Page 14 of Song of the Sea King

"Hello," Ella replied, her voice managing to remain steady.

Kian approached her and looked her over. "It is going to be good to have another seer about. Mananan tells me that you can read objects. That is fascinating magic."

"About that," Mananan interrupted, "I'm going to need the Fomorian talisman, and then we can take Ella home."

Taranis moved forward and offered Mananan a black box. "Nice to see you on your feet. I trust you have been feeling better since I saw you last?"

"Yes. Thank you so much for your help, Taranis. My leg has never felt so good," Ella replied. She glanced at the box. "What is it made of?"

"Obsidian. It comes from my lands of Mag Argatnélwhere it is mined for magical uses," Taranis explained. "In this case, the box blocks magical signatures so the Fomorian mage can't track the talisman. Neither can its magic affect anything around it."

"I don't suppose it comes in dresses. I could use something like that to hide in," Ella joked.

Taranis smiled at her. "You don't need onyx, dear. You need training. I happen to be a—"

"Pain in the ass. Stop trying to recruit her for an apprentice, Taran. She has enough to do working with me," Mananan grumbled.

Taranis's smile turned sharp. "It's true you need all the help you can get. Ella is still going to need training once it's over."

Ella looked at the two brothers locked in a glare off and moved between them. "Training would be useful in the future, but I'm not going to even consider it until we fix the oceans. I've lived by the sea my entire life, and if I can really help restore it, then I won't stop until it's done."

Mananan's glare dropped to her and melted away. "I know you'll be able to help. There isn't a doubt in my mind."

Ella went hot under her sweater. Their stare off was broken by Oberon's deep chuckle.

"Well, you two had best get to it. Hopefully as soon as you destroy the altars causing problems, the bastard Fomorian mage will reveal himself. I haven't finished with him," Oberon said, and his eyes flashed gold.

"Only one way to find out." Mananan cleared his throat. "We are done here. If you would please take us back to the lighthouse, Bayn?"

He offered his arm to Ella, and she took it without hesitation. She had touched him enough to know that he'd always have his mental shields up around her. Some of the tension dropped from Mananan's shoulders, and she wondered why.

"Please keep us updated through the group chat, Ella. If you see anything when you cast your magic, please let me know. No matter how strange or seemingly insignificant it may be," Kian said and smiled at her. It was friendly enough, but she fought the urge to hide a little behind Mananan. She would never forget the terrifying footage of him attacking London, no matter how many years passed.

"I can only promise to try," Ella replied as tactfully as possible. Her magic was instinctual, born of passed down tips and tricks from the family. It hadn't let her down before, but an object made by a Fomorian mage? God only knew what that would conjure up in her head.

"Watch over her when she does any magic, Manan. If anything is out of the ordinary, just call," Taranis said.

"Yeah, yeah," Mananan replied and gestured at Bayn to get a move on.

Bayn took their hands, and Ella clung tighter to Mananan. She smiled at the other fae in farewell, and then she was falling. It was like falling down a water slide in the dark without knowing the twists and turns. They popped out in her front yard, and she took a few steps before leaning over and dry heaving.

"Does that get any better with time?" she asked, her stomach gurgling dangerously as coffee and biscuits threatened to escape.

"Not really. You get used to it," Mananan said, and a warm hand rested on her lower back and rubbed in slow circles. "Breathe, little nymph. You'll be okay."

"Text me if you need a lift back, uncle," Bayn said, and with a nod to Ella, he vanished again.

Ella doubted she would get used to it at all. She was nauseous, but she still noted the 'if' in Bayn's sentence, and not the 'when.' She took a few more deep cleansing breaths until the world stopped moving, and she straightened up.

"You held on to your stomach. That's impressive," Mananan said, his hand still gently rubbing at her.

"I'm used to being on boats. Sea sickness never lasts long." Ella cast a glance at the beach. The tide would take a while to go down.

"What is it?" Mananan asked, following her gaze.

"The way my magic works, it's helpful to collect things from the shore to scry with. The tide won't be up for much longer, and that gives me a bit of time to prepare."

Mananan nodded. "What do you need?"

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