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She shook her head. “The oldest fae sometimes tell stories of a time where humans achieved a great many things with their magic, and lived peacefully with all other creatures of the world. But some dark event stole the magic and brought great ruin on the humans.”
Diego’s brow knitted. “That would imply there was civilization beyond what is in our recorded history.”
The small fae gazed up at him, but before she said anything, Sean waltzed into the house. “In a world of gods and powerful immortal beings, is it so strange to you that someone might have changed history as most know it, in order to protect us from experiencing such a horror again?”
Diego made a thoughtful sound in his throat. “You’ve got a point.”
Ùna rushed over to Sean and greeted him by clasping their hands together. “Aengus, it’s so good to see you.”
He smiled pleasantly. “It’s good to see you again, too, Ùna. I go by Sean these days.”
She nodded. “I will remember that.”
“Astrid, Aya has informed me she recruited some others of Celtic origin for this festival of yours, and I’ve decided to join them.”
I smiled. Sean didn’t involve himself in much, so when he did, I never said no. “I’d love it if you added some of your flair to things.”
Ùna looked to me and then Tyr. “I would like to join that as well, unless you need me for anything you have planned.”
I didn’t have any plans, but then again, I had only just barely remembered her.
“You know you don’t need permission to do things, Ùna,” Tyr said. “Even if we’d planned for something specific that included you, we could work around it.”
The little fae’s damaged wings tried to flutter in her excitement, and she hummed to herself as she went back to working on my face.
Bjarke tapped on the island counter. “So, about that explanation.”
I shot him an apologetic look and gave him a quick rundown of the events leading up to today.
“So, this elaborate plan is to gain back the rest of your memories so we might possibly find the bastard hunting you?” Bjarke asked.
“Yeah, that’s about the gist of it.” I didn’t open my eyes as Ùna applied some form of eyeshadow.
“And if the memories don’t help?”
I shrugged. “Then we’ll just magic the fuck out of the problem until we conjure a solution.”
He barked out a laugh. “Just the response I expect. Excellent. Whatever you need, we’ll do our best to help. Our loyalty to you won’t end, even after our deaths.”
I opened my eyes and smiled up at him, my chest swelling. “I know.”
Chapter Twenty-One
Astrid
The festival groundsbustled with activity, the air alive with the sounds of laughter and music. People from all over came to experience the event Aya had coordinated, a feat only she could pull off, with the mix of mortal reenactors and immortals we shared a past with. In these last few hours, I had seen a variety of people, from those wearing street clothes to those donning their favorite costumes and cosplays.
Activities were set up everywhere, from craft-making to battle training, feats of strength, games, and drinking and feasting. Bjarke wandered around the fake town that’d been erected, acting as the Jarl. His mortal wife, Alecia, accompanied him.
Tyr and Fen were off a little ways from me, teaching children how to perform the perfect shield wall. Kirby and Starkad, whom I happily greeted the moment I saw him, were teaching the adults. Her partner Gwydion, whose name I unfortunately didn’t get right the first time, hung with Siobhán, Sean, and Ùna, to create a small Celtic bubble of information. The two fae donned human disguises.
Kirby’s other partner, Min, volunteered to play a household adjacent from Aya and me, with Carrie and Raeni. Carrie, upon meeting him, managed to call him “handsome” and “a sexy beefcake” in one sentence and have it make complete sense. Though that may have had to do more with me knowing Min was a sex god than anything.
Her last partner, Brit, had disappeared somewhere. Much like Dahlia, who sat nearby splitting her attention between watching Fen and Frey, she wasn’t doing so much participating, other than being moral support.
Frey and Diego engaged in a flyting, the Old Norse version of a rap-off, going back and forth with no clear winner yet. Aya had been the instigator of the match, but what impressed me most was Diego’s ability to keep up with Frey. I had no idea he had this kind of skill.
As for me, I crushed some herbs in a mortar. I’d grown bored of sewing a shirt I was supposed to finish before the event, and decided this was a better choice to keep me busy.
