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Justin, Travis, and Caden had gone on high alert, and Bryn was sure the older woman did not miss it.
It was bizarre how calm the woman and young man were as the intensity in the room ignited. Bryn wondered how many of the others were holding their breath, concerned about what exactly the young man, Callum, had planned to do.
“You can relax. We mean you no harm.” Her words did nothing to quell the tension. “My name is Danu.”
Bryn felt like she’d fallen into a void and was spinning endlessly, unsure of which side was up. Cyerra had told her to speak to a woman named Danu, and what were the odds that a woman with the same such bizarre name would fall into her lap? Zero. Everything causing her world to crumble around her was this woman’s doing.
“I have waited so very long to have you all back together again,” Danu stated, her eyes watering, and her frail fingers attempted to wipe the escaping tears away. Ever the gentleman, Mr. Rafferty offered her his handkerchief. “Excuse me. I had hoped to stay more composed when I set eyes on you all again.”
“No offense, but we have no idea who you both are,” Declan intervened. “You show up literally out of nowhere in a town full of people who are ready to shoot anything that walks different. On top of all that, you say you are kin to all of us.” He waved to the room around him. “That about sum it up?”
“There is always more to the story, young Declan.” She smiled, and Declan shot a look at his father. Bryn guessed Declan had yet to meet her, and her knowing his name had sent up a red flag.
As if this whole scenario wasn’t one giant red flag.
“Then please, educate me.” Declan leaned back, folding his arms, his whiskey eyes narrowed as they took the older woman’s measure.
A shadow moved again, and this time Sage turned her head toward it, furrowing her brows before looking back to the woman.
Nope, not crazy, Sage. We can see men made of shadows now and crows that talk.
Bryn wished she could put a voice to those words, share that not only could she see the end of people’s lives on earth, but now she could apparently talk to animals on top of a new friend made of shadows that popped up in random places.
How many more secrets must she keep? How did everything that was happening even correlate?
She was so tired of carrying the burden of secrets from her friends. If only she could have someone to help her carry it, she would be forever grateful.
A flicker in the shadows moved again in her peripheral vision, but she ignored it.
“I am here because I am dying...” Danu let her words trail off before taking a deep breath.
Caden let out a whistle, shaking his head.
“I am real sorry to hear that, ma’am, and I mean nothing discourteous by this question, but what does that have to do with us? You’re a stranger to us all,” Caden asked as he leaned back against the wooden chair. Declan nodded in agreement as he worked his jaw, the words he wanted to say stuck to his tongue.
She could only imagine what those words would be. Declan was not one to hold back his thoughts on the best of days.
“Caden, was it?” she asked, earning a nod from the bartender. “I have yet to meet you and Travis, and while I’ve heard stories of you, you did not exist as the rest of your group has. Your paths were meant to cross with everyone here, of course, since you both will help them meet their destinies. And along the way you will find your own. Though the road will not be a smooth one. Heartbreak and pain await you both.”
Travis looked at Caden, but Caden shook his head with a sardonic smirk. He wasn’t buying any of this, and Bryn wished she could say the same. Had it not been for Cyerra using the woman’s name, she might have been more skeptical.
Settling back in her chair, Danu sighed as she placed her hands in her lap.
“I had hoped you all retained some piece of yourselves. That certainly would have made this all so much easier, but it seemed the more cycles you went through, the more you lost of yourselves. It has been so difficult to find you all along the same timeline, and I fear this is my last chance. I cannot hold on for much longer.”
Bryn was sure everyone’s eyebrows went up at the same time as each person exchanged looks with one another. She could imagine everyone’s heartbeats within the room grew in sync, amping up in their intensity.
“I am not hearing answers, only more questions,” Declan whispered, and earned a chastising look from his father.
Danu gave Declan a warm smile, not at all offended.
“What do you all know about the Tuatha Dé Danann?”
Chapter 12
“Thetootha-what?”Jaceaskedbefore anyone else in the room could.
“The Tuatha Dé Danann were warriors from long ago. They held godlike abilities and resided in the Otherworld, which of course has different names depending on the people and the region they resided in. That was unless they were needed upon this plane, which they crossed the veil to attend to the earth and the humans’ needs. Some of them stayed for long periods of time upon this plane, others came and went, but all were my children.”
