by Jodi McIsaac
He opened his mouth to respond, but she put her fingers on his lips. “Which just proves that I am sometimes wrong, and that you love me enough to tell me so.”
She could feel his lips curve against her fingers. “I do love you. And even though I did think you were wrong, I truly would have gone with you.”
“I know. I don’t think I ever doubted that.”
“So what do we do now?”
“Well, now that I’m queen again, I’ve made the executive decision that I need a vacation,” she said.
“You deserve it,” he agreed. “Where do you want to go?”
Cedar looked around the room, her eyes settling on the large white bed. “I thought we might start over there,” she said, her eyes twinkling. “And then see where it takes us.”
Cedar tiptoed around the edge of the giant bush, stopping to inhale the scent of the enormous yellow flowers hanging from it. She heard a muffled giggle and froze. “I guess no one’s here,” she said loudly, a grin spreading across her face. She darted behind the bush, her hands outstretched, but she was too late. Squealing with laughter, Eden went tearing across the field. Cedar gave chase. “I’m going to catch you!” she yelled. She was within arm’s reach when the air in front of Eden flashed, and she disappeared. Cedar followed her through the sidh before Eden had a chance to close it and swept her daughter up into a hug.
“Hey!” Eden dissolved into laughter as Cedar held her upside down and tickled her.
“You’ll have to be faster than that if you want to beat me,” Cedar said.
“I didn’t want to close the sidh on you and cut you in half!” Eden said between shrieks.
“Uh-huh,” Cedar said, setting her back down. “Okay, now it’s my turn.”
“You’re too easy to find!” Eden said. “You can’t close them!”
“It’s true,” Cedar admitted. “Okay, you win. But that reminds me. I have an important job for you.”
“You do?” Eden said, her eyes lighting up at once.
“Mmm hmm. I’m letting the druids go home, and I’ll need some help making the sidhe back to Ériu.”
“Cool!” Eden exclaimed. “I can totally do that! And…do you think…?”
“Yes?”
“Do you think maybe we could go for a chocolate-chip bagel, like we used to?”
Cedar squeezed Eden’s hand as they started walking back home. “I think that would be just about perfect.”
EPILOGUE
The fire on the topmost point of the Hill of Tara was large enough to be seen by half of Ireland. Three times as tall as a person, it burned in a spectacular bouquet of reds, oranges, and yellows. Smaller fires dotted the hillside all around it, a tribute to Brighid, whose own flame had been extinguished. The druids had enchanted the hillside for the night, so that curious human eyes would be averted while they mourned their friend.
There was no body to bury, no remains to burn. But Cedar had insisted they do something to honor Brighid’s life, her sacrifice. And so, with Irial’s help, they invited everyone whose lives Brighid had touched, whether or not they knew it. The response was overwhelming. Most of the Danann came, and many of the druids. But what was truly remarkable was the outpouring of support from the Unseen. They showed up in droves, each group sending a delegation bearing gifts and tributes to the fallen Elder who had ensured their survival for hundreds of years, and to the queen who had freed them when the curse had fallen at last.
It was a gathering the likes of which had not been seen for millennia. Gods and druids and magical beings of all kinds ate and drank and cried and danced together between the flames, under a canopy of stars. Cedar wandered among them, hand in hand with Eden and Finn. She accepted words of comfort and gratitude from the Merrow, who had apparently forgiven the Danann for Nuala’s treachery. She smiled at Syrna, who had Irial pressed up against the trunk of a hawthorn tree, oblivious to the rest of the world. An old man, who turned out to be Logheryman’s brother, thanked Cedar for saving his life, though it had been too late for him to make amends with his brother. He had been brought to the celebration by Maggie, and was wearing what looked to be a hand-knit sweater. Cedar saw Abhartach too, and she kissed his tattooed cheeks. He grumbled so much it almost covered up the fact that he was exceedingly pleased to see her. And throughout the evening, she lifted glass after glass in toasts to Brighid, Eden, and herself.
Eden laughed in delight when a troop of pixies surrounded her and dragged her off to the nearest fairy circle for a dance. Cedar and Finn watched her run off with them, sharing an indulgent smile.
Toward the end of the evening, a flash of red hair caught Cedar’s eye from behind one of the small fires. She blinked, thinking it was a trick of the flame. But then there he was—a tall, still figure with a large stone hammer gripped in one hand.
“Where are you going?” Finn asked as she moved toward the newcomer.
“I think I see…Just give me a second.” Finn turned to speak with a púka, and Cedar made her way toward the edge of the gathering.
For a moment, they regarded each other silently. “How did you get here?” she finally asked. “I thought Bifrost was closed. I thought you were trapped.”
Thor shook his head. “Bifrost was closed, but not forever. When the jewels failed to work for Odin centuries ago, his madness overtook him, and he threatened to find Brighid and force her to tell him the truth. I did not doubt Brighid’s strength…but my father’s fury was not to be taken lightly. And so I pled with Heimdallr, the guardian of Bifrost, to destroy the bridge so that my father could not reach Midgard.” He closed his eyes for a moment, and then looked back down at Cedar. “Heimdallr paid with his life when Odin discovered what had been done. But even with all his power, he could not rebuild the bridge without the key, which Heimdallr had entrusted to me. Odin thought it had been destroyed along with Bifrost. He could not reach her.”
“Thor,” Cedar said, her voice anguished. “That’s why you never came back. You trapped your father—and yourself—in Asgard to keep her safe. And she never knew.”
“It wouldn’t have mattered,” he said. “She was right to hate me. I betrayed her.”
“Brighid didn’t have room in her heart for hate,” she said. “I knew her well, and I’m certain she would have forgiven you.” Cedar felt a tug on her dress and looked down to see Eden, who was staring up at Thor with large brown eyes. Cedar smiled. “Thor, this is Eden. In her true form.”
Thor looked slightly horrified for a moment, but then he bent down and shook Eden’s outstretched hand. “Hello,” Eden said. “My mum told me that we’ve met before, but I don’t remember. So it’s nice to meet you.”
Thor’s eyebrows were raised, but he smiled. “And it’s nice to meet you, too, little one. You will be a very brave and beautiful lady when you grow up.”
“Cedar, look!” Jane, Felix, and Finn had joined them. Jane was pointing to something hovering in the air just behind Thor’s left shoulder. “That wispy thing! It’s what I saw right after Brighid died. You don’t think…?”
They all turned to look where Jane was pointing. A white flame the size of Cedar’s palm was floating through the air toward them. As they watched, transfixed, it floated in front of each one of them. As she felt it pass by her, Cedar experienced a burst of warmth and joy unlike anything she had ever felt before. Judging from the others’ reactions, they were feeling the same thing. Eden was giggling, and Jane was laughing and crying at the same time. Felix and Finn were taking great steadying breaths. And Thor…he reached out his hands, and the flame rested gently on them. “I’m so sorry,” he whispered. Then the flame rose up into the air once more and touched him on the lips before soaring toward the huge bonfire in the middle of the Hill. They saw it disappear into the flames, and a cascade of sparks shot high into the sky and then fell in a shower among them. And then it was over, and all the fires on the hillside went dark.
Cedar’s voice was strong and clear in the darkness. “Come. It’s time to go
home.”
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Many thanks to my husband, Mike, for his patience, support, and never-ending well of good ideas and helpful feedback, and to my girls, Lauren and Willow, for being the inspiration behind Eden and a hundred other stories I can only hope to find time to write.
I owe Jason Goode, Sarah Cook, and Janelle deJager a world of thanks for being good enough friends to read an early draft of this book and give me their honest and very helpful feedback. Thanks to them, you’ve read a much better book. And thanks to my cousin Sarah for exploring Inis Mór (and Dublin…and everywhere in between) with me, even though we didn’t find any real selkies, and to Charis and Mark Henderson for hosting us. Once again, I’m so grateful to Chris Hansen for sharing his expertise on storytelling with me and pushing me through the door into this wonderful new world.
As always, thanks to my stellar editor, Angela Polidoro, and the great team at 47North, who are always such a pleasure to work with: David Pomerico, Britt Rogers, Justin Golenbock, and all the others behind the scenes who are working to bring authors and readers together.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
JASON BROWN, REVIVAL ARTS STUDIO, 2014
Jodi McIsaac grew up in New Brunswick, Canada. After stints as a short-track speed skater, a speechwriter, and a fundraising and marketing executive in the nonprofit sector, she started a boutique copywriting agency and began writing novels in the wee hours of the morning. She currently lives with her husband and children in Calgary.
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication Page
CONTENTS
PRONUNCIATION GUIDE
CHAPTER 1
CHAPTER 2
CHAPTER 3
CHAPTER 4
CHAPTER 5
CHAPTER 6
CHAPTER 7
CHAPTER 8
CHAPTER 9
CHAPTER 10
CHAPTER 11
CHAPTER 12
CHAPTER 13
CHAPTER 14
CHAPTER 15
CHAPTER 16
CHAPTER 17
CHAPTER 18
CHAPTER 19
CHAPTER 20
EPILOGUE
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
ABOUT THE AUTHOR