“She’s safe. I was given a case about a missing child and the changeling the family found in her place. The Sluagh tried to steal the changeling back, but I didn’t let them. She’s currently in a safe house run by my agency,” Patrick replied.
“I want her returned to me.”
“And Gerard—Cú Chulainn here—needs his fiancée back. Let’s bargain, but I’ll let our dire do the talking.”
“Thank all the gods about that,” Sage muttered.
Patrick extended his hand and made a grabbing motion at the mobile. “Can I have my phone back?”
Gwyn ap Nudd gave it back after staring at the screen for another minute or so, the longing in his eyes a type of pain that made Jono want to wince. Patrick looked at his mobile and swore.
“We lost two days while flying through the veil to get to Annwn. It’s December Twentieth.”
Which meant winter solstice was tomorrow, and they had barely any time left to complete the tasks required of them. Jono refused to believe they’d lose the race against time, because he wasn’t going to lose Patrick to Medb.
Gerard approached, wiping blood off his face. The bruise on his jaw was stark against his skin, but it looked as if it was starting to fade. “I wasn’t aware you had a daughter.”
“She is not in my stories that are told, but Cadwyn is mine,” Gwyn ap Nudd said flatly.
“Medb had your daughter, didn’t she? Leverage is a bitch when we aren’t the ones wielding it.”
“The Queen of Air and Darkness knows many secrets, and I have spent too much time in the mortal realm in recent years. I had forgotten how secrets can become chains.”
Gerard spat out a bit of blood and nodded, resting the side of his head against the pole of his spear. “Yeah, but your daughter is safe for now, and we need your help.”
“I cannot aid you.”
“Pretty sure you can.”
Gwyn ap Nudd shook his head. “I heard whispers years ago of Medb coming into possession of the Morrígan’s staff. I thought them rumors, for the staff has long been lost to the Morrígan since it was stolen from her on the battlefield. When I discovered the truth, Medb sought to buy my silence. When I refused, she stole my daughter. No harm was to come to Cadwyn so long as I remained in Annwn and called no attention to her plight.”
“Medb sent someone to steal the staff from the United States’ Repository a couple of years ago. You’re saying she’s had it for years and hasn’t done anything with it yet?” Patrick asked. “I find that real hard to believe.”
“Market could’ve been too hot to sell it,” Jono said.
“Mortal money means nothing to her. That isn’t what she’s after,” Gerard said slowly.
“Power is the only currency someone of Medb’s stature would care about,” Sage said, causing both immortals to turn and look at her. “She demanded the life of the Summer Lady in exchange for the Morrígan’s staff. You need to ask yourselves why.”
Jono grimaced, an uneasy knot settling in his stomach as he remembered what Brigid had called Órlaith—granddaughter. Trust Sage to cut through the bullshit to the facts they all needed. “Is Órlaith next in line to the Seelie Court throne?”
Gerard grimaced before he let out a heavy sigh. “Yes, but she doesn’t want to be queen. Not right now.”
Patrick groaned and rubbed at his eyes. “Fucking hell. The second Medb gets Órlaith, she’ll never give her up. That’s leverage over Brigid anyone would kill to have.”
“Maybe that’s why the Dominion Sect hasn’t given her up yet,” Jono said.
“She still has a godhead Ethan would love to own.”
“Yeah, but whose is more powerful? Órlaith’s or Brigid’s?”
“Brigid, by far,” Gwyn ap Nudd said.
Jono looked at Patrick. “Maybe Ethan is trying to decide which one he wants more.”
“Another godhead or the Morrígan’s staff? I’d rather he not own either.”
“Ethan will need to decide soon, especially if he’s running on the same time frame as we are. We need to be quicker than him,” Sage said.
