Saoirse’s eyes widened. “I would never suggest such a thing. He’s our King, regardless of his currentstate.”
Warin leaned forward, pounding a fist on the table. We all jumped, and Uisnech let out a little squeak. “Has no one else realised what this means? Yes, it’s a bloody nightmare—pardon the pun—that Lugh’s lost his soul. But this only happened because someone broke his spear. Or sacrificedit.”
Mouth dry, I nodded. He was right. I’d been so overwhelmed by trying to keep my shit together about Lugh that I hadn’t stopped to consider the cause. Eyes wide, I cast my gaze around the table. “They’ve brought backNemain.”
Warin gave a slow and steady nod, lips set into a grim line. “Yep, which means that recovering the spear isn’t anoption.”
“Because the spear no longer exists,” Uisnech said in a low moan, running his long fingers along the top of his skull. “Lugh is goneforever.”
We all sat around the table, staring at each other. I couldn’t bring myself to speak. If I did, I knew I’d break down. I was barely keeping it together as it was. I had to focus on my anger and not on my sorrow. And, least of all, I couldn’t let myself give uphope.
“Maybe not,” I whispered. “He got his soul once. Surely he can get itagain.”
“It took deep and terrible magic, my honourable friend. That kind of magic does not exist in this world, not anymore.” Uisnech sighed and shook his head. “As the years have passed, we have grown further and further from the creatures we once were. That dark magic, the deep, impossible kind that gave Lugh his soul…no one possesses such agift.”
Blinking hard, I glanced atSaoirse.
She pressed her lips together. “He’s right. It’s dark magic that bound Lugh’s soul to his body. The kind that druids possessed. No one practices that anymore. There are only a few of us left, and we never learned to tap into that kind ofpower.”
“All power comes from the fae realm, right?” Boudica asked. “The portal is open. We can go back and figure itout.”
“It’s a nice thought.” Saoirse gave a weak smile. “But it’s a pointless trip unless we have someone who knows how to tap into that kind ofpower.”
“Caer,” I said. “She’llknow.”
“You tried to find Caer once,” Nero pointed out. “And she refused to befound.”
I sighed and dropped my head into my hands. “We just can’t give up on him. There has to be something we cando.”
“There might be one way we can bring himback.”
I jerked up my head to find Uisnech crawling onto the table. He stood in the middle before us, hands waving like windmills. “The cauldron! It has the power to raise the dead. We will find the cauldron, steal it, and use it to return Lugh’s soul to hisbody.”
My heart pulsed, with hope rather than fear. “You think the cauldron can really dothat?”
“If it can breathe life into a rotting body, then it can certainly put a soul back into a living one,” Boudica said,nodding.
Saoirse’s wide and soulful eyes stared into mine. “The enemy has thecauldron.”
A shiver went down my spine, even though all of us knew that as the truth. “Then, we will get it back fromthem.”
“They will sense our objectives,” she replied, her lilting voice transforming into something else, something much darker and full of skittering shadows. “They will know we are coming, and they will set a trap. To succeed, we must go left instead ofright.”
I frowned, watching as Saoirse’s eyes cleared. She gave a quick shake of her head,sighing.
Arching a brow, I leaned toward her. “Was that avision?”
She nodded, still looking a little dazed. “It came out of nowhere. I wasn’t even trying thattime.”
“What did it mean, love?” Warin asked with a frown. “To succeed, we must go left instead ofright?”
Saoirse shrugged. “Your guess is as good as mine. I only repeat what I can feel, hear, and see. Those were the words that came to me, but I don’t know what theymean.”
“Shit.” I pushed up from the table and began pacing the length of the Great Hall, mind whirring. As thoughts came to me, I shouted them out, so that the crew could hear me from even across the room. “So, they know we’ll try to get the cauldron. That much isclear.”
“They’ll be expecting it,” Uisnech added, ears perking up. “They will try to outsmartus.”
I held up a finger as I passed him. “Which means we have to outsmart them instead. Quentin won’t know that we know that heknows.”
