by Donna Grant
Ettie licked her lips as her breathing slowed. This wasn’t the first time their youngest sister had said such words. But it was the first time Ettie actually believed them. “You know the stories Papa told us.”
“The Fae don’t exist.” Carrie looked from Ettie to Jamie and back to Ettie. “If they don’t exist we can’t be part Fae. You two are wasting your lives. Don’t you want to experience the world? Find a man? Have sex? Because, I really, really want to have sex.”
Jamie barked in laughter as she tossed her staff from one hand to the other before twirling it above her head. She then planted it firmly in the ground. “Are you telling me this is about getting laid? Trust me, it’s not worth it.”
“Then you’re not doing it right. Or the guy isn’t.”
Ettie wiped her sweaty brow with her sleeve. “Carrie, you’re only eighteen. There’s still time for that.”
“Have you had sex?”
The direct question made Ettie uncomfortable, and the discomfort grew with both of her sisters staring at her. “Yes.”
“Oh, God,” Carrie cried, her face crumpling. “Even Ettie’s had it!”
She didn’t take offense to her sister’s outburst. Everyone knew that Jamie was the beauty of the three, with Carrie being a close second. Ettie was just fine being labeled not the pretty one because she had other things to worry about.
Like keeping her sisters alive and away from the Fae.
“You want me to find you a guy?” Jamie asked Carrie.
Carrie’s gaze sparked with fire. “I can find my own.”
“Can you?” Jamie teased.
Ettie gave a shake of her head and started walking to their cottage. “Jamie, don’t start. I’m hungry.”
Her sisters fell in step on either side of her. Ettie looked around at the surrounding mountains and knew there was no other place on earth that she belonged. It wasn’t just family ties that held her to the O’Byrne property. It was the land itself.
Nowhere else on the planet could match the beauty of Ireland and their little slice of Heaven on the outskirts of Killarney.
“Which of you is going to cook when I’m gone?” Carrie asked saucily.
Ettie smiled. She didn’t mind the banter and arguing because she knew that one day, both of her sisters would leave the cottage and her behind. Until then, she was going to enjoy each and every second she had with them.
“Not me,” Jamie said. “I’d rather be working on an engine.”
Carrie gave another roll of her eyes as she flounced into their home, muttering under her breath the entire time.
Perhaps it was because their father had raised them that their hobbies were more along the lines of a man’s. Well, except for Carrie.
Ettie walked into the cottage and sat as Carrie placed a plate of food before her. Though Ettie didn’t remember much about their mother, she did recall how much she had loved to cook. After she had died giving birth to Carrie, their father attempted to raise all three of them on his own.
That lasted less than a month before he hired a woman to help take care of the house and his girls. Ada had been like a surrogate grandmother who was always in the kitchen cooking up something delicious.
That’s where Carrie got her love of cooking, while Ettie and Jamie were with their father. Jamie had a natural affinity for anything mechanical. She could take apart any engine and put it back together again.
As for Ettie . . . nothing came easily for her. She could cook when she had to, and it was passable, but nothing to write home about. But she couldn’t fix an engine if her life depended on it.
The one thing she could do was keep the family together. From the time Carrie was born, Ettie had stepped in as mother. It wasn’t something she did intentionally, but everyone had a role. That was hers.
She took a deep breath and began to eat. Ignoring the glass of orange juice Carrie set before her every morning, Ettie instead drank the stout coffee that had been her father’s favorite.
As Ettie ate, her gaze went to the locked cabinet in the living area. The day her father died, he’d handed her the key to the cabinet, but she’d only opened it once. The night of his funeral, she and her sisters had sat before it and looked through every book, journal, document, and picture within.
Her gaze swung back to Carrie and Jamie. Sitting before her was proof that Fae blood was within them. Her sisters weren’t just beautiful. They were stunning. Everywhere they went, heads turned, and mouths dropped open.
“I’m going out tonight,” Jamie declared.
Carrie’s gaze jerked to her. “I’m going with you.”
It was on the tip of Ettie’s tongue to tell Carrie no, but she realized that was no longer an option and hadn’t been for several months. Her baby sister was of age now and could make her own decisions.
She felt Jamie’s gaze on her, but Ettie didn’t look her way. She wasn’t going to make things easy for Jamie. If Jamie didn’t want Carrie to go with her, then she would have to come up with a reason.
“Not this time,” Jamie said.
Carrie dropped her fork so that it clattered loudly against her plate. “Fine. I’ll go on my own.”
“Only if you take a blade,” Ettie said.
Carrie began to argue, then quickly changed her mind. “All right.”
That was much too easy, but there was no going back now. There was no more talk, each of them lost in their own thoughts as they devoured the delicious breakfast. No doubt Carrie was thinking about the night to come, while Jamie was planning where to take her newest beau.
For Ettie, her thoughts were on things like paying the bills, restocking their food supply, and . . . the Fae. Always the Fae.
Carrie didn’t believe, and it didn’t matter what proof Ettie put before her, nothing would change her mind. That meant it was up to Ettie and Jamie to watch over their youngest sister. Not something Jamie was exactly a fan of.
All that was pretty easy while Carrie lived at home, but how much longer would that be? For years, Carrie had been putting together a scrapbook of all the places she wanted to visit and live.
Nothing was going to hold Carrie back from her dreams. And Ettie wanted her to get out and live as loudly and carefree as she wanted.
With breakfast finished, Ettie walked from the cottage to the pen to feed the animals. She’d just dumped a pail of food in for the pigs when she turned to find Jamie behind her. Ettie set the bucket aside and grabbed another full of grain for the chickens.
“You have to convince her,” Jamie stated.
Ettie sighed as she walked to the chicken pen and tossed the grain to the fowl. “We’ve been over this a dozen times already. Nothing has changed.”
“I’m not canceling my date to watch over her.”
“Of course, not. I’ll do it.”
Jamie gave a snort. “Why do you let her do whatever she wants?”
“I don’t. One of us always follows her. Just as I followed you those times you snuck out of the house.” She looked over her shoulder to Jamie and raised her brows.
Jamie’s mouth fell open in shock. “You knew I did that?”
“Yep.” It was by accident, but Jamie didn’t need to know that.
Ettie returned the bucket to the others and pushed the wheelbarrow full of hay to the fence where she tossed it to the four horses.
All the while, Jamie followed.
Ettie knew there was something on her sister’s mind. She just had to be patient until Jamie was ready to discuss it. Once the horses were fed, Ettie moved to their cow, goats, and sheep.
For the most part, she and her sisters were self-sufficient, but their father had mortgaged the land to finance his travels in his bid to locate the Light Castle. He believed the Light Fae Queen had taken up residence in a castle somewhere in northern Ireland.
He’d died penniless, sick, and without succeeding in his quest. Ettie was just thankful that he’d been at home at the time of his death. Otherwise, they might never have learned what
happened to their father.
“What if Carrie’s right?” Jamie asked softly.
Ettie patted one of the lambs and straightened to look at her sister. “You’re doubting Papa?”
“He said Fae are everywhere in Ireland, yet I’ve never encountered one.”
“Be thankful.”
“All these years we’ve been training to fight them. Why?” Jamie demanded. “If everything in those books inside the house is true, we can’t fight them. They have magic.”
“Papa said we had to be ready.”
“For what? Tell me. For what?”
She shrugged helplessly. She wished she had the right answer, but she didn’t. “I don’t know.”
“Maybe everyone is right,” Jamie said. “Maybe Papa was crazy.”
Ettie wanted to argue in favor of her father, but the words wouldn’t come. Were her sisters right? Had she trained for something that was never to be?
“I just don’t want to waste my life like. . . .” Jamie’s voice died with her words.
Ettie looked at her sister, trying not to feel the hurt that speared her like a blade. “Like me,” she finished.
Jamie shrugged and walked away.
Chapter Three
Every hour that passed while he did nothing made Daire want to lash out at anyone and anything. He’d opted to remain with his fellow Reapers, but that’s when he thought they would be fighting.
“Patience is a virtue,” Fintan said.
Daire cut his gaze to him. “Bite me.”
“You can’t say that,” Talin said, cutting him a dark look as he jumped to his feet, leaving the chair he’d been sitting in behind.
“Why not?” Daire asked, confused.
Neve giggled and winked at Talin. “Because I say that to him.”
“I think I might be sick.” Daire looked at the ceiling.
He was surrounded by couples, and it was . . . depressing. Especially since his mind was on Rhi. He didn’t mean to think about her, but the Light Fae was so damn exceptional that it was difficult not to.
“I feel your pain,” Cael leaned down to whisper in Daire’s ear.
He looked up at his leader, and they shared a grin. As happy as Daire was for his brethren who had found love, it made him all too aware of the empty side of his bed.
Worse was watching Kyran rub River’s growing belly, their whispered words while discussing baby names enough to make Daire want to pull his hair out.
A baby.
Inside a Reaper compound.
He couldn’t wrap his head around it, and yet the proof was staring him in the face. Though no one spoke of how things would work with a child. And he certainly wasn’t going to mention it.
If Kyran and River weren’t worried, who was he to bring something like that to their attention?
With Kyran still rubbing her stomach, River went back to reading whatever book she held. Since she was the only one who could read the ancient Fae texts, they had to wait for her to find something.
“Damned inconvenient,” he mumbled.
At least they had the books instead of Bran. There was something important within them that had Bran searching for them, but they had yet to decipher what it was.
Though, to be fair, there were thirty of them to read, and each was well over a thousand pages and almost two-feet long. They were truly tomes in every sense of the word.
“I can’t sit here anymore,” Daire said and got to his feet.
He had to do something, feel as if he were contributing somehow. Daire strode from the compound and halted once he reached the edge of the isle.
“Is it the fact that you’re not with Rhi?”
Daire stiffened at the question. He looked over his shoulder at Baylon. “What are you talking about?”
“Your annoyance, edginess, and all around irritation. Is it because you’re not with Rhi?”
“No.”
Baylon raised a black brow in question.
Daire turned to face his friend. “Following Rhi was certainly an adventure. She knew I was there almost from day one. She spoke to me, tried to figure out who I was, and allowed me to see the a side of her she usually kept from others.”
“And?” Baylon pressed.
“She’s amazing. All the stories about her are only a fraction of the Fae she is. But what few realize is that the face she shows to the world hides unimaginable pain beneath.”
“For her Dragon King.”
Daire nodded slowly. “She’ll love him until the day her last breath leaves her. And I believe even beyond that.”
“I knew you’d grown close to her.”
“As close as I allowed myself.”
Baylon’s forehead furrowed deeply. “What do you mean?”
“Rhi is more than capable of taking care of herself. Hell, I’ve seen her glow. I know she could annihilate a realm if she wanted, but there is something about her that makes those who care for her want to protect her.”
“It’s called loyalty.”
Daire shrugged. “It’s more than that. Though you’re right. I’ve seen some of the Dragon Kings go to extremes for Rhi. Not to mention the Warrior, Phelan.”
“Ah, the Halfling,” Baylon said.
“I’m still not sure why Death wanted Rhi followed, but I do know that in the Dragon Kings’ war, Rhi is right in the middle of it. Not only because she’s friends with the Kings, but because of Balladyn and her connection to him.”
“The new King of the Dark,” Baylon said and blew out a breath. “There is always upheaval in a transition of power.”
“And Balladyn is going to want to show off his might.”
“So you believe Rhi could be a key in that war?”
Daire glanced out over the sea. “Without a doubt.”
“Maybe that’s what Death knew before any of us.”
He shrugged, no longer concerned with the why, but wanting to see it all for himself. Now that Rhi had the memories that Death erased back, she knew of the Reapers, but Erith had decided to spare Rhi’s life.
That could mean anything in the days to come.
It also gave Daire a chance to continue his friendship with Rhi. He just wished he’d been able to let her know why he wouldn’t be following her anymore.
Their heads jerked to the door when Talin threw it open.
Talin looked around until he spotted them. “Get in here, now. River’s found something!”
Daire and Baylon rushed back inside the compound to the room that had been designated as the library. Daire skidded to a halt beside Cael as every eye was on River, who stood before a table with one of the large books open before her.
She lifted her eyes and looked at each of them. “I want to preface what I’m about to tell you by saying that this could mean anything. But it’s a place to start.”
“Seriously, I can’t stand this,” Jordyn said as she rubbed her hands together and grinned at Baylon. “Just tell us.”
Kyran gave River a nod, his red eyes locked on her face. Daire saw the look of love the two exchanged before River looked down at the pages of the book.
She licked her lips. “As we’ve learned with the books, these were the most important thirty families at one time. I’m not sure why they took it upon themselves to keep such notes about things, but they did. There are cases where many of the families reported the same things in their own points of view. It could be the same with this, but I’ve not had time to search.”
“River,” Cael said. “Just tell us.”
“Right. Of course. It’s just that . . . it’s huge,” she said, looking at him.
Kyran moved to stand beside her and took her hand. “We wouldn’t know any of this without you. Whatever you’ve found, it’s something for us to investigate. Sweetheart, we can’t do that unless you tell us.”
River’s pale blue gaze returned to Cael. “Do you know if Bran ever sired a child?”
Everyone turned their eyes to Cael.
He slowly shook his he
ad. “He didn’t speak of his time before he was a Reaper. Anything is possible, why?”
“This book, this family mentions Ó Broin.”
“The descendant of Bran,” Daire said.
Cat’s eyes bulged. “I know this. It’s an Irish legend about a mariner named Bran who went on many adventures. His name means raven in Irish.”
“This can’t be some quirk of chance,” Kyran said.
Neve fingered the hilt of one of her many knives. “It looks like we need to discover if there are indeed descendants of Bran.”
“The Anglicized name is O’Byrne,” River replied.
Cael smiled at River. “Good work. I’ll talk to Erith. She would know if Bran had any children.”
“Bloody hell,” Talin said as he ran a hand through his black hair after Cael teleported away.
Daire made his way to River. “Can you get me dates of when the name would’ve changed to O’Byrne?”
“I sure can.”
Cat and Jordyn walked to them. Cat then said, “You want a list of everyone with that name?”
“I do,” Daire said with a nod.
Cat smiled and held out her hand as she used her magic. In seconds, there was a huge stack of papers that she handed to him. Daire took them, flipping through to see that it was indeed a list of everyone with that name, their age, and where they lived.
“Damn, girl,” Jordyn said with a grin. “I’m loving having you around.”
River nodded to the papers. “That’s going to take some time to get through.”
Jordyn then turned to Cat. “I don’t suppose you could just wish the people here?”
“No,” Fintan said as he came up behind Cat. “She’s not ready for something of that magnitude yet.”
“It’s fine,” Daire said while perusing the pages when Cat started to argue. “You also put them in order of family. Thanks.” He raised his gaze to her. “It’s going to take some work, but we can do this.”
Cat held out her hand again. Another large stack appeared. “You’re going to need every listing of the Ó Broin, as well.”