Page 121 of The Vanishing Throne

Where am I?

The thought is fleeting, replaced by calm. It’s so still and serene here. At the horizon, the deepturquoise seawater meets the blazing sky. As the sun dips lower, the firelike clouds only grow more intense. The astonishing hues like deep slashes of paint. I close my eyes briefly against the lovely warmth of it.

I sense another presence behind me, a sudden familiar sensation of cold fingertips down my spine. Not menacing like last time; not a threat. A reminder.

Sheis here.

I don’t turn as she moves to stand beside me on the cliff. Out of the corner of my eye I notice her face doesn’t change this time. It remains skeletal, her skin weathered and old. Her cloak of shadows wraps deep and dark around her.

Suddenly I remember everything. Sorcha driving the sword through me and into the crystal. Pain lances through thecentre of my chest where the blade sliced through bone. I press my hand there. I let the ache settle until I can think clearly.

Kiaran. His dark, hungry gaze as his bound powers surged back inside of him. Now he’ll need the Wild Hunt to survive again.

Don’t you ever feel cursed?

Every day.

He’s back in the human realm bearing the weight of his curse and I’m … I’m …

Falconer. I can’t heal this.

Tears prick the back of my eyes. ‘You’re not just visiting me in a dream again, are you?’

‘No,mo nighean.’

I laugh bitterly. ‘I suppose you got your wish then, didn’t you? I’m really dead this time. Aithinne has her powers back. Did you come to gloat?’

‘I came to make you an offer,’ the Cailleach says softly. She sounds so weak, her voice shaking.

‘Then I refuse,’ I tell her. ‘Make all the threats you want. I don’t want your truth.’

This time I meet her ancient, skeletal gaze. I’m surprised by the sadness there, the unease. The Cailleach has lived for thousands of lifetimes. She created the land. She formed the realms. And she’s fading just like I am. Like a human.

In the end, we are all the stag.

‘It isn’t truth I offer,mo nighean. Not this time.’

I’m almost afraid to ask. ‘Then what?’

‘I created your world and mine,’ shesays. ‘When I die, the realms will fracture. It’s already begun in theSìth-bhrùth. You’ve seen this.’

‘Aye.’

‘My children have refused my powers,’ she says quietly. ‘I must have a vessel to pass them on to. I’m offering them to you.’

I look at her sharply. I’d be shocked if I weren’t so suspicious. The fae don’t offer anything without a price. The Cailleach threatened to kill my family last time. She tried to killme. ‘Why would you do that?’Why should I trust you?

Now she looks bitter. ‘You are my only blood.’

‘I see. You’re dying and I’m your last chance at passing on your legacy.’

‘I am selfish,mo nighean,’ she says tightly. ‘So are you. You wish to return to your human friends, and I’m offering you another chance at life. Do you know how rare it is for a human to come back from the dead twice?’

The Cailleach tried to kill me once before. Ican’t trust her that easily. ‘What’s the price?’

When she looks away, I almost laugh again. Of course there’s a price. There’s always a consequence when the natural order is disrupted. I know that better than anyone. Not even the Cailleach herself can change it.

‘I can bring you back to life,’ she tells me, ‘but eventually my powers will kill you.’

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