Page 22 of Evil Eyed
The last bit of dread uncoiled in the pit of my stomach and dissolved. Not that I didn’t believe the guys. I did. But it was nice to have someone who knew me from before Jonathan got his claws in me confirm it. “Why did you stay away for so long?”
Her head tipped to the side. “Why did it take you so long to call me? There be limits, especially upon the likes of me.”
“What are you? Who are you?”
Her whiskers drooped and her pupils thinned to razor slits. “You don’t know?”
Slowly, I shook my head.
“I’m Étain. Your mother.”
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Icould only stare at her, stunned beyond words. My mother. Myfaemother.
“There were so many restrictions placed upon me,” she whispered. “Upon you. It was so risky. So dangerous. I didn’t want to send you to the mortal plane to live as a human child, but there was no other way to end the cycle.”
“That’s the first we be hearing of this.” Doran’s deep rumble drew my gaze to the door as he strode into the bedroom, with Ivarr and Keane right behind him.
“There is much that I’m not at liberty to say,” she began.
Aidan snorted and rolled his eyes. “Typical fae bullshit.”
“And I can’t speak for Her Majesty or her court,” she continued undeterred. “I can say confidently that we have seen the never-ending struggle the treasures and their conduit have endured, and we wished to put an end to that brutal cycle. The legendary weapons of Éire long ago earned their rest. We did not foresee the extent of Evil Eye’s dark influence, nor how he would tarnish and destroy your legend. We certainly never intended that your love should be used against you and bring such needless suffering to you all.”
“How, lady?” Warwick asked, his voice hushed with awe. “How did you accomplish such a feat without anyone knowing?”
“I had a dream.” She blinked at me slowly, and even though she wasn’t purring, I felt an immense wave of love wash over me. “A dream from Danu Herself. She showed me a lovely, gifted child, lifting a single candle against the raging darkness. It shouldn’t have been enough light to stand against Evil Eye’s minions, but the candle kept shining, brighter and brighter, a spinning halo that cast out rainbows of magic to drive out the darkness entirely. She would be surrounded by love. I saw the cauldron, stone, sword, and spear clearly, though I admit that you, my lord leprechaun, were a complete and delightful surprise.”
She laughed softly, a rumbly feline chuckle, though her whispers drooped again. “Every sword from the goddess be double-sided. You would be surrounded by love… but notmylove. You live a mortal life without magical protection. You must find a way to bring the treasures to you on your own, which was no easy feat after the Stone of Destiny was lost to Evil Eye. I feared greatly for you, especially when the foulness that be Eochu Bres found you unprotected and alone.”
Unshed tears thickened my voice. “You were there, though. You tried to warn me. You died over and over, suffering all the horrible things he did…”
She pressed her face against my neck, rubbing her cheek against mine. “Such a small price to pay, my dearest child. As fae are wont to do, I stretched the limits of every restriction placed upon me to help you as much as possible. I couldn’t come to you in my true form. I couldn’t give you my magic. But I could be with you as your beloved cat, and my heart whispered secrets to you.”
I threw my arms around her, my tears dampening her fur. “I can’t believe it. I always wondered why I didn’t feel any kind of connection with my parents. Wait!” I jerked my head up, searching her gleaming eyes. “If you’re my mother, who’s my father? Was he really Dad, I mean, Samuel? How was I even born?”
“La, that’s a whole other story. Are you sure you’re up to more earth-shattering tales?”
I nodded and leaned back against Warwick, scooting over to make room for the other guys to at least sit on the bed if they wanted. Though now that I thought about it… It was extremely weird to think about all of us being in bed—me naked, no less—and my mother—as a cat—telling me how I was conceived and born.
I laughed out loud, shaking my head, even as I wiped away tears. Too many emotions swirled inside me. Giddiness, that I finally knew where I’d come from, even if it didn’t all make sense and sounded like a wild fairytale. Literally. Love for Vanta, even before I’d learned she was my mother. Terror, because yeah, this shit was overwhelming to say the least. That I’d been born for the sole purpose of defeating Evil Eye, when days ago, I didn’t even know any of this existed. “This really is crazy. I don’t know that I’d even believe a fraction of this if I hadn’t seen the painting earlier.”
“Which painting would that be?”
“It was me as a girl, holding up a paintbrush to open a door of light. It reminded me of your dream about the candle.”
“I would dearly love to see it.”
“Warwick has it stashed away for safekeeping, but I’d like to study it more too.” It dawned on me that she was stalling. “I’m sure we can look at it tomorrow.”
I waited, watching her reaction. The tip of her tail tapped along my thigh, and she didn’t meet my gaze. Softly, I breathed out, “Is my father so very bad?”
Her head jerked up, her eyes flaring wide. “Not at all. I’m just not sure how much to tell you. What will help—or hinder—your goal. The last thing I wish to do is put you at even more risk, or confuse you with details of a long and ancient mythology that you may not understand.” She heaved a very human-sounding sigh. “Your father is Cromm Crúaich.”
No one said anything. I wasn’t even sure that Warwick breathed, he was so completely still against me. “Who’s that?”
Her whiskers twitched. “An ancient fertility god.
