The Forgotten Ones

Chapter 10

Bláithín reached the round, wooden doors of what they called the Bruidhean first. She pulled on the bronze handle and ushered us in. Inside the doorway was an impressive entry hall. Niamh's advisor, Diarmuid, was walking up a stone staircase that curled around the room.

At the sound of the door, he looked over his shoulder at us. He smiled, apparently not surprised to see us, until he saw Niall carrying Liam in his arms. Then he turned and hurried down to us.

"He's been stabbed with a steel dagger," Bláithín explained. "When the dagger was removed, a piece broke off and is still deep in the wound."

"Follow me. Eithne is upstairs." Diarmuid led Niall up the stairs in a flash.

Bláithín turned and put her hand up. "We should wait here. I'm sure the queen will be here soon."

"You are quite right," called a lilting voice from the hallway under the staircase.

The skin tightened around Aodhan's eyes, and I looked over Bláithín's shoulder, freezing at what I saw.

The woman from my dream.

The memory was nothing compared to reality. Dressed in a white gown embroidered with delicate green vines along the trim and waist, the queen of Tír na n'Óg was radiant. Her blonde hair was luminescent. Her skin milky white and flawless. But the most captivating thing about her was her eyes. The light made rainbows along their surfaces, like an opal.

As she came closer I started to raise my hand to touch her face, just barely stopping myself when I realized what I was doing.

"Welcome, Allison." Saoirse's smile drew me toward her like a flower drawn to the sun.

I couldn't speak.

After a moment of being trapped in her stare, Saoirse looked over my shoulder.

"It's been a while, Aodhan."

"Yes, my lady," Aodhan said.

Saoirse focused her smile back on me then, causing warmth and joy to radiate through my veins again.

"You're here to see Niamh?" she asked slowly, each syllable gliding from her lips.

After a beat, Aodhan spoke, the tension thick in his voice. "We realize Niamh already came to seek your counsel in finding Allison's mother, but Liam has been injured and needs care."

"Yes, Niamh has explained the situation to me," Saoirse replied, tilting her head slightly to one side. "Aoife has caused many problems."

I blinked at Saoirse, who smiled demurely back at me.

"Why don't we continue our talk in comfort?" Saoirse asked, walking out of the entryway without waiting for a response, her flowing gown and bell sleeves trailing behind her.

She led us into a gathering room with high ceilings, and like Niamh's house, the palace was framed by thick roots from a tree above the hill. Blue fabric was draped along the walls, and although there were no windows, tiny spheres of light were suspended to illuminate intricately embroidered flowers and trees. The effect was like a summer day, even though we were deep in the hillside.

Saoirse folded herself onto one of the plush divans, gesturing for us to each do the same. She met my gaze and smiled, and I was lost in the strange beauty of her eyes once again.

"Tell me about your dreams, Allison."

I licked my lips, trying to remember what dreams I was supposed to recall. "Well, sometimes I dream of things that might have happened in the past. But some of my dreams are of things that haven't happened, at least not yet."