Page 18 of My Eternal Light

Kincaid held up a finger. “It keeps going.”

“How?”

“The queen later mated Brennus, who had three brothers Eamon, Doran and Celyn. So, Brennus became Oron’s father. Then Eamon had a daughter, who was Meryn.”

Cody looked down at his fingers that he had been using to trace things in the air. “I don’t really get it, but they’re just like extra, extra family, right?”

Kincaid smiled. “It’s like John said, ‘Love is all you need’.”

“Who’s John?” Cana asked.

“Is he related too?” Cody’s face had a pained expression.

Every shared a chuckle at his chagrin.

“That particular John was a famous singer a couple decades ago,” Kendrick explained.

Aeron pointed to Oron. “But Darian said he was adopted.”

Kincaid winced. “I forgot about that. I don’t want Cody’s head exploding.”

“It does that?” he asked, holding his head with both hands.

“No, it does not,” Anne said, ruffling his hair.

Kendrick smirked. “It’s such a delicious tangle of kismet and coincidence. After Meryn found out her heritage, she passed along the title of Vi’Eirlea that she inherited from her father Eamon to Oron. He cut his hand and bled on the Eirlea Elder tree and was officially adopted into House Eirlea.”

“Whoaa,” the kids said, mimicking Meryn perfectly.

Meryn snapped her fingers. “That’s what I said earlier. None of their names are on the birch tree, right? The Guardian would have reported new births. Maybe they should get added so Aldrya won’t be sad anymore.”

“Who’s Aldrya?”

“What’s a Guardian?”

“Why is she sad?”

Oron and Darian were smiling as the kids flooded the room with questions. Finally, Oron held up a hand and they quieted. “First things first. Eat.”

Smiling, the kids did just that.

Chapter Three

“Auntie, do we need to find their light, like with me?” Meryn asked.

Kincaid was curious too. He hadn’t found a barrier that blocked the Guardians from detecting the children in the hellhole where they found them.

The queen looked over the children with a grieved expression. “Their families were banished from Éire Danu, from that point forward they were denied the light of the fae, which means they were no longer tied to their guardian. The light they have is what they were born with.”

“Can we just have them bleed on the tree like Oron?” Meryn asked. “It’s not their fault they’re related to a bunch of assholes.”

The queen nodded. “We can certainly try.”

“Will it hurt?” Cana asked, looking very small all of a sudden.

Meryn shrugged. “Stubbing your toe is worse, but it stings more than a paper cut.”

The kids brightened.

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