Page 30 of Rise of the Morrigan

"But I am still your queen?"

"You may rule the land of the dead, even as I rule the land of the living. You will be the Queen of Samhuinn."

"You're making me a queen for dead people? Is that really a prize at all?"

"You will stand at the precipice of life and death. You will usher fallen souls to the cauldron of rebirth where they might be reborn anew. You will determine the outcome of wars since war is nothing more than an instrument of death. Your influence will extend beyond Samhuinn—even the earth will cry out to you as it receives the blood of the fallen. And should you, from such a lofty role, find love from a mortal, one that satisfies your deepest longing, then I will cede my authority over the earth to you as well. But choose wisely the mortal upon whom you set your heart. For the love of a god or a goddess never wanes. When we love, we love eternally."

I raised my eyebrow. "You'll let me rule both realms And you will restore my mother to me?"

The Dagda nodded. "With your chosen beloved at your side. But should you grow weary of it all... I will be waiting. And should you desire it, we will consummate our union. The divide between the living and the dead will cease and we shall rule all, together, forever."

"So that's it? I just need to compel a human, any man of my choice, to love me?"

The Dagda shook his head. "The mortal must love you even as you love him. You cannot compel a human to love you, nor can you violate the will of others to bring it about. You may whisper suggestions to mortals, you might appear to them in various forms, but you cannot bend their will to yours."

"It is agreed," I said with a nod. "But should a mortal petition me, and if I fulfill his request, and by doing so he comes to love me..."

The Dagda nodded. "You may respond to any petition made by a mortal with your own judgment, but the petition must be made by the mortal freely."

I grinned. A part of me, it must've been Anand, was already trying to imagine ways we might identify such a lover. Macha, too, was already swooning at the possibility of romance. It seemed almost too good to be true... but how could I turn the offer down?

Either way, as I saw it, I would end up a queen... and that's not a bad outcome for a girl who was once deemed of little more value than a maid. Better than the life of a beauty desired by men but respected by none. And far superior to living a life serving tyrants as a sort of strategist. We had a better opportunity as one, as the Morrigan than the lives any of us three were destined to before.

ú Chulainn

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