡± Brigid¡¯s tone had an edge of flame to it. ¡°I am merely following my liege¡¯s orders.¡± When I shifted my head to see my uncle, he turned his eyes away from mine. ¡°Vows were made between Bodb, Midir, and I the day we made the Key that binds me from speaking of it in any detail.¡± ¡°You knew this was going to happen?¡± Mother whipped around and when she spoke, it nearly sounded like a Bean Sidhe¡¯s shriek for the fury in her words. ¡°How could you let another one of my children die? How dare you!¡± ¡°Bodb wants the Key gone at the end of his reign to trap us,¡± I explained for my uncle and my father, bound as they were by their oaths of secrecy. ¡°Aengus wrote of it, but he said there was a way to stop it by severing the Key from the High King.¡± ¡°That ritual was not easy to weave, let me tell you,¡± Aengus said with his signature lilt. ¡°Still, Daire was never supposed to discover any of that. Someone stole from my study and left him my book.¡± Aengus tilted his chin toward my father who had stopped pacing by then. ¡°It was Daire¡¯s own cleverness and determination that led him to it. I can¡¯t say I¡¯m not proud.¡± ¡°You tried to kill me once you found out I knew.¡± I coughed, putting too much strain on my voice. ¡°I tried to give you a peaceful passing,¡± Aengus said. ¡°Your death was going to happen, regardless.¡± ¡°What does the ritual to sever the Key involve, Aengus?¡± Brigid asked. ¡°A human, the four treasures, and a reversal of the spell used to make the Key.¡± Aengus slashed the ingredients off on his fingers. ¡°You used Daire as a vessel because of his human blood, being of both worlds. Any human that could be found in the Otherworld would be of both worlds in a sense. Since he was but a newborn babe, however, the reversal would require someone grown and¡­¡± Brigid placed a protective hand on my mother¡¯s shoulder. ¡°You had Etain in mind.¡± ¡°Of course I did. I knew he would never kill her.¡± Aengus had rested his hand on his thigh and he gripped it so tight his knuckles stood out under his smooth skin. ¡°To undo even a sliver of that kind of magic, I had to all but guarantee his failure and set up so many obstacles to keep the spell balanced. It had to be rigged against him for a reason. He was always supposed to die.¡± ¡°You traitorous swine!¡± Father, silent and lurking until that moment, crossed the room to Aengus in a few long strides. He lifted my uncle up by his tunic so his toes scarcely grazed the floor. ¡°I went to you to give my son a chance at survival and you conspired to kill the only family I have left? Is this the thanks I get for raising you like my own? What kind of brother are you?¡± ¡°Would you rather our entire race be obliterated for the sake of your single son?¡± Aengus said, hanging there limp as he looked straight into my father¡¯s eyes, not a trace of humor in his tone, but utter conviction and certainty taking its place. ¡°So long as Bodb is in power, Tir Na Nog stays sealed off and the Aos Si are safe from humans and Fomor. The only reason he gave the order was for the safety of all. I can¡¯t contest that, no matter how much it hurts Daire.¡± ¡°All of us appointed me his successor,¡± Father growled as he shoved Aengus against the nearest wall and pinned him there. ¡°I would never be so negligent with Daire¡¯s power, yet Bodb still gave the order. I was counting on that loophole to save my son when I took that book!¡± ¡°I tried to sway Bodb against it,¡± Aengus grunted and winced at the impact. ¡°He said Etain was too much of a liability.¡±If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. ¡°So the small sliver of hope I wouldn¡¯t have to go through the pain of losing another child, let alone protect Etain from losing her only son, was all a trick?¡± ¡°Not a trick, a choice.¡± Aengus turned his eyes to meet mine. ¡°He lets himself die for the good of the Aos Si, or sacrifices someone to save himself.¡± ¡°My son is not dying.¡± Mother stood straight-backed over me, born to royalty and proud to perform her duty. Her hand rested on my arm, strong and steady, not a hint of a tremble or twitch in it. ¡°If you need a sacrifice, then I will fill it.¡± ¡°No one is being sacrificed!¡± Father threw Aengus aside, sending him clattering into a chair. It was then I realized where we were. The softly glowing stones on the walls, the circular nooks filled with scrolls and their holders. Father had brought me to his study. ¡°Aengus will undo this.¡± ¡°There¡¯s no time.¡± My uncle lifted himself from the floor, but did not stand. ¡°I cannot undo what I have already wrought.¡± ¡°The treasures¡­¡± I rubbed my throat as the words came out and swallowed to moisten it. I placed a pleading hand in my mother¡¯s wrist. ¡°You need to have gathered them, Mother. Let me die, please. I¡¯ve lived long enough.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t really want that, little swan. I know how much you want to have a life free of this burden.¡± Mother wrapped her fingers around mine. ¡°I do want that, though, to die. I have already seen the world and all its wonders, suffered through its pains, watched you grow while I wasted away to only a shadow of myself. That is no life for me.¡± ¡°Etain, I said no.¡± Father closed the distance between he and Mother and turned her toward him. ¡°We will find another way. We can beg Bodb to rescind the order. If it isn¡¯t there, Daire doesn¡¯t have to die and we can keep our family. We can start over like we talked about.¡± ¡°I doubt the order can even be taken back once given,¡± Aengus said as he stood and wiped his tunic. ¡°You still have to get to him before the election this eve. If you fail, by then it will be too late to enact the ritual to sever the key¡¯s tie and you¡¯ll have lost him for good.¡± ¡°At least I¡¯ll have tried to save him.¡± Father sneered at my uncle. ¡°There is one possibility you aren¡¯t taking into account, Midir,¡± my aunt said from beside my head. Up until that point, she had watched and listened as her younger siblings fought over me. ¡°There is no guarantee you are going to win. Riona is running against you. None of us have heard from her since the garden. We must assume she is either enjoying the reunion with her changeling, squeezing in additional campaigning, or scheming another method of victory. What if she wins?¡± ¡°It¡¯s impossible.¡± Father scoffed. ¡°Finvarra has pledged his support to me already. Without him, she doesn¡¯t have enough votes.¡± ¡°She is clever, though,¡± Brigid said. ¡°And her human companion can do things she cannot.¡± ¡°We can¡¯t allow her control of the Key. She¡¯s too unpredictable and could ruin all of us,¡± Aengus pushed himself to his feet. ¡°All the more reason we have to let Daire go.¡± ¡°That¡¯s enough out of you!¡± Father snapped. ¡°We can worry about that if it happens. The priority is saving my son without killing my wife, even if I have to drag Riona¡¯s little pawn here by her hair. I will not lose anymore of my family.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t kill Maya.¡± My chest spasmed and I turned on my side as coughing fits wracked me. Red droplets splattered against the desk on which I lay and I tasted coppery blood on the back of my tongue. ¡°She¡¯s an innocent in this. She helped me.¡± ¡°If Bodb rescinds the order, I don¡¯t have to,¡± Father said. ¡°For that ritual, though, the girl is more expendable than you or your mother.¡± ¡°And you will aid us in saving Daire¡¯s life, Little Brother.¡± Brigid centered her eyes on Aengus with all of the motherly fury and shame that came with knowing him from a babe. ¡°I must follow my orders¡­¡± Aengus turned away from his sister and lost his former conviction. ¡°For the good of all.¡± ¡°Our eldest brother is not all wise,¡± Brigid said. ¡°We gave him that power, but that only means he is even more obliged to follow our demands. Do not forget your loyalties so easily. Bodb may be your liege and your kin, but we are your family, your keepers and guardians, your confidants. That takes priority.¡± Aengus avoided Brigid¡¯s leer as he clawed at his cloak like an embarrassed boy. I blocked out their voices and held my mother¡¯s hand tight as a cold sweat broke across my skin and made me shiver. Despite the chills, I knew the core of me burned hot with fever and the conflict of temperatures made my flesh tingle with every texture that brushed it. A dull, persistent ache that penetrated to my very bones ensured I couldn¡¯t stay comfortable. Human medicine explained it as my body fending off unseen disease within, yet I had never comprehended the miserable sensations that resulted. Mother slicked my hair from my face while Aunt Brigid dabbed the perspiration from my brow with a damp cloth. I couldn¡¯t help but whimper under their ministrations as I lay curled on my side. My eyes became wet as the cruel reality of my condition set in. Would my Aos Si blood make my passing fantastic, or did my human blood mean I would simply slip into unconsciousness and never wake up? I tried to see my death from the perspective that it would deliver my mother and Maya from a similar fate. But my chest spasmed and a violent coughing fit brought me back to the painful present. ¡°Daire, you will be fine.¡± Father bent down so his face met mine once my phlegm and blood finished spurting. His voice went low, only the barest hint of a quiver to it. ¡°I will head for the gathering straightaway to stall. No matter the insults, the way I distanced myself, watching you grow from afar has always been the brightest part of my life. You have to hold on so you can show me the world you made for yourself up close. I want to explore it with you from here on out. I want to share my knowledge and experiences with you. I want to be your father. You must let me have that chance. Do you understand?¡± I nodded, a few tears slipping down my nose for the misery of it all. My relatives were lining up to my death bed to bid me farewell. ¡°Etain¡­¡± Father turned to Mother, cupping her face between his hands and drawing her close to him. He didn¡¯t even attempt masking the desperation in his tone. ¡°I will return, have no doubt of that. Please, I beg you, do not do anything rash in my absence. I know you have lingered longer than you ever wanted, but I want us to be a family again. Give me a final chance to earn back your love.¡± ¡°You are a selfish creature, Midir, and it has caused me more heartache than any woman should bear from a husband.¡± Mother wrapped her arms around my father¡¯s waist in a tender embrace, and rested her head in the crook of his neck. ¡°Knowing all of that, I have always loved you, for better or worse.¡± ¡°Promise you¡¯ll wait for me,¡± Father whispered, clutching her to his breast. Only I was close enough to hear abject fear shake his words. ¡°Please.¡± ¡°I promise.¡± Mother backed away and gave him the world weary smile I knew too well with how many times she had flashed it toward me. It was a false assurance, only meant to settle someone¡¯s concerns for a short time. I may have doubted the sincerity of her words, but Father seemed contented by the gesture as he parted for the only mirror in the study. Piercing pain shot through my gut, and I cried out with the suddenness of it. ¡°Hurry home, Brother.¡± Brigid blew raw power into her cupped hands and her healing herbs grew in an instant. Father sped up to a run and launched himself through the mirror. Chapter 48 - Maya For the next few hours, Rio played around like a mad scientist with a chemistry set. She ground up the plants she grew out of the dirt wall, set them aside in smaller bowls, then mixed them together in a big one. Sometimes puffs of colored smoke came up. If it was anything but red she tossed the mix out to start again with a different combination. When the herbal gunk¡¯s smoke color satisfied her, she traced a bunch of lines into the dirt around it. The candles flickered and made our shadows jump as she meditated over the bowl. I cycled between worry and boredom, making lists of everything that could possibly go wrong with her plan and counting grains of dirt. She¡¯d been light on the specifics and only implied she was making a poison. I¡¯d gone into my own trance to try and calm down. The candles flared into flamethrowers and startled me out of it. Fire curled around the ceiling. Rio fell over in a heap, smearing her carefully laid lines. The candles extinguished themselves and left me fumbling through the dark. I called her name while my eyes got used to the lack of light. No answer. I crawled ¡®til I bumped into her leg and felt up the side of her body until I found her head. I checked around her face and my fingers came up slick with sweat and dust. No blood. ¡°Rio¡­c¡¯mon.¡± I patted her cheek and set two fingers on her neck where her pulse should be. It beat slow, but something was better than nothing. ¡°You¡¯re scaring me with the fainting and pyrotechnics. This isn¡¯t funny.¡± The candles popped back on. Rio¡¯s eyes flicked open, black but bright with small lightning flashes in her irises. Her mouth curled into a triumphant smile as she looked over the bowl. The glob of crushed plants and powders had become a liquid clear enough to be water. Her buzzing energy swirled around her hand and the particles gathered into a knife. She slashed her arm and the blood splashed into the bowl, tainting the mix a rich wine red. ¡°You¡¯re pretty cheery after being unconscious.¡± I hiked myself up as my panicked heart slowed a couple notches. ¡°A side effect of the powers I¡¯ve harnessed.¡± Her irises crackled and her pupils expanded to full circles like she¡¯d huffed catnip. ¡°Whatever you did worked, right? When do I go in?¡± ¡°Once the boar mirror glows.¡± Rio scraped a substantial chunk of dirt from the wall and molded it in her glowing hands. It had a gourd shape until she made the thinner top into a spout. She poured the contents of the bowl into her new pitcher. ¡°Offer this as tribute for his hospitality.¡± ¡°What if he asks why I¡¯m there instead of you?¡± I took the bottom of the pitcher. It had the consistency of dried clay instead of dirt. ¡°Offer him the truth. I no longer feel safe in his presence and will not endanger myself because of a formality.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± I hugged the mystery drink to my chest, its weight reminding me of whose life depended on me not spilling it. ¡°Everything¡¯s ready now? That¡¯s it?¡± ¡°Almost.¡± Rio touched the chain bracelet of hers I still wore. The air around it became electrified and hummed. ¡°If anything happens, I will know and come to you with help.¡± Down the hall, a glowing ring appeared behind Bodb¡¯s black curtain. I took a deep breath and braced myself for what I had to do. It should be like serving drinks to a regular at Nico¡¯s bar who tipped crappy. I¡¯d put on my customer service smile that made my cheeks ache and play nice. ¡°Do you trust me?¡± Rio cupped my hands with hers. ¡°Yeah, for better or worse.¡± I gripped the pitcher harder to keep my hands from shaking and showing how scared I was. Rio bent down to my level, uncertainty written across her too-tight expression. ¡°Will you stand by me no matter what happens?¡± ¡°It¡¯s¡­going to take awhile for me to get over my mom.¡± I swallowed the lump in my throat. I couldn¡¯t afford to break down yet. I had to focus on saving Daire first. Then we could all get out of Tir Na Nog forever and rebuild from there. ¡°I¡¯ll need time to forgive that, but you¡¯re still important to me. No more tricky stuff and we¡¯ll be okay.¡± ¡°That is fair. However, please remember that everything I have done, everything I will do, is in our best interest.¡± And with that ominous disclaimer, Rio turned me toward Bodb¡¯s mirror and sent me off. * * * I walked through the mirror into Bodb¡¯s familiar hunter¡¯s lodge bedroom with stuffed heads mounted everywhere. On the floor, Bodb shoved Midir¡¯s face into a fur rug and straddled his legs to hold him down. Midir tried to push up with his free arms, but couldn¡¯t seem to get up under the High King¡¯s massive bulk. The testosterone filled display fit right in with the rest of the rustic bedroom. I waited for one of them to notice I¡¯d come in. Part of me hoped they¡¯d kill each other and leave me out of it. ¡°Take it back or the moment I¡¯m elected you¡¯ll regret it!¡± Midir spiked his elbow at the current High King¡¯s jaw. ¡°Careful what promises you make before you¡¯ve won.¡± Bodb stayed calm and even as he caught Midir¡¯s arm and twisted it behind his back at an angle that made the blonde wince. ¡°I¡¯ll vow whatever I¡¯d like.¡± Midir wriggled under the other man¡¯s thick thighs, but didn¡¯t gain an inch. ¡°Do you really think if begging and appealing to my sense of family didn¡¯t work, that threats would do you any better?¡± Bodb frowned, his eyes pitying as he stood and let Midir go. ¡°My order is final. I cannot rescind it and would not if I could. Destroying the Key is the only way to preserve the Aos Si. You have to let him go.¡± ¡°This will crush Etain¡­her only child.¡± Midir stayed sprawled on the ground like he¡¯d lost the will to move. ¡°My son.¡± They were talking about Daire. Was Midir fighting for his son¡¯s life? The hopelessness in Midir¡¯s voice reminded me of my motivation: Daire smiling at me as I blew out all nineteen of those birthday candles in the too-sweet confetti cake he¡¯d made. Abuela couldn¡¯t secretly blush when Nathan complimented her outfit. Mom couldn¡¯t beam and hug me the minute I walked through the door after a long shift. Daire was coming to my next birthday. My shaking hands went stone still and I cleared my throat. Both men¡¯s attention darted around to me. Bodb crossed his arms over his chest. Midir stood and any wrinkle or smudge in his clothes vanished when his head reached higher than mine. ¡°Where is your mistress?¡± Bodb asked, glaring down his nose at me with his cat-eye pupils narrowed to slits. ¡°She sent me instead and will meet you two at the election.¡± I bowed my head as much as I could without spilling my gift. I held out the pitcher, praying he¡¯d take it. ¡°She said she didn¡¯t feel safe coming, but that I should offer this.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± Bodb¡¯s thick eyebrows went up. ¡°A gift, some kind of drink.¡± I bit the inside of my labret piercing. Steady, Maya. ¡°Your idea of making amends is lacking.¡± Bodb relaxed his stiff shoulders and his arms dropped to his sides. He took the pitcher¡¯s handle and put the spout up to his nose. Whatever he smelled made his eyebrows perk up and he slung his arm around Midir¡¯s shoulders. ¡°Your timing is another matter. My brother here needs cheering and this smells of fine Roman wine. Perfect for warming a troubled heart. Wherever did your mistress get it without the Dagda¡¯s Cauldron?¡± ¡°She had it in storage, I guess?¡± I played up my cluelessness with a shrug. ¡°Come, Brother.¡± Bodb led Midir to a small table set for three across from the fireplace. ¡°Let us drink to your victory.¡± Midir nodded with his eyes shut, his movements mechanical like he only moved because his brain couldn¡¯t handle anything else. The High King waved his hand and made two small goblets at each place setting as Midir sat at the chair across from his. I walked over and stood between them with a forced smile. Bodb set the pitcher on the table and pointed to their cups. ¡°Pour for us, girl.¡± I picked up the pitcher and lifted it over Midir¡¯s first. ¡°Just tell me when.¡± Midir gestured for me to stop when the mystery drink reached his goblet¡¯s halfway point. I moved to Bodb¡¯s and did the same. The ¡°wine¡± splashed over the edge of his cup before he shook his head. ¡°You try mine first.¡± Bodb held up his drink, more sloshing over the side. ¡°It may not smell spelled but there are more mundane ways to disguise poison.¡± My heart skipped a beat as I took the goblet from him. Had Rio made the magic poison deadly to humans too or just her own species? She had to predict he wouldn¡¯t trust me, and she wouldn¡¯t risk hurting me. ¡°Is there something wrong with your mistress¡¯ gift?¡± Bodb asked. ¡°I¡¯m not a fan of reds.¡± I fired off the excuse off the top of my head and took a sip. It tasted like anything but a red, like Fireball and honey. It went down smooth but when I set the cup back down, my chest got hot and the room wobbled. I braced myself against the table until it stopped. Bodb laughed, satisfied by my show and he downed the rest of the enchanted drink like a shot. The cup hit the table with a loud thunk as he brought it down. ¡°Drink, little brother. We don¡¯t have much need for reciting the traditional preamble since Riona sent her pet in her stead.¡±This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. I watched both of them as Midir drank his goblet in two gulps instead of one. Rio hadn¡¯t said anything about both of them being there. What would happen if Bodb and Midir keeled over? Was that why Rio had acted so insecure back at the burrow? No, it was too late to hesitate after they¡¯d both chugged the poison already. A minute or two went by. Bodb sat straight and strong in his chair while Midir shifted like a shuffling zombie. Did Rio¡¯s spell not work? Had I misunderstood what she said? She implied a poison ten different ways without actually saying it. Was that to put me off what she actually meant to do? My heart thudded harder in my chest. Would I have to fight him until one of us died? Panic bubbled up in my stomach until I wanted to vomit. I clamped my hands together at my waist and waited for something to happen. ¡°This is a good vintage.¡± Midir glanced up from his goblet to his brother. Life returned to his posture as he straightened his back. ¡°Does wonders for clearing the mind.¡± ¡°I told you a drink would perk you up.¡± Bodb stood and clapped an arm around me. He leaned close enough for me to smell the wine on his breath while he talked. ¡°You realize it¡¯s going to take more than some paltry beverage service to pay me back after you stole her. Riona should have known you would be even less safe coming here with those pesky vows expiring today. My fondness for my niece protects her, unlike you.¡± I slammed my wrist and Rio¡¯s chain against his arm, and shoved him off. The iron gray field that came out of Rio¡¯s skin exploded from my wrist. It sent Bodb reeling back and howling as he clutched his arm against his chest. I ran to the mirror and put my back to it while holding Rio¡¯s bracelet out like a shield. I thought about going back to the burrow, but the glass stayed solid behind me. Damned magic! ¡°Midir, grab her and hold that chain away.¡± Bodb emitted radioactive waves that blurred the air around him. The whole room shook and I had to support myself on his mirror. His skin up to his elbow sizzled, black and blistered. ¡°She stole something precious from me and she will pay for it.¡± ¡°Stay away!¡± I shoved my wrist at Midir, the chain dangling without another blast. How did I activate that thing again? Midir stalked up to me and his black pupils got round, blotting out most of his gold irises. He came at me too fast for me to react and pinned my arm with the chain over my head. As he tilted my chin back, his eyes bored into mine. A crawling itch rushed up my neck, spreading out to the rest of me through my spine. It clamped around the inside of my skull and settled behind my eyes. I couldn¡¯t flinch or open my mouth to scream, my body locked in place. My blood rushed shot after shot of adrenaline into my veins on its own. ¡°I¡¯m borrowing you from my spawn.¡± Midir pulled out the sword from its sheath and slipped the hilt into my hand, the one without the chain. Midir moved away and Rio¡¯s bracelet spread its buzzing particles over my whole body like armor. My attention centered on Bodb on its own. My arms and legs crouched into an attack I had no idea how to make. I was a guest in my own body, helpless to tell it anything. ¡°You dare betray me?¡± Bodb edged toward a giant club resting over the fireplace. ¡°You cannot break the oath you swore not to kill another of our blood.¡± ¡°I am keeping my oath. I will not touch you.¡± Midir pointed at his brother like the Grim Reaper showing Scrooge his ultimate fate. ¡°The girl will.¡± My legs charged forward across the room. Bodb lunged aside and I rammed into his bed post. The wood cracked under the pressure and splinters pierced under my arm, but I couldn¡¯t flinch away. Bodb grabbed his club and swung for my head. My legs squatted so deep my thighs tore. I wasn¡¯t flexible enough for these moves. Midir watched Bodb and I, focused and uncaring. My hands pointed Midir¡¯s hungry sword up to Bodb¡¯s waiting belly. They plunged and the blade¡¯s shining point sank in, cutting through soft tissue like melted butter. Sticky red oozed over my hands and sprayed my chin. My buzzing particles ate into Bodb¡¯s flesh. Fried pork and blow-torched pennies plugged my sinuses and sank under my tongue as I breathed in. Bodb¡¯s cry of pain lasted a second as he crumpled to the floor. His momentum on the sword dragged me with him. Midir hadn¡¯t released his control yet and he forced me to watch as the amber drained from Bodb¡¯s eyes and he clamped his teeth on the fur rug under them. The gray field evaporated into the chain. Midir tapped the top of my head and the numbness drained out of my nervous system. His sword fell out of my spasming hands and my knees gave, dropping into the pooling blood. I vomited acidic bile and clenched my fingers obsessively to check that I had control of them. Bodb¡¯s dead eyes followed me. My pent up screams burst out. * * * Rio burst in from the mirror followed by armored guards. She cradled me against her warm chest like I weighed nothing while the guards crowded Midir. He seemed in as much shock as me as they walked him to the mirror and yanked him through it. Midir kept looking back to Bodb¡¯s bleeding body and matted beard. Rio brought me out too, but not to the burrow. We came to a stone courtyard circled by monoliths with mirrors set in them. It was the same courtyard where Bodb first announced the election. Just as big of a crowd clustered around it, but no one danced under the sunshine and blue sky. Only five people stood on the jagged paving stones by certain pillars. We came closer and I recognized Ilbrec, Cliona, and Finvarra on one side. Daire¡¯s uncle, Aengus, and aunt, Brigid, stood on the other. Rio brought me to the center with her. The two guards held Midir beside us. I couldn¡¯t hear myself think over the murmuring of the crowd as everybody speculated. I caught comments about me being a bloody mess, theories on why the guards treated Midir like a prisoner, and questions about where Bodb was. ¡°Explain this display.¡± Brigid¡¯s voice boomed over the din and the onlookers hushed. ¡°Our High King is dead.¡± The left guard pointed an accusatory finger at me and Rio. ¡°When Lady Riona chased after her changeling, we found the girl on her knees in front of Bodb Derg¡¯s corpse with Lord Midir¡¯s blood-drenched sword.¡± The crowd collectively gasped and the chatter rose to concert levels. Cliona covered her mouth in horror. Ilbrec¡¯s disinterested eyebrows went all the way up his forehead. Finvarra had the grin of a kid on Christmas morning. Aengus gaped for a solid minute before he shut his mouth and his focus darted all over the place. Out of council, Brigid was the only one who challenged Rio. ¡°What did you do, niece?¡± Brigid asked. ¡°I sent Maya as my representative with naught but a spell of protection and a gift to apologize for my absence.¡± Rio stood tall and confident with all the true defiance she had for that family. Why was she bothering with this show when we were supposed to get Daire and run? ¡°Since the protection spell was bound to my own power, when I felt someone attack Maya, I ran to her aid. Yet a force blocked me from entering at first.¡± ¡°Why did you not represent yourself?¡± Cliona spoke up next in the interrogation. ¡°We might have avoided all of this if you had.¡± ¡°For my own safety,¡± Rio said. ¡°Not only did I defy his wishes by running, I was also ordered to keep the true reason confined to my family. My esteemed aunt can attest to that.¡± All eyes went to Brigid and she nodded her agreement. ¡°Not an unwise decision. My brother is¡­was not fond of Riona. I will not sully his memory by speaking why, but her concern for her own well being was well founded.¡± Those same gawkers turned to Midir next. ¡°There¡¯s no way the changeling, a human lass unskilled in battle, could have disarmed one Aos Si elder, then struck a blow strong enough to slay another. She was a pawn, which leaves only one other culprit.¡± Finvarra leaned against his pillar with his thumbs tucked in his belt. His tone turned sing-song. ¡°Something tells me there¡¯s a family scandal among the Dagda¡¯s Brood they¡¯ve hidden from us.¡± ¡°The Lady of Irons had more reason than I to want Bodb dead. If anything, I was as much a pawn in her scheme as the changeling,¡± Midir said, wrenching away from his guards. ¡°I have stated my testimony of events,¡± Rio said. ¡°Where is yours?¡± ¡°When can we go home?¡± I mumbled into Rio¡¯s neck. She stroked my hair but didn¡¯t answer aloud. ¡°It is obvious we cannot trust any of the Dagda¡¯s Brood to be objectively truthful in this crime,¡± Ilbrec said next. ¡°I propose an unbiased elder from another family line conduct a scry on the changeling¡¯s memories of events, and broadcast it for judgement. Though she was the weapon, that leaves her as the only witness ungifted with magic of her own.¡± ¡°I nominate Lord Manannan Mac Lir to conduct the scry,¡± Aine said in her excitable squeal from beside Cliona¡¯s pillar. She cupped her hands around her mouth and called out toward the crowd. ¡°Papa! Could you show yourself for the assembly?¡± ¡°I came to watch an election, not a trial, dear daughter.¡± The deep, resounding words came from all directions at first so I couldn¡¯t tell who said it. I blinked and Manannan emerged from inside the crowd, his color-shifting cloak hiding his legs. ¡°Also, how are we to cast judgement if there is no High King to give it?¡± ¡°Bring it to a vote! Combine the decision with the election.¡± Aine wrapped her arms around the taller man¡¯s waist, nuzzling her face into the hollow of his neck like a cat telling its owner hello at the door. ¡°Whoever is judged guilty will await sentencing while the remaining candidate takes the High King¡¯s seat.¡± ¡°An excellent solution.¡± Manannan rubbed his daughter¡¯s back. ¡°Would the rest of you agree?¡± ¡°No.¡± Aengus stepped forward beside his sister. ¡°We cannot base the future well being of our realm on the memories of this girl, one who Riona has clutched this entire time. She has close ties to my niece and cannot be entirely objective either. Riona holds more than a little ill will against both my brothers and could have tainted any evidence the changeling has against them in the time we have been debating.¡± He walked toward me and Rio. ¡°Respectfully, allow me to examine¡ª¡± ¡°You dare imply your talents to detect such machinations are above mine, boy?¡± The cloudless sky overhead darkened with a fat storm that rumbled thunder. ¡°You may be a prodigy among your family, sealing the walls of Tir Na Nog with so little time to prepare. But never forget you molded something I built from nothing.¡± ¡°I had no intention to insult or imply such.¡± Aengus crept back beside Brigid, bowing low at his waist and staying that way until light shined through the clouds. The rest of the voting council, even Brigid, waved Manannan on. ¡°This is why I never show myself at these gatherings anymore.¡± Manannan curled his lip as he flicked his hand through the air in Aengus¡¯ direction, like swatting a mosquito. He left his daughter¡¯s side and came up to Rio and I. ¡°This will not hurt, Maya. I will only do some light probing through recent events, unless you would like to shed more light now?¡± I shook my head, not trusting myself to talk as Rio set me on my feet. My first try at standing on my own and my torn thighs and aching knees buckled. Rio held me up from there. I tried to focus on Manannan, not the crusty bits of blood drying under my nails or the drenched hem of my skirt. ¡°Very well. Feel free to illuminate whatever visions your mind shows us.¡± Manannan set the tip of his pointer finger on my forehead when Rio let go of me and backed away. I closed my eyes and felt the strange, itching presence of his probing. I flexed my hands to make sure I could still control them as memories flashed by without my wanting to think about them. He went further back than I thought, to Rio handing me the jug and reassuring me everything would be okay. Then he followed me through the mirror and overhearing Bodb and Midir arguing about Daire. I shuddered as Manannan made me relive the murder and that awful violation when Midir ¡°borrowed¡± me. Manannan lifted his finger away once Bodb¡¯s body fell to the fur rug. I opened my eyes and looked down to my hands. Sweat on my palms smeared the leftover blood and old bandages. Rio caught me when I lost my balance and my breath caught in my throat like a fish gasping for water. She stroked my back, her magic smooth and warm as it seeped through my cloak, my dress, and my skin to my lungs. It didn¡¯t invade or take what it wanted. It soothed, calmed. Exhale, inhale, in and out. Air came easier. ¡°What an interesting vision,¡± Manannan said. ¡°Council, what do you think it means?¡± ¡°Midir killed him,¡± Finvarra said, an edge perverse glee in his voice. ¡°Toss him in the prison and leave him.¡± ¡°Bodb tested the drink himself and it had no effect on the changeling. That confirms it as merely a gift in my mind, as the Lady of Irons said,¡± Ilbrec said with a troubled frown. ¡°I rule that Midir is guilty as well.¡± ¡°I want to know more about our former High King¡¯s plot to destroy the Key and trap us here.¡± Cliona¡¯s glare softened as she looked to Midir. ¡°His reasoning should be considered when deciding his punishment, since the Key Bearer is his son and he did a greater service to the Aos Si by eliminating the threat.¡± ¡°I know my niece and there is more to this than we can see. I rule that she is the guilty party, despite me not knowing how.¡± Brigid narrowed her eyes at Rio, resting her hand over a loop in her belt where a weapon should go. ¡°Does my vote even matter, though, if all of you have already decided against my brother?¡± ¡°And what do you have to say Lord Aengus Mac Og?¡± Manannan searched around Brigid, at the pillar Aengus stood at before, in the crowd. Nothing. Aengus had vanished. Chapter 49 - Daire When Aengus and Brigid were called for the election, Mother cared for me as I coughed and wretched. More and more blood joined the mix until my body became too weary to even shiver. The herbal draught my aunt had forced down my throat before she left seemed to stay in my body, holding the worst of the pain at bay. The rest came out as bile I spewed all over my father¡¯s desk and the floor under it. Mother sang nonsensical songs to me and told me stories from her childhood in ancient Eire. I managed a fitful sleep under her soothing tones. All at once a wave of vitality rushed through me. It drove away the ache in my belly and the weariness in my bones. I turned up to spy Mother holding a lock of my hair. Rather than the stark white I had seen in the mirror, it shined a gold-tinted platinum. I moved my hand in front of my face and flexed my fully muscled fingers whose joints did not poke out like a skeleton donning a fleshy costume. My skin glowed again, healthy and vibrant. ¡°Daire, your hair¡­¡± Mother marveled at its new color. ¡°Father did it,¡± I said with a broad smile. ¡°He actually did it!¡± Mother threw her arms around me in a tight embrace and I returned it in kind, squeezing her middle. ¡°We can be a family, we can start over.¡± ¡°I¡¯m happy you¡¯re alive.¡± Mother parted from me, tears gathering in her clear eyes. They couldn¡¯t be from sorrow. Uncle Aengus charged through the mirror in Father¡¯s study. One hand patted spells against the glass behind him. His other arm held a cluster of three precious and familiar objects: a sheathed sword, a long-shafted spear, and a bronze bowl. ¡°Why do you have the treasures?¡± I bounded from Father¡¯s desk and motioned to the healthy state of my body, the bright color of my clothes with my glamour at its full power. ¡°Look at me. I¡¯m well.¡± ¡°Did Midir not succeed?¡± Mother asked with a note of dread. ¡°Of course he did. Daire is alive. Bodb, however, isn¡¯t.¡± Aengus walked up to Mother and gently guided her toward the door. ¡°The council is likely electing Riona as we speak. The three of us must hurry to the Stone of Destiny, before they arrive to coronate her.¡± ¡°Wait, Father succeeded by killing the High King?¡± I asked as I chased him and Mother into the hall. ¡°Technically your little human friend killed Bodb, and either Riona or Midir used her to do it. My theory is Riona originally sent your friend as an assassin, then Midir jumped on the opportunity to save your life. That¡¯s irrelevant. But everyone else is going to think Midir came up with the whole idea and Riona is almost guaranteed to take the High King¡¯s seat now. We need to separate your power from her before she touches that Stone.¡±Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. ¡°By going through with the ritual?¡± I asked. ¡°By killing Mother or Maya?¡± ¡°The changeling is preoccupied.¡± Aengus never glanced my way as I trailed behind him. ¡°It has to be Etain.¡± ¡°No. There has to be another way. This is another trick.¡± ¡°If only it were. What else do you propose? We assassinate every single High King who is elected until either me, your father, or Brigid rises to power? The edicts chaining the Aos Si to nonviolence are gone, severed. Riona can kill any of us on a whim. We have no time.¡± ¡°Then think harder.¡± I stopped and planted my feet in the cobblestones of the courtyard we passed through. ¡°Is all your brilliance only good for sealing me in elaborate dream constructs?¡± ¡°The best alternative is killing you!¡± Aengus didn¡¯t pause as he turned on his heel with a characteristic swish of his cloak and advanced on me. ¡°I never wanted you to die, Daire. But Bodb was right about the Key. I trapped you because being rid of it was our race¡¯s best chance.¡± ¡°Why not slay me now, then?¡± I exposed my chest to him, daring him to act. ¡°At least this way I have a say in the matter.¡± ¡°I was trying to be merciful.¡± ¡°You were a coward!¡± ¡°What about what Etain wants?¡± Aengus pointed back at my mother as she silently watched the two of us with conflict written across her face. ¡°She is old, she is tired, she wants to move on. Holding onto her like this is no better than Midir sealing her up.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not helping you kill my mother.¡± I swallowed the moisture in my mouth to wet my throat and squared my shoulders against him. ¡°If you can¡¯t execute me yourself, find another way.¡± ¡°This is the only other way,¡± Aengus said, shaking me by my shoulders. ¡°I cannot undo what I have already made. I don¡¯t want to condemn you again.¡± ¡°Aengus, enough.¡± Mother set a hand against my uncle¡¯s arm and he let go. She guided him aside so she stood before me instead and took my face in both her hands, a palm on each cheek. ¡°Daire, I know you have always wished for me to recover and be the woman I once was. I can¡¯t. Our family can¡¯t recover from this. I am ancient, too ancient. I want to pass on and see my parents and friends again. All of you are struggling to bring someone back who vanished long ago.¡± ¡°You were feeling better. You reunited with Father and you promised him¡­¡± I put my hands on her wrists, held them tight as if she were going to slip away. ¡°I lied.¡± Mother pulled my head down to touch hers. ¡°Right now, the only person strong enough to give me my wish is you. Midir cannot let go of me. Aengus may scheme, but he hasn¡¯t the nerve to end me by his own hand. Brigid would, but she cannot go against Midir¡¯s wishes. I have spent so much of my life letting others decide things for me: who to marry, what to do, how to think. Now I have a chance to save you, my only child. I have never been more of sound mind than I am now. Let me save you. Let me be selfish, I beg you. Grant me final freedom.¡± My gut roiled as her plea cut through to my core. I had no idea if this was a manipulation, but I could not blame her. I had seen how she suffered through a half-sedated existence with small moments of light. I could understand how her life had ended long ago, that it should not have spanned eternally like the rest of Father¡¯s kind, like me. ¡°What makes you think I can do it?¡± I asked, my voice cracking as my throat closed. ¡°Because you love me above all else, little swan,¡± Mother said. ¡°And if you love me that much, you will do me this favor.¡± My Aos Si blood showed me the truth in her words. I owed her such a debt for my very existence and the years of tender memories. I had to repay it somehow. The cold logic helped me steel myself as I straightened away from the shelter of her hands. I went toward my uncle, escorting Mother so she lingered in step behind me. ¡°Lead the way.¡± Chapter 50 - Maya The two armored guards grabbed Midir, but he head-butted one and kicked away the other. Midir ran from the crowd and the courtyard. His cloak expanded into feathers while his feet grew talons. Manannan¡¯s empty eyes shifted between dark blue and black as the thundering clouds from earlier thickened. The sky let go of a heavy rain that plummeted over the courtyard. Midir dropped hard to the grass as wave after wave of tiny drops battered him, pinning him down. I shivered and my hair stuck against my forehead. Rio left my side and her bracelet lengthened out from her arm. Midir tried to push himself up under the heavy rain. Rio swung the chain at him. Each link collided with his back and forced him to eat the turf. The roar of the rain blocked out their noises as she beat against her father again, even though he hadn¡¯t tried to move. The iron kept him there until the hesitant guards ran to help. The rains died to a trickle and Manannan disappeared with them. All the Aos Si didn¡¯t seem any wetter, no ruined hair or drenched clothes in sight. I wrapped myself in my sopping cloak. It didn¡¯t help. Rio tore away from her father with her chain swaying for everyone to see. ¡°I have no doubts Aengus Mac Og was a part of that plot and also seeks to keep us trapped here as you saw in that vision. Though I may not be crowned yet, a majority of the council has chosen me as your new High Queen along with ruling my innocence.¡± Rio held her chest out and chin high as she addressed the crowd. ¡°We must seek out Aengus and the Key Bearer. Bring them to me. Find them for your freedom!¡± Ilbrec, Cliona, Aine, and Finvarra turned from their pillars and rallied their parts of the crowd. The Aos Si changed into horses, wolves, birds, and hundreds of animals dashed from the courtyard. A couple clusters of people stayed. On one side they wore gold and pastels. On the other were men and women who wore reds, yellows, oranges, and browns. They looked to the only monarch on the council who hadn¡¯t moved: Brigid. Rio stood toe to toe, and almost nose to nose with her aunt. ¡°Are you with me or against me?¡± ¡°I cannot say you have not cut well, Little Knife.¡± Brigid looked down at Rio with slitted pupils, her entire glow shifting between a darker red and burnt orange. ¡°Beware of the powerful allies you make this day, Lady of Irons. Though you may have swayed them for the moment, those bonds sour quickly if you make the wrong move. The enemies you make along the way will be all too ready to pounce when that day comes, and you will have no more family to run to. You will be utterly alone.¡± ¡°Out of all of them, you showed me kindness. That is the only reason you won¡¯t suffer my wrath,¡± Rio hissed. ¡°I do not owe your subjects that same mercy. Send them.¡± Brigid cupped her hand to her mouth and shouted to the people left standing. ¡°You heard Tir Na Nog¡¯s new taskmaster. Hunt them out!¡± More birds sped into the air, leaving the courtyard empty except for the council. The two guards had gotten a careful handle on Midir¡ªwho didn¡¯t put up much of a fight. Smoke rose from Midir¡¯s blackened back and he groaned as they dragged him toward the nearest pillar-mirror. Rio snapped the long chain off her wrist and tossed it at her father. It split in two with one half twisting around his wrist and the other around his ankles. Midir cried out as him and his guards melded into the mirror. ¡°I will summon you all back here once it is time to head for the Stone of Destiny. Until then, ready yourselves forwhen the Key Bearer is found. I look forward to bestowing the rewards I promised for your support.¡± Rio took my slippery hand in hers. ¡°However, I must deal with my own affairs first.¡± Each of the other monarchs bowed their heads toward Rio and went through their pillars. Finvarra muttered to himself about what hair color his next lass should have. Aine giggled to Cliona about seeing a real sunrise again as they left. Ilbrec¡¯s passive face had a sliver of a smile, enough that I he might be excited. ¡°Remember my warning about watching your weaknesses, Little Knife,¡± Brigid said before she slid away. Rio tugged me behind her until her aunt disappeared. * * * Rio picked me up before my knees gave out and carried me through a mirror back to the burrow. She sat me on the cot and ran her hands over my clothes. The wet fabric turned dry and any blood splatters became black, purple, or silver again. Next she touched my cheek, my neck, my hands and all visible traces of violence faded in her wake. That wouldn¡¯t matter. Even hours scrubbing myself sterile with her unlimited water basin couldn¡¯t make me forget the burnt penny smell of Bodb¡¯s blood. ¡°Dear one, I need you to take heart and muster your wits,¡± Rio said with her eyes silver and open. ¡°Is it over?¡± I rubbed over my arms, scraping my nails against them. ¡°Bodb¡¯s dead. Daire¡¯s alive. You¡­won.¡± ¡°Yes, your part is over.¡± Rio took both of my wrists, firm but gentle as she held them against my knees. ¡°You did exactly what you were supposed to. I could not be more proud.¡± ¡°I couldn¡¯t move. He made me¡­¡± I couldn¡¯t help the tears welling up and making the edges of my vision blurry. ¡°Did¡­did you know this would happen?¡± ¡°Something like this, yes.¡± Rio cupped my cheek and wiped it with her thumb. ¡°I want to go home.¡± I grabbed her forearm, fingers digging tight and desperate. Every pent up emotion I had spilled out until my whole face got slick, smudged, and salty. I never cried pretty. My nose ran and my eyes got red. I hissed through my clenched teeth so I could breath and hold back my sobs at the same time. ¡°You wanted to go with me, right? Let¡¯s just go. Please.¡± ¡°Maya, keep still.¡± Rio leaned forward, touching her forehead against mine. ¡°Let me help you.¡± I nodded, not able to do much else and keep it together. Rio pulled me toward her by the base of my neck. She closed her eyes and pressed her mouth against mine, her lips soft and a little sweet. Warmth spread out from her mouth, down my chest and into the tips of my fingers. All the sadness, the guilt, the doubt, and mixed loyalties ran away. I closed my eyes and let whatever it was block everything out. I could enjoy the precious moment for what it was. The trouble was it cleared my head and gave me a second to think. My thoughts always steered me to the practical. I chose what was good for me instead of what felt nice. I pulled away a bit when my plugged nose made me have to breath through my mouth. I stared mystified at Rio¡¯s smile, full of new excitement and mischief. She massaged the back of my neck where my shaggy hair should have been buzzed weeks ago. ¡°You look happy.¡± I held onto that memory even as the pleasant comfort died down. ¡°I am.¡± Rio rested her forehead against mine. ¡°I have the High Kingship, you, and freedom from my family¡¯s oppressive vows. Soon we¡¯ll have the freedom to go back and forth between here and your realm as we wish. Everything I ever wanted.¡± ¡°Back and forth?¡± I sucked in my labret stud. I should¡¯ve seen this coming. I didn¡¯t want to notice then either, but that didn¡¯t stop me. ¡°Of course. Then I can meet your companions and see your abode. In the meantime, we may celebrate another way.¡± Rio leaned in again for a second performance, laying an insinuating peck on my bare neck and letting her mouth hover over that spot. ¡°That¡¯s not what I meant.¡± I sighed in a big puff of air. The words were out and it was too late to take them back. ¡°What happens after that?¡± ¡°You mean once we become lovers and consummate this?¡± ¡°If we¡¯re in a full on committed relationship. In a month, a year, what are we doing?¡± ¡°Well, between my ruling duties, I see us doing much the same as we used to,¡± Rio said, her smile not dampening, even though her eyes dimmed. She played with my hair as she talked, putting it back behind my ear on one side. ¡°Talking, sharing stories, making new ones together. We travel to different places, see new things, spend entire days inside if we please.¡±Stolen novel; please report. ¡°Where are we living?¡± Sour realization smothered my hope. ¡°Different places.¡± Rio trapped both my hands in hers, her grip tight and tense. ¡°That¡¯s the beauty, dear one, we have time to discuss this. We can wait an eternity if we wish it.¡± ¡°Rio, I don¡¯t have an eternity. I want to die someday.¡± My stomach dropped as the words came out, as I reached the one place I couldn¡¯t compromise. ¡°Be straight with me. You made me think you wanted to come with me back home. You know I didn¡¯t mean part time.¡± ¡°If I lost, that would¡¯ve been the case, but I won. I have a responsibility now. Promises to keep.¡± Rio leaned even closer, but it seemed more desperate than intimate like she had to reach across a widening gap between us. ¡°We can stay some time in the human realm, and live primarily in Tir Na Nog.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to live here full time. I hate this place.¡± ¡°But I¡¯m the High Queen now,¡± Rio said, her shoulders slumping. ¡°With the precariousness of time between Tir Na Nog and your world, I could not risk staying in the latter for too long, lest the former fall into chaos or rebellion. If we were apart, someone might snatch you and use you to get to me. Or worse, I go to visit you while you were there and I find you a haggard crone whose body would give out with a slight breeze. I cannot risk that.¡± ¡°You said you knew all that stuff with Midir was going to happen. You wanted to win and you used me to do it. You told me what I wanted to hear just like you did with my mom.¡± Phlegm choked my throat again and my voice cracked. ¡°Can you promise you won¡¯t do that again, that there won¡¯t be anymore political scheming that I¡¯m perfect for? Can you keep me away from that, even though we¡¯d be together all the time?¡± ¡°Daire is alive. Nothing is stopping us from being together now. Nothing to keep you from going back home, even if it is only temporary. This is what you wanted isn¡¯t it?¡± Rio clutched onto my biceps. ¡°I still proved my family wrong, showed my worth to my race, and can give those conniving kin what they deserve. It was the only way neither of us had to give everything up. It was the best way.¡± ¡°And you decide what¡¯s best? I don¡¯t get a say?¡± I got up and jerked out of the cage her fingers made. My chest ached more with each heartbeat, with each word that came out of my mouth. ¡°I can¡¯t make that kind of commitment where you choose everything for me and I just follow along. I still have a life back home I want to go back to. You¡¯re saying I have to be with you forever and never get a career, grow old, find out if there¡¯s an afterlife where I can see Mom and Abuela again. Do you want me to be like Daire¡¯s mom, staying here so long that it chips away at me until I¡¯m begging you to kill me?¡± ¡°Maya, don¡¯t do this, not now.¡± Rio rose too, wrapping her arms around my shoulders like a vice and hugging me to her tighter than she ever had. ¡°Take your time. Think about it. Give me a chance to show you why I¡¯m the right choice, just don¡¯t leave. You can¡¯t¡­¡± ¡°Fine. I¡¯ll think about it.¡± I wrapped my arms around Rio¡¯s back, blinking back a new wave of moist eyelashes. I petted her hair in long, soothing strokes. As much as I said I needed time, I knew what she wanted and already knew I didn¡¯t want the same. I nuzzled my face into her shoulder and hid from her. ¡°I¡¯ll think about everything during your coronation, okay?¡± ¡°We can talk more when I return.¡± Rio¡¯s body slumped on mine and she loosened her hold. ¡°Sure, Rio.¡± I felt bad for scaring her so much and even worse for what I knew had to happen next: a clean break for my own good and hers so we could both move on. ¡°Remember that I care about you, okay? Nothing¡¯s gonna change that.¡± ¡°Take into account, Maya, that I have fallen far past that point,¡± Rio whispered, squeezing me a last time. ¡°I will.¡± Her softly spoken admission spiked through me and grew every bit of guilt I had before. ¡°Put me at Tara, alright? I¡¯ll wait there.¡± ¡°Of course.¡± Rio pulled back and took my hand. She led me toward the mirror that should have had the boar¡¯s head on it. Instead, the engraving had changed to a fox¡¯s head with chains wrapping around its frame. We stepped through into her new bedroom, no longer a den of pelts and animal trophies. A simple room with a warm stone fireplace had replaced it, with two end tables and a wide bed made for two people. I sat on that bed, meant for both of us, waiting for her to leave before I broke her heart. * * * Rio dressed herself in a variation on her usual flowing dress with airy accents and chain-themed jewelry. When her outfit passed my inspection, she sent a call out to the other council members through the silver fox mirror in the room. She gave me a last lingering kiss goodbye with a promise to come back soon, and went through the rippling glass. I went through the room¡¯s heavy door with a single purpose as a gray stone hall met me outside. Odds were the person I needed would be in the prison. I wandered through hall after hall, always down as I retraced where Daire and I had found a torture chamber awhile ago. It worked when a familiar rotten smell hit me with a couple of guards posted in front of its source. I took a minute to gather my thoughts and think over my strategy. Daire should be okay long enough for me to reach him if he managed to avoid the rest of the Aos Si. Then either he¡¯d be able to use his powers before Rio¡¯s coronation ended, or we could finish that ritual. First I needed to find him. The best help would come from someone who could sniff him out faster than me, who wasn¡¯t helping Rio. The guards looked my way, their pupils widening as I approached. The one on the right wore a brown cloak over a metal chest plate while the other had a red cloak over a thick leather shirt. The brown-cloaked guy leaned on a spear while his partner fidgeted with the hilt of a sword. ¡°I have a message from the new High Queen for the prisoner.¡± I stood on my tip toes to seem taller. ¡°Of course,¡± the red-cloaked guard said, straightening up. ¡°I will be happy to give it to him if you relay the message.¡± ¡°It¡¯s private,¡± I said. ¡°For his ears only.¡± ¡°And the reason she couldn¡¯t come down here herself to deliver it?¡± The brown-cloaked guard¡¯s eyebrows went together with obvious suspicion. ¡°She¡¯s already headed to her coronation. I stayed behind ¡®cause she needed him to get it as soon as possible.¡± I shrugged and started to turn back down the hall. ¡°But if the two of you want to ask her when she gets back, that¡¯s fine too. She said she was looking for someone to try new chain swinging techniques on before she uses them on her dad. Neither of you mind being test dummies, right?¡± Both men flinched away and traded uneasy glances with each other. ¡°This is very similar to how our last High King was killed earlier, with you coming as the Lady of Irons¡¯ representative,¡± the brown-cloaked guard explained. ¡°You can see why I¡¯m hesitant.¡± ¡°Just let her in.¡± The red-cloaked guard pushed open the door. ¡°Make it quick. Lord Midir can¡¯t be happy with you, and I am not letting the new High Queen have my head because her sire took yours.¡± ¡°He¡¯s restrained, isn¡¯t he?¡± I hesitated mid-step. ¡°By her majesty¡¯s own chains,¡± the brown-cloaked guard said. ¡°Good.¡± I gulped as I crossed through. ¡°Remember, secret message. Close the door. I¡¯ll know if you eavesdrop.¡± ¡°If anything happens, scream and we will come to your aid.¡± The red-cloaked guard slammed the heavy door shut behind me. The torture room had changed itself since I last saw it. It had the same grill and pokers by a table, all cool and unused. But the tiny room had expanded into a large chamber with thick support columns and coppery manacles hanging from the walls. I couldn¡¯t find any trap door hiding in the dusty floor. Had the dungeon changed itself when Rio took over Tara? ¡°The pretender allows me a visitor?¡± Midir asked in a sarcastic croak. I stepped to the side and spotted him behind a column. The guards had hung his chained arms on a hook and let his bound ankles sag on the ground. The half-suspended position didn¡¯t leave him much room to move and his clothes were torn around where the iron had touched him. Whatever skin showed underneath had sizzling burns and black veins. ¡°Has the time for my judgement come so soon or are you gloating on my bastard¡¯s behalf?¡± ¡°Actually, I¡¯m here to bust you out.¡± I dropped my voice so the guards couldn¡¯t eavesdrop, but kept my distance from Midir so he couldn¡¯t pull any tricks. ¡°It comes with conditions.¡± ¡°By entering this space, I could take your mind as I did before and use your iron resistance to do that myself.¡± Midir dropped his own voice too, his pupils slits and yellow eyes more of an eerie amber brown as they followed me. ¡°Yeah, but you haven¡¯t done that.¡± I rested my fists on my hips. ¡°Which means that iron is probably screwing with your powers.¡± ¡°If only you would step a twinge closer,¡± Midir said, not even trying to hide his disgust. ¡°What do you want?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll step up to where you can make me a human lock pick if you take me to Daire, without directly or indirectly hurting me, so he can take me home to my world.¡± ¡°Are you not still tangled up with your mistress?¡± Midir asked, his eyebrow going high. ¡°Or do your loyalties switch that easily?¡± ¡°That¡¯s none of your damned business.¡± I backed up, throwing around what little leverage I had. ¡°I just want to go back to my box spring and pretend this was all a bad dream. You take me to Daire, we cut the Key off from the High King, and I go back. Is that a deal?¡± ¡°Very well,¡± Midir said, his irises lightening to yellow. ¡°If you free me from these chains I will take you unscathed to Daire to complete the ritual.¡± I inched forward and stopped. Midir shook his head. I kept going until his eyes glowed. Itching shocks crawled up from my feet. This time I let them take control and do their thing. My fingers tugged on the links around his wrists and pulled hard enough for my elbow to pop. They stretched open under a freak surge of strength that came over me. He made me kneel to do the same to his ankles while he massaged his wrists. The electricity left bit by bit and I let myself shudder as I obsessively flexed every muscle I had. ¡°What was next in your inept escape plan?¡± Midir wobbled to his feet. ¡°I figured you¡¯d take over from here.¡± Midir looked me up and down, measuring me. ¡°Can you ride?¡± ¡°I ride cars, buses, and bikes,¡± I said. ¡°Not horses.¡± ¡°You will learn today.¡± He knelt on all fours like a track runner. ¡°Mount my back.¡± I went up and swung my leg over his back like he was about to give me the world¡¯s most awkward piggyback ride. He couldn¡¯t throw me off for shits and giggles because of the ¡°unscathed¡± part of the deal. So what was he planning? The body between my thighs changed, growing a gold woolly coat and powerful legs with split hooves. Spiral ram horns sprouted from Midir¡¯s head as he turned us toward the door. I buried my fingers in his fleece while he pawed at the ground. The floor shook under his hooves when he charged, and the entrance flew open. The guards went down like bowling pins. He ran us the rest of the way. Chapter 51 - Daire Aengus took Mother and I to a very little-used room of Bri Leith where Father stored his war chariots. There were no mirrors leading to the Stone of Destiny and we wouldn¡¯t make it in time if we ran. Riding was the most logical choice to keep our head start. He chose a light model meant to serve one man. Pulling it fell to me since Uncle Aengus knew how to drive the chariot and donning a horse glamour would disguise me better from onlookers searching for the Key. Falling back into animal transformation took some coaching as Aengus readied the tack necessary to strap me in. My hands and feet closed into hooves while my midsection expanded into a wide barrel. I pushed through the harness and nickered against the oppressive leather pressing tight against my much longer face. Aengus and Mother rode in the basket. She balanced the sacred treasures in a satchel Aengus conjured for her. We took off across Midhe with as much magical haste as I could muster. Hills and tree groves flew by as I followed my uncle¡¯s lead north. We reached three quarters of the way to the Stone when a flock of many-colored birds flew from Tara. A falcon caught sight of our chariot first and screeched an alarm. There¡¯s an enemy upon us! I sent the message through the mental link Aengus established while strapping me in. I see them. Aengus pulled me to a sharp right turn, then left. The assailant changed course in the air and follow us, shrieking as they went. I can¡¯t waste power on enemies, yet. I pumped my legs into a harder gallop and leapt over the crest of the next hill. Mother shrieked with the maneuver, but I couldn¡¯t afford to check behind me to see if she or the treasures were still safe. My nostrils flared with each breath and I panted through my mouth to suck enough air into my larger lungs. The Stone of Destiny rose like a small spire over the horizon. They aren¡¯t attacking, they¡¯re tracking. Aengus¡¯ nerves pressed me through the link. It¡¯s as I feared. They will draw an army. Another winged creature raced after the falcon, an eagle with a much larger shape and an array of fiery feathers. I feared all four of my legs would give out speeding against a foe of that size. The eagle opened its talons as it gained on the scout. I expected them both to dive at us and scoop up the chariot from the ground with all of us attached. The larger raptor cast its shadow over the falcon and closed its claws around it with a sickening crunch. Then it dove for us. My foreleg tripped and I skidded to a halt. Aengus and Mother went rolling out of the chariot, scattering the treasures. The eagle opened their wings at the last moment, sending a hot gust at us as they landed. The bright feathers unfurled into a set of garb of the same color and a woman that glowed with the heat of a roaring forge. Aunt Brigid. Brigid saw to Aengus and Mother first as I shifted to my human shape. She uncurled Aengus from around my mother and inspected both of them. Any accidental injury from the Spear of Lugh or Nuada¡¯s Sword might prove fatal to either of them. I untangled myself from the fallen chariot¡¯s torn harness and cradled my arm to my chest. My newly formed right shoulder ached but I could still move it. ¡°We must reach the Stone before the coronation.¡± Aengus gripped my aunt tight with urgency. ¡°Riona cannot have the Key. The humans will end us.¡± ¡°I¡¯m aware of the situation.¡± Brigid helped Mother collect the treasures from the ground and reassemble them into the satchel. ¡°Etain, did you consent to do this ritual even though it means your death?¡± ¡°I want to move on and save my son,¡± Mother said, holding the treasures to her breast. ¡°That is my wish.¡± ¡°Very well, then as your caretaker I must aid you.¡± Brigid frowned as she turned her disappointed eyes on Aengus. ¡°You carry Daire the rest of the way. I¡¯ll lend you my power should you need it. I will deliver Etain. Keep a wide formation so no one suspects our cooperation. Alter your mood to produce clouds we may hide within. Haste is our priority.¡± As soon as Mother climbed to Brigid¡¯s shoulders, my aunt unfurled her feathers once more and gripped the treasures in her talons. She beat her wings until she carried Mother into the gathering clouds above. Aengus hoisted me onto his back and his appendages sprouted leathery flaps and a long tail. Spines grew from under me and his soft cloak turned to the rough scales of a wyvern. He preferred more fantastic beasts with his larger transformations. Flying proved easier and quicker than the chariot as Aengus rose high enough for the air to grow thin. The wisping clouds licking his belly gave us a fair amount of cover from the birds scouring the world below. How long until we arrive? I reopened the mental link between us, taking advantage of the few moments of peace. Soon, princeling. My uncle banked left and revealed the Stone below. Aunt Brigid had already perched along its perimeter. I wanted to say something before this plays out. I gripped the hard spine in front of me in readiness for his upcoming dive. I don¡¯t hate you. You have wounded me and I¡¯m not sure how our friendship will recover. But I still love you, despite that. That¡¯s sweet of you. Aengus tucked his wings and we began to fall. I¡¯ll make up for what I¡¯ve done¡­somehow. We plummeted and the wind lashed against me almost too hard to hold on. The impact of his wings cutting our descent threw me into the thankfully soft grass around the Stone of Destiny¡¯s platform. ¡°Daire and Etain have to set up the ritual themselves. I will guide them through it while we erect a barrier.¡± Aengus waved Brigid into position. Mother went to the platform with her satchel of treasures clutched in her arms. That rough hewn rock surrounded by decorative knotwork bound the walls of Tir Na Nog together and anchored the whole island. Its oppressive power pulled me as I drew nearer. The Key¡¯s dormant energy woke within my belly, pulsing to match the Stone¡¯s magic. ¡°First Daire,¡± Aengus directed as he knelt to draw Ogham script into the ground, ¡°instruct your mother to place the treasures at the same three points they would occupy if it were a large triquetra. Make sure each faces its province of origin.¡± I took Mother¡¯s shoulders and guided her to the northeast portion of the circular platform. ¡°The Spear of Lugh here, for Uliad.¡± She set the long shaft down with the point facing toward Manannan¡¯s realm. Then to the western portion. ¡°The Dagda¡¯s Cauldron here, for Connacht.¡± She set the Cauldron on the very edge of the circle. Lastly, the southeast, as south as we could face it while following the pattern my uncle described. ¡°Nuada¡¯s Sword of Light, for Mumhan.¡± Mother unsheathed the weapon, making it brighten to life as she placed it with the blade going outward like she had done with the Spear. ¡°Where¡­¡± Mother twitched under my fingers, shuddering. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sending you back with your family,¡± I said, trying to reassure whatever personality she¡¯d reverted to. New tears stung at my eyes. ¡°Trust me, please.¡± ¡°Home? You¡¯re finally sending me home?¡± Mother relaxed under my hands as she happily sighed. ¡°And I can see my husband and my parents? My dear little Tainy?¡± ¡°I pray you will.¡± I gulped as I awaited Aengus¡¯ next order. ¡°Good, very good.¡± Aengus¡¯ barrier crackled to life. The spark of his magic flowed through the area between him and my aunt in a perfect circle. ¡°Etain, stand by the Stone. Daire, stand across from her, feet touching the earth. Good. Focus on the grass, the soil, the powers of Tir Na Nog itself.¡± I knelt and buried my bare fingers into the grass, channeling its power into me, through me. My breaths slowed to an even pace and the entire isle¡¯s essence touched mine. ¡°Here starts the difficult part,¡± Aengus said. ¡°You have to draw on the Key¡¯s power. Find it within the core of yourself and make it manifest.¡± ¡°But I need the High King¡¯s authority to do that,¡± I said. ¡°Without it I cannot manipulate the Key.¡± ¡°The Key is always inside of you and right now there is no High King. You aren¡¯t going to open anything. Channel its energy into a shape. With that shape, you will have to¡­¡± He trailed off.Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. ¡°You know where my heart is, little swan.¡± Mother finished the thought, eyeing me with renewed clarity. ¡°Aim true. Finish it clean.¡± ¡°I will, Mamai.¡± I breathed deep, closing my eyes and focusing on burrowing deep into myself. Those pulses it shared with the Stone of Destiny should guide me to its resting place. I knew its color, a brilliant white light like the Spear, the Sword, and the Cauldron. Visualizing myself as varying shades of emerald threads that stretched into the earth helped me fall into a trance. A speck of white peeked through the green and I followed it. The tendril led to an orb. I pulled at the light, but pain stabbed through my liver. ¡°I¡­I found it.¡± I grunted. ¡°I can¡¯t get it out.¡± ¡°Coax it, Daire!¡± Aengus strained against something as he spoke. A thud followed and the earth trembled underfoot. ¡°It¡¯s your power, like your flowers.¡± I opened my eyes, losing track of the orb but gaining a new appreciation for my situation. Maya pounded on the barrier in her Aos Si garb and shouted something inaudible. A collosol ram with gold wool backed up, dug its hooves into the earth, then careened against the magical shield. Father. ¡°Hurry,¡± Mother said as her shoulders spasmed. ¡°He¡¯s coming! Don¡¯t let him keep me here any longer.¡± I refocused on entering that trance, finding that light. How would I sway my flowers? They depended on me to be calm, level, in control. They trusted me to take care of them and bent to my will in return. My emotions were anything but calm, split between holding the tether to Tir Na Nog itself while harnessing a power I had only used under certain conditions. Panic and dread at my task warred in my chest while doubt murmured spiteful declarations. I would fail. Mother would fade to nothing. I should have let myself die. No one could depend on me. The weight was too much. Another of Father¡¯s blows rattled my concentration as it pitched me backward. Tir Na Nog¡¯s tether nearly snapped. Maya forced herself against the barrier again, anger and confusion written across her clenched jaw and fists. If I couldn¡¯t follow through on Mother¡¯s wishes, Father would see to it that my cherished friend took Mother¡¯s place. Mother held fast to the Stone behind her. New panic lit her eyes as she pleaded to me with them. She wanted to leave us and had begged for it enough to Father, Brigid, and Aengus. Were she in the mortal realm, I could keep her comfortable until her natural passing. In Tir Na Nog, we didn¡¯t have such luxuries. The debt I owed her for staying by my side so long stretched between us. I had to give her peace. A lullaby Mother sang to me as a boy came to mind, one I often repeated to my plants. I hummed the tune as I envisioned that orb again. It danced through the tangled green threads of my other magic, creating prismatic rainbows. It crept from core, down my arm, and escaped from my hand. I sang the words as I molded it into a sharp, thin point. The raw energy narrowed to my will. Father jammed his horns into the barrier. Aengus supported himself by his elbows as his power shuddered. Aunt Brigid fell to her knees and stubbornly held her trembling hands high. Shards of the luminescent barrier crumbled into sparkling vapor. I tested the grip of my new needle. The Key¡¯s handle proved solid enough to hold. I had to believe that it could pierce as well. The ram retreated further, preparing for another assault. Aengus and Brigid¡¯s stamina visibly waned. One more forceful push and the whole shield would falter. I closed the distance between us in a couple short strides. I drew her into my arms and buried my face in her neck. ¡°Thank you, little swan,¡± Mother said, soft and sweet as ever. I didn¡¯t trust myself to reply as my throat closed up and hot tears streamed down my cheeks. She knew how I felt. I found her heart beat beneath her ribs and plunged the Key into it. Mother yelped and clung to me as she spasmed. Her last quivering breaths brushed my cheek. Her fingers went loose and limp. The white light of the Key winked out. It was finished. I fell under Mother¡¯s weight, holding on so tight. Her hair muffled my sobs and soaked in my tears. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯m sorry,¡± I cried over and over again into her neck. Her rose gold locks faded to a ghostly white and her supple limbs turned skeletal. Those long years she¡¯d lingered caught up all at once until she turned to nothing but ashes and bones in my arms. Something shook the hard foundation under me and Father¡¯s mournful howl broke through my grief. Next I looked up, he had traded his wooly coat for his cloak and knelt beside me. He stared at the pile of precious dust and bones in my lap with his gold eyes desolate and his fists pounded into the platform. I smothered my face in my hands and dug the heels against it so as to bruise. I was worthless, worse than nothing. I hadn¡¯t even tried to stall to save her. She was gone, despite how Father and I tried to hold her with us. We would never die, never experience whatever lay beyond, never see her again. ¡°This isn¡¯t your fault.¡± Strong arms wrapped around my back and hugged me into a firm chest. Father¡¯s tunic shadowed me and I felt his deep voice rumble against my cheek, thick with rage. ¡°This all started long before you.¡± ¡°Daire¡­why?¡± Maya this time. She must have come over after witnessing my atrocity. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± I couldn¡¯t face her and hid inside Father¡¯s embrace. My words came out a whimper. ¡°Aengus¡¯ ritual required a sacrifice.¡± Father pulled me closer. ¡°It should have been you. Just reward for your wretched mistress.¡± ¡°We¡­we must mourn later.¡± Aengus trudged to us and pulled on our arms. ¡°The coronation party is here.¡± Father rose and I scrambled after him. Four chariots with two horses a piece crested the hill. Riona stood out at the head of the row, her hair billowing behind her like a bloody banner. They galloped toward us and would overtake us in minutes. ¡°Is the ritual done, Aengus?¡± My panting aunt came up beside us, her smithing hammer gripped tight. ¡°There¡¯s nothing else to do but run.¡± Aengus sighed and shrugged. ¡°I¡¯ll hold them back so you lot can escape, for what that¡¯s worth.¡± ¡°My magic should prove most resilient against Riona¡¯s chains,¡± Brigid said. ¡°I will stand with you.¡± ¡°No, Sister,¡± Father said. When Brigid began to put him in his place, he cut her off. ¡°Riona hates Aengus and I more than you. Resilient or not, the two of us are a more fitting distraction. I entrust Daire to you. Keep him safe.¡± Brigid glared at her younger brother as he dared to order her about. She turned it on me next, but I seemed to softened her and she nodded her assent. ¡°He will not leave my sight.¡± ¡°But Father¡ª¡± I protested. The royal chariots reached the bottom of the hill and their horses trumpeted whinnies of challenge. I couldn¡¯t pick out my sister from them anymore even though they had gained on us. Aunt Brigid yanked my wrist and dragged me behind her. Maya took off after us. * * * Aunt Brigid led us toward the nearest wood. The green boughs would shield us from flyers and force the chariot riders to abandon their vehicles to continue chasing us. They wouldn¡¯t offer us shelter for long, though. Did she have a plan for beyond then? ¡°Leave us, wench!¡± Brigid shouted over her shoulder once she spotted Maya. ¡°You will only draw Riona. We cannot afford that.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t break Midir out to be left behind.¡± Maya kept stride with us, even with her shorter height. Our energy was too spent to go much faster than her. ¡°You helped put him there from the start,¡± Brigid shot back. ¡°She¡¯s coming because I have an unfulfilled deal with her,¡± I interjected. ¡°As soon as we find somewhere safe, I must send her home.¡± ¡°Nowhere is safe.¡± Brigid led on toward the trees. The ground quaked and I halted to keep my balance. Behind me Father and Aengus stood hand in hand against the line of monarchs. If they spoke I couldn¡¯t hear it from that far off. Streams of Glowing Ogham weaved through the air in front of them. Someone took my hand and tugged. Maya. I tore my gaze away from Father and raced on. Soon we crossed the treeline. My lungs burned and Maya coughed the deeper we went. Aunt Brigid paused her dogged flight and we hunched over, catching our breaths. My aunt patrolled in front of us like a stalking cat. So far our luck held. It couldn¡¯t continue much longer. ¡°Daire, what do you need to make that portal?¡± my aunt asked. ¡°I believe I can make one without a reflective surface, right here.¡± I only just noticed how light I felt with the Key¡¯s power humming through me. It spoke to me and begged to be utilized, tested, played with. I¡¯d never sensed its unrestrained will before. ¡°Send the girl to her world.¡± Brigid rubbed her hammer¡¯s handle the same way Father fiddled with his sword¡¯s pommel. ¡°We mustn¡¯t linger any longer with her.¡± Maya rested against a thick trunk with sweat dripping down her brow and staining the underarms of her dress. I nipped the inside of my cheek. The plan had been to go back with her and establish a life of my own with her as my guide. Circumstances being what they were, it seemed our friendship was to be cut short. ¡°Are you ready to go home?¡± ¡°That¡¯s it? But what about¡­¡± Maya trailed off and her attention shifted down, past my feet to a cluster of shrubs. ¡°Rio¡ª¡± I glanced beyond the bushes. A fox¡¯s tracks disappeared into them. Chains rattled as a band of them swung over my head. They hooked around my neck and a knee rammed into my back. It choked me and the iron ate into my windpipe. I clawed at the smoke rising around my face. Riona loomed over me, shrouded in her toxic aura. Brigid and Maya went stock still. My aunt set her hammer in its loop at her belt while Maya held up her hands in surrender. ¡°Think this through, lass,¡± Brigid said, calmer than the rage blazing in her red eyes. ¡°You need his power. If he dies, so does the Key.¡± ¡°Give back she who you stole.¡± My sister pulled the chain tighter. I gagged, inhaling too little air. Every moment they stalled the links stung like hot prodding needles. ¡°This is between us.¡± Maya dared to edge closer. ¡°He didn¡¯t do anything. Let him go.¡± ¡°You still defend him after they took you?¡± Rio jerked toward Maya and her hold loosened enough for me to wheeze another breath. ¡°They didn¡¯t kidnap me. I left on my own.¡± ¡°No. They¡¯ve warped you against me.¡± Brigid slid to flank Riona and reached for her hammer. I worked my fingers under the links. ¡°Enough tricks,¡± Riona hissed as she tugged the chain taut. It pinched and burned the tender skin around my nails. ¡°Dear one, come here. We¡¯re going home.¡± Maya spotted Aunt Brigid readying her attack. She darted between her and my sister. ¡°Just put him down and I¡¯ll go back with you.¡± Aunt Brigid hooked her arm around my friend. She put her hammer¡¯s head to Maya¡¯s comparably fragile skull. ¡°Better yet, give him to me or I kill your pet.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t touch her!¡± Riona¡¯s wide gaze darted between Brigid and Maya like a cornered animal. ¡°You wouldn¡¯t want to lose another child under your charge.¡± ¡°Without him you lose your masses.¡± Brigid¡¯s weapon glowed as bright as she. ¡°I have no such need of your changeling.¡± The chain slacked, enough for me to get a firm hold on it. My hands could resist that pain for a few moments more. I shoved it over my chin and sprinted at Maya and my aunt. The Key¡¯s power surged through me as I dove, ready for me to harness. A white halo yawned open behind them. Inside it matched a modern bedroom I¡¯d pulled from Maya¡¯s dreams. I tackled them both backwards. My aunt caught sight of the portal and moved with me like a coiled snake. The three of us passed through. A hard floor caught us in a tangle of limbs on top of each other. The halo hung suspended in the air, full of green spring forest. Riona screeched and streaked for it. I slammed down the lid on my power. Both Tir Na Nog and Riona blinked away.