Page 28 of Broken Veil
Carys grasped the tail end of what she thought Dru was trying to say. “You can’t kill a god because they exist as a result of human belief.”
“As long as the Morrígan has a single acolyte, she lives,” Dru said. “As long as the idea of her exists in astory, she survives. So you cannot kill a god. You can’tdefeatthem.”
“You and your brother are half gods. Demigods. You can be killed.”
Dru pursed his lips. “Can we?”
“Isn’t your brother dead?”
“No, he’s simply not in the Shadowlands anymore.”
A terrible thought jumped into Carys’s mind. “Is he?—”
“He’s not in the Brightlands either.” Dru smirked. “He’s… elsewhere. There are places other than the mortal realm. There are worlds other than the two that you know.”
“So…” Carys tried shifting to get comfortable, but it didn’t work. “It’s pointless? The Morrígan is just going to keep leaking magic into the Brightlands, and there’s nothing we can do to stop her?”
Dru raised a finger. “I didn’t say that.” He pointed to Carys’s side. “You have something from Naida. I can smell it on you.”
“That’s so creepy.” Carys had nearly forgotten about the papers in her pocket.
“You say creepy, I say focused.” Dru flicked his fingers. “Give it to me.”
She pulled out the now-bent envelope. “I don’t know if this will help. A professor at Oxford researched the oldest stories they had about the Morrígan. Doctor…” Wait. Did Dru know about Luna Beck? Should she not mention Luna to the fae king if she was in hiding?
“Are you referring to Luna Beck?” Dru reached out and took the envelope. “I know Luna.”
“Of course you do.”
“Luna is highly intelligent and an excellent researcher. She’s also quite wise, which is not a given with my people. I’m sure if she offered you a boon in your quest, it will be useful.”
“Do all the fae living in the Brightlands get together for bingo night or something?”
“Trivia weekend in Manchester.” Dru’s eyes skimmed the papers. “Every Beltane.” He flipped the scans over and read Naida’s translations. “Her Old Éiran is good, but not as good as mine. Still…” He set the papers on the table between them. “It’s nothing you don’t know already.”
Carys’s eyebrows went up. “What do you mean?”
“I assume that in your studies, you’ve readThe Cattle Raid of Cooley.”
“The Táin Bó Cúailnge?”
“Yes.” Dru rolled his eyes. “The great Irish hero Cú Chulainn—who was an absolute asshole, I want to add—single-handedly defends Ulster for months… until he loses, and two perfectly good bulls die in the end.”
Carys opened her mouth, unsure of how to counter that stunningly abrupt yet not entirely incorrect summation of the greatest Irish epic poem ever written down.
“Uh… pretty sure there was a lot else that happened. Wait, you knew Cú Chulainn?”
“Trust me,everyoneknew Cú Chulainn even if they didn’t want to,” Dru muttered. “This part of the poem does mention the Morrígan, but it’s the part where she tries to seduce Cú Chulainn.” Dru raised an eyebrow. “Did I miss something exciting? Has the goddess tried to seduce you?”
“Don’t be ridiculous.” Carys snorted.
But…
She flashed back to the image of a naked redhead lounging in a tree in Gorne Wood.
“Oh, the oak and the ash and the bonny ivy tree. They flourish at home in my own country… how I wish once again in the west, I could be…”
“She didn’t proposition me,” Carys said. “Exactly. But she was naked. Lounging in a tree, and it was impossible not to look at her. She was probably the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.”
