Faeleahn Read online

  Until then, I would try my best to enjoy the Dagda’s warm company and pleasant mood. The long hallway eventually opened out into a large, spacious, circular room. Several windows were placed in the far wall, the cinereous light from outside spilling onto the colorful carpets underfoot and highlighting the gold leafed paintings hanging on the walls. To the right and left, there were four sets of doors. The Dagda chose the first one on the right and held it open for me to step in. A comfortable room decorated in dark cherry furniture and rich red, gold and russet hues waited for us. A couch and two stuffed chairs sat on the sunken floor before a wide fireplace, and a cherry wood desk was perched a step up in front of a ceiling to floor window. The cozy setting was finished off with a tall bookcase to the left of the desk.

  “This is the room I brought Meghan to the night you abandoned her to Drustan o’Ceallaigh, do you remember?” the Dagda commented in a cheery voice as he shut the door.

  I shot him an acidic look before taking a seat in one of the chairs flanking the couch.

  My foster father sighed, as if recalling some nostalgic memory, then stepped toward the bookcase.

  “Yes, she was very upset that night,” he mused, pulling a crystal decanter and two heavy tumblers from behind a small glass door. “But I guess that was to be expected, considering all she had been through up until that point.”

  I ignored most of this because I already knew about it. For some reason, the Dagda insisted on reminding me of Meghan’s misery, and I couldn’t yet decide why.

  “Would you like some merynth?” he asked, holding up the decanter. “Imported from the Amsihr Mountains.”

  I turned in my seat, my arms still crossed over my chest, and lifted one curious eyebrow. The golden green liquid glowed like a gem in its transparent vessel, and I couldn’t help recalling the time Enorah and I, as well as a handful of her older Wildren, ventured into the famed mountains in search of a draghan. The Maithar, the leader of the Amsihria, had offered us merynth. Just as I had then, I would not turn down the rare wine now.

  Casting aside my broodiness, I said, “I would like some, thank you.”

  Glass and crystal clinked together as the Dagda quickly filled two tumblers. He returned the decanter to its safe place and then walked over to the couch, handing me my merynth before taking a seat.

  “To the upcoming nuptials,” he crooned, holding his glass high.

  I tapped the edge of my tumbler to his and then took a sip, savoring the hint of citrus as the liquid burned down my throat.

  “So, was there a purpose behind bringing up that particular shortcoming with regards to Meghan?” I asked blandly and without preamble.

  The Dagda, who had been taking a second sip of his merynth, choked. It took him a few moments to regain his composure, something I found a tiny bit satisfying.

  “Is that what you think I was doing?” he asked when he had finally cleared his throat. His eyes were unusually bright, and his face a shade or two redder than before.

  “I don’t know what you were trying to do,” I admitted, carefully sampling the wine again.

  The Dagda, who had been exuding an undercurrent of mischief since the moment Meghan and I arrived, suddenly became serious. He set his glass onto the small table in front of the couch and leveled his blue eyes on me. I held his gaze with just as much determination. I would not back down from him. If he thought I wasn’t good enough for Meghan, or believed I had purposely harmed her, then he could tell me in a straightforward fashion.

  My foster father was the first to look away, but I got the distinct impression he was in no way yielding victory to me. His eyes were trained on the fire, and after a brief moment, he took a breath and let it out on a small sigh. It was such an insignificant action, I almost missed it.

  “You don’t remember when Enorah first brought you here, do you?”

  The question, delivered in a soft tone, came as a surprise.

  “No,” I answered automatically.

  The Dagda smiled and returned his eyes to mine. “She was very young herself, just under the age of fourteen, if I remember correctly. You, my boy, had not yet seen two winters. She showed up on my doorstep, all skinny limbs and curly hair and fierce eyes. What fierce eyes she had! I knew right away she was Cuchulainn’s daughter. And then, she pushed you forward, and I saw your face for the first time. You were nothing but brilliant green eyes and red hair, and you shone just as fiercely as your sister. When she asked me, no, begged me, to take you in, I had wanted to keep her as well. But she told me she couldn’t stay. She had to go somewhere, do something, and I had to watch over you.”

  A darkness fell over the Dagda’s eyes, and I felt my own heart constrict. I didn’t know all the details of my sister’s life before I was old enough to start paying attention, but I knew the Morrigan had somehow sunk her nails into Enorah early on, forcing her to choose between my happiness and her own. Enorah had chosen to give me a chance at a good life and had willingly gone to the Morrigan. Even after all these many, many years, it still hurt to know what my sister had sacrificed.

  “Not for a second did I think to tell her to seek mercy elsewhere, and it almost killed me to watch her disappear into the mist-clogged day as I held you close while you cried for your sister. The way she had bundled your threadbare jacket around your shoulders and murmured to you softly before leaving spoke volumes, Cade. It was as if you were her child and not her brother. That kind of love cannot be bought, my boy, the love of true family. It cannot be bartered or traded, nor can it be forced or manipulated. The love between you and Meghan is so very much like the love your sister proclaimed to the world when she sacrificed her freedom for yours. Similar in its constancy and strength.”

  “Why are you telling me this now, Dagda?” I asked, my voice coming out raspier than I had meant it to.

  “Because,” he said, “I never thought I would see that level of sacrifice again, not until Meghan showed up on my doorstep the night of the Beltaine Eve party, a bloody mess with your cold body in tow. I meant what I said earlier. You are incredibly lucky, and you did take a ridiculously long time to come to your senses with regards to that young woman of yours.”

  “And you brought up the incident with Drustan o’Ceallaigh because?” I continued, unable to let it go.

  The Dagda beamed, instantly shedding the melancholy shadow that had overwhelmed his usually placid demeanor, and said, “Oh, I just love to see you react like a jealous lover. Proves to me you have a heart, after all.”

  I glared at him. “You have a sick sense of humor sometimes, Dagda.”

  He shook his head vigorously. “Nope. I just enjoy my fair share of drama from time to time.”

  Leaning back against the couch, he cast me a fatherly look. “But I am very happy for you, Caedehn, you and Meghan. And I am very proud of everything you have accomplished and overcome. I know she will bring you that happiness you have always sought, and I know you will be a good husband to her.”

  Before I could muster up an appropriate response to that, the door to the study squeaked open and Meghan, her hair damp from her bath, peeked in.

  “Ah!” the Dagda barked, jumping up from the couch. “We were just talking about you!”

  Meghan furrowed her brow. “Good things, I hope,” she said, with a faint smile.

  “Of course,” the Dagda insisted. “Are you hungry, my girl?”

  “Starved.”

  “Good! Let’s relocate to the kitchen and see what the chef can throw together for us. We shall feast and make merry until the break of dawn!”

  Meghan dropped her face into her hands and groaned.

  The Dagda shot her a perturbed look. “Does a party not sound appealing to you?”

  I chuckled as I rose from my chair, moving to join Meghan at the door. “We’ve just come from celebrating in the Weald. I think Meghan might be a little worn out.”

  “Nonsense!” the Dagda roared.

  He brushed past Meghan and me, heading for the long hallway.
The giant Tuatha De paused long enough to cast over his shoulder in a jovial voice, “One can never enjoy too many parties!”

  Meghan gave a sigh of defeat, leaning into me as we followed after my foster father. He had the nerve to whistle cheerfully, practically skipping down the hallway, clearly in anticipation of the upcoming festivities.

  “Don’t worry,” I assured Meghan, wrapping my arm around her and giving her shoulder an affectionate rub. “It won’t be so bad. It’s already growing dark, so he won’t have time to invite the entirety of his realm.”

  She tilted her head and made a face at me.

  I only laughed, hugging her closer, thinking back to my conversation with the Dagda. He may have been right about Meghan all along; that we were meant for each other, and that I had been a fool to deny it for so long. But then again, many of life’s little miracles are meant to happen precisely when they do, no sooner, no later. I could have told Meghan I loved her before that awful night I took on my mother’s glamour-infused Cumorrig, or perhaps I could have told her the day we visited the standing stones, when I had made myself invisible using my glamour before kissing her. But, it wasn’t just me who needed time to iron out his insecurities and get control of his demons. Meghan needed the time to adjust to her new identity as well. Too many things in life are rushed, often producing a disappointing end result. I hadn’t wanted that to happen to my relationship with Meghan, so I had bided my time.

  “I think I can survive one more night of frivolity,” Meghan finally said, breaking me away from my thoughts. “So long as I get to sleep in for a week when we get back to Luathara.”

  Laughing, I promised her we could sleep in for the next year if she wanted to. After all, we had earned it.

  MEGHAN

  Cade and I learned that first evening at the Dagda’s that Danua had sent out a missive calling all the Tuatha De into Erintara for a meeting about the state of Eile. That news came as a surprise, so I cast Cade a questioning look. He only shrugged.

  “I know nothing of it.”

  “I wonder why she didn’t tell me in her response to my letter about our impending visit,” I groused, as the two of us got ready for bed that evening.

  The grand celebration the Dagda threatened us with ended up being nothing more than a gathering of all his live-in staff and the women who seemed to keep a semi-permanent residence. We had talked and shared our news with everyone. Mead, ale and wine had been passed around, and a few of the more musically talented of the group played a few songs while we crowded into the kitchen surrounding a table of food. Two hours after the start of the meal, Cade and I complained of our exhaustion, and after suffering the Dagda’s grumbling about foster sons not visiting nearly often or long enough, he let us escape into our borrowed room upstairs.

  Now, as I paced around the chamber, recalling the last time Cade and I had stayed here with a small smile, I thought back to the conversation the Celtic god and I had shared.

  “So, you are heading to Erintara after this? Do you mind if I join you with some of my guard? Danua has called us to a meeting, and we are expected to be at the castle no later than a week from tomorrow. I wouldn’t mind arriving early and spending some more time with you and Cade.”

  He had let out a long breath, his eyes simply shining with what I’d suspected was his powerful glamour. “I’ve not seen much of either of you since the battle with the Morrigan. Luathara Castle must be keeping you quite busy. I know I’ve been rather preoccupied here. Any incidents of faelah lately?”

  The second half of that statement had been aimed at Cade, and as my husband-to-be went into the details of running Luathara, I’d thought about why Danua would want to call all the Tuatha De into the capitol city.

  Now that Cade and I were alone, I was ready to hear his ideas as well.

  “Perhaps she didn’t want to worry you,” Cade said, responding to my earlier question about Danua keeping us in the dark. “We are not the Tuatha De, and Luathara doesn’t technically fall under any of their jurisdiction.”

  I watched him as he shrugged off his shirt, displaying a golden torso decorated with Celtic tattoos and scars from old battles. I sighed, partly at the sight of him and partly at my now piqued curiosity. Despite the fact that the goddess of war, and my arch nemesis, was definitely destroyed, I couldn’t help but think some part of her lived on in the world somewhere. We still had our small skirmishes and run-ins with renegade faelah, but they were easy enough to kill. Just like dealing with an influx of aphids in the garden. More of an annoyance than anything else. Still, I could never quite shake the feeling this was the calm before the storm, the regrouping before the next fight. And now, my mother was gathering her troops again. It had only been a few measly months. If Eile was about to become the victim once again of some nefarious villain’s dark plans, then I might just chuck it all and move back to the mortal world.

  I didn’t even notice Cade until he was standing right in front of me.

  “Meghan?” he said quietly.

  Blinking, I trailed my gaze up his naked torso until it met eyes dark with concern. I felt the side of my mouth quirk in a half smile, and I reached out, running my hands up his warm skin. He hissed in a small breath and reached forward, pushing his fingers into my hair and guiding my head to rest against his broad chest. I closed my eyes and breathed in his scent, immediately feeling the swirling dark cloud building in my heart dissipate.

  “I’m okay,” I promised, before my worry could transfer over onto him. “I’m just hoping Danua isn’t calling everyone to Erintara to discuss new battle plans.”

  Cade chuckled and leaned down to kiss the top of my head. “I’m sure it’s nothing. She’s probably just trying to be thorough and keep on top of things. My guess is she’s been calling the Tuatha De to meet every month. The Dagda was complaining about it while you were playing a round of cards with Alannah and the others.”

  I pulled away from him just enough to ask, “And you didn’t think to tell me?”

  Cade shrugged, his fingers still carding my hair. “I thought nothing of it at the time. And there is nothing strange about the high queen checking up with the lesser sovereigns of her kingdom after a war. I’m sure this is just another routine exchange of news and updates about faelah sightings and the like.”

  He leaned down and kissed me on the cheek, moving his mouth to my ear in a gentle caress as he whispered, “The Morrigan is gone, Meghan. We don’t have to fear her anymore.”

  Although I knew it would still take time for that anxiety to wear off completely, I shoved my worries aside and melted into Cade’s embrace. After that, it was easy to forget about everything unpleasant in my life. In fact, for the next few glorious hours, I forgot unpleasant things even existed in the world.

  * * *

  We didn’t leave for my mother’s castle the next day. Instead, we spent time lazing about the Dagda’s territory, watching the clouds shed rain and exploring the local landscape whenever there was a break in the weather. Each steep hill surrounding the Dagda’s underground home hid some building or house of sorts. One of the larger hills served as the stables for the horses, and a few others acted as the smithy, brewery and store house for grains and other victuals. The gently rolling fields that stretched beyond the edge of the community of hills were dark and freshly turned, some of the furrows already dusted green with young crops.

  “The land surrounding Carnogh is very rich and perfect for crops and the grazing of cattle, goats and sheep,” the Dagda had boasted on one of our lengthier tours.

  I arched a brow and glanced around Cade who was walking between us. “Carnogh?”

  “Aye, that’s what I call my abode and the immediate area surrounding it. Did I not tell you the name before?”

  I smiled and shook my head. “Nope. Carnogh. I like the sound of it.”

  “Means ‘little mountain’.”

  “An appropriate name, then.”

  The Dagda beamed and gave me a wink. “That it is.”
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br />   We didn’t wander far beyond the last hill, although Fergus and Meridian, the ever curious spirit guides, insisted on exploring much farther out.

  You know where to find us, I sent to my merlin.

  Yes! she responded distractedly. Return soon. Creek ahead. Lots of snacks!

  I watched her, a small white dot against the dark clouds, as she and Fergus made their way northeast and toward a ribbon of silvery green willows and sycamores following a curving crease in the land.

  Cade tilted his head back and studied the clouds. “I think we might have a reprieve for a while longer. Shall we circle the perimeter of the hills and then head back in?”

  The Dagda nodded his approval.

  “Meghan?” Cade asked. “Are you warm enough? Should we head back instead?”

  If I was being honest, I would admit I was a little chilly, despite the wool scarf and coat one of the women had let me borrow. Instead, I shook my head and cuddled up next to Cade.

  “I’ll be fine if I can walk close to you,” I said, batting my eyelashes.

  The Dagda snorted then let out a bark of laughter, shaking his head as he led us away. As we circled Carnogh, Cade and his foster father took turns pointing out little bits and pieces of the landscape or wildlife to me. Some of the animals living here differed greatly from those at Luathara, and I delighted in seeing all of them, especially the birds busy bringing insects back to their nests. Besides birds, there were foxes, rabbits, deer and some other little creatures that looked like a cross between a weasel and a cat.

  Along with the annual crops dominating most of the freshly turned fields, there were also orchards, the trees adorned in brilliant white, pink and butter colored blossoms.

  “Apples, of course,” the Dagda answered when I asked about them, “as well as walnuts, almonds, pears, peaches, cherries, plums and apricots.”

  I closed my eyes as he ticked off the names, imagining what it must be like in this part of Eile in the fall months when all of these wonderful fruits would be ripe.