Page 87 of Wind and Water
Mother’s eyes are wide and her voice is soft with tension. “And that knowledge could be transferred to Venora. By the old gods, I hope you’re wrong.”
“I think Wren could use her magic to send herself and her mother back to Texas, where they would be safe. If Venora knows how to use magic against her and Harper, this battle is lost.” Part of me thinks we all should make our way to the human world and cut our losses with Domhan. That decision is up to my mother, not me, so I keep it to myself.
Wren’s mind nudges at mine, forcing me to meet her gaze. “I know you want to protect me, Liam. I appreciate that more than you know. But if she knows how to push through to the human world, if that knowledge was in me, I’m not leaving here until we stop her. I don’t speak for Harper, but I’m not going to stand by while Verona destroys our world. It’s not perfect, and there’s plenty of evil there, but there’s a whole lot of good too. If I have to die, let it be for a good cause and not because I ran home with my tail between my legs and let a villain into my home.”
“Amen,” Harper says.
By the old gods, this woman could ask anything of me, and I would jump to give it to her. She’s magnificent. “Venora may have already learned enough. She may already be laying siege in your world.”
Niamh shakes her head. “I don’t think so. If she had gotten all she needed, she would have had no reason to keep Wren alive. You, Liam, she might have tried again to turn or used as bait for your family, but Wren would have been useless to her.” She gives Wren a sweet smile. “I’m sorry to be so blunt.”
“Not at all. You’re right. She stopped her torture once it was clear I wasn’t going to survive much longer. She planned to bring me back to that pool day after day until she had what she wanted. At the time, I thought it was getting me to tell her how human magic works. Of course, I have no idea the answer to thatquestion, so it was easy enough to keep telling her that humans have no magic. She might have meant for the pool to tell her by draining me of the knowledge, then absorbing it when she soaks in that horrible slime.” Wren shivers as if a cold breeze just blew through.
“Would the knowledge be compatible with the source?” Rían asks.
We all turn and stare at him.
I have to admit that even I’m surprised by the depth of thought that the question holds. Rían Redmond is the captain of the Tús Nua guard. He is an innovative leader and an outstanding soldier. His ability to identify a set of conditions and apply them to a successfully mounted offense or defense is why he has climbed in rank. Clearly, I’ve underestimated his magical aptitude. I’ve known him all my life, and this is the first time I’ve seen him think beyond what is presented to him, or at least, the first time he’s voiced those thoughts. This fairy he loves is good for him.
“Good question,” Niamh leans into his side. “We don’t know that. It's possible Venora’s plan could backfire.”
“Meaning, she might absorb something harmful?” Father asks.
“Or it might damage her healing source.” I would pay a mountain of gold to see her face when she realized that Wren’s magic would be her destruction. “Of course, we have no way of knowing the answers.”
“Dinner is served,” the butler, Perri, announces in a firm voice from the dining area.
Mother rises, and so do the rest. She takes a deep breath and leads us to the table. As father holds her chair for her, she says, “Liam is right, we can’t know. We can only hope it is a miscalculation on Venora’s part. Her shortsightedness has saved us on more than one occasion. Let’s hope she continues to resistchange. In the meantime, we shall continue as planned. We train and wait for Raith and the third human to arrive. We’ll nurture the new friendships we’ve made, and together, somehow, we will save this world.”
As soon as Mother is seated, we all take our places around the table. The meal is so good, I stuff myself. Of course, it’s been an age since I had a fully cooked meal with all the fixings. “Mother, how do you like the centaurs?”
She smiles. “Intelligent and thoughtful people. I wonder why we ever believed them to be savages?”
Niamh shakes her head. “I wonder if the old gods didn’t put these false notions of each other into our cultures.”
“But why would they keep you apart and fill you with bigotry?” Harper puts her fork down and presses her napkin to her lips. She’s a lovely woman with a forthright gaze.
“Good question.” Aaran lets out a long breath.
“I suppose they had their reasons.” I can’t imagine what they were, but I’m a soldier, not a philosopher.
Aaran has never liked anything that takes away his free will. He shakes his head. “Perhaps when we open the Watcher’s Gate, we can ask them.”
“I certainly hope if you meet the old gods, you won’t be impertinent,” Mother scolds.
“I would be,” Birdie announces with gusto.
We all laugh and make it through the dessert without any new revelations or arguments.
An hour later, Aaran lies across the bench in the garden sitting area, where we always gathered as brothers. Resting his head on Harper’s lap, he smiles. “I’m truly relieved you’ve come home, Liam. I refused to believe you were dead, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t miss you.”
“Thank you. It’s good to be home. I hope Raith will survive.” Our younger brother can be impulsive and irresponsible, but he has the kindest heart, and when he focuses, he also has a good head on his shoulders.
Wren has changed into comfortable brown leggings and a white tunic that she looks adorable in. She sits beside me with her hands pressed to the bench on either side of her thighs. “Do you think he’ll encounter more trouble than we did?”
“It’s hard to imagine,” I admit. I wish I could do something to ease the strain visible in her eyes. We’re to go to the oracle tomorrow. Perhaps they can help.
Laughing, Aaran says, “If there is more trouble to be found, Raith will find it and then find a creative way to make the situation worse.”
