Page 42 of Rise of the Morrigan

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That he shouldhave a child with that woman... my divine blood boiled within me. But he still had no love for the woman, Aife. Thankfully, she had no such affection for him either. She was content with having a man who would satiate her passions. The mother she was becoming craved a man capable to defend her child, a warrior who'd raise their child to do the same.

Which is precisely why we were thrilled that she was more than eager to take our suggestion... the help our beloved get his revenge. Yes, we'd untangle the web of women who'd come into his life. We had to free him from whatever part of him longed for any of them so that his heart would be ripe forus....

I spread my wings and soared over Forgall's fortress. Once the two warriors transformed they'd be able to scale these walls. The problem was that our dear Cú Chulainn merely wanted to frighten the man. If that was all he accomplishedwe'daccomplish nothing.

No, we had to unravel each of his failed attempts at love. Shattering his relationship with Aife would be both the easiest and the hardest of all. On the one hand, they were bound together only by passion and lust. There was little love between them. But Cú Chulainn was an honorable man... to abandon a wife who was set to bear him a child would require a massive betrayal, something he couldn't forget or forgive.

We couldn't turn her against him. I might be a goddess, but I can't dictate what humans feel or do. All I could do was make suggestions. I could whisper in their ears, even make them think that my words were their own thoughts...

I'd used this tactic before, though I'd only been a goddess a short while, to give certain warriors boldness and others cowardice. It was the principal way I affected the outcomes of battles. Sure, I could possess a warrior here or there, give them an extra dose of strength and power. But if I whispered in their ears I could embolden some and terrify others. There is something magical in humans—it's a power that lies in their thoughts. A simple thought could transform the fiercest warrior into but a mouse at the sight of something so innocuous as a shadow. All it required was a littlefear.But a well-placed thought did the opposite, too. Even a common housewife could become a lionhearted hero if she entertained the proper thoughts if she developed a little courage.

We three sisters chuckled to one another, albeit in the confines of our single body. We had immeasurable powers. We could do things we hadn't even discovered yet. But a little whisper in an unsuspecting ear and we could dictate the rise and fall of kingdoms.

And it was so much easier when the heat of a battle hindered a person's ability to reflect on their thoughts. When blades are slicing through the fog of war and spears are flying through the air most warriors will act on the first thought that strikes the mind.

What we had to do was clear. Let Aife and Cú Chulainn carry out their plans. The fact that they had different ideas for what they should accomplish by this little assault, Anand believed, gave us a strategic advantage. We just had to wait for an opportunity. There would invariably come a time when their interests would conflict. When they did, we'd speak. We'd give one or both of them a simple thought, an idea... and we'd be one step closer to making him ours.

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