The Forgotten Ones

body needs a chance to adjust.”
    At the top of the staircase we entered a room with bronze helmets decoratively set on stone pedestals. Aodhan walked over to kneel in front of a polished stone case. He opened it to reveal three bronze swords and two bronze daggers lying on a cushion.
    “This was once Deaghlan’s weapon collection. When he and Saoirse bonded he inherited the weapons of the High Court, but there hasn’t been a need for them in a very long time.”
    “Which one is Deaghlan again?” I asked. My mind swirled with all the new names to remember.
    Aodhan turned and looked at me, swallowing roughly. “Niamh and Aoife’s father.”
    Bláithín appeared at the doorway then. “We need to go to the Bruidhean. Eithne isn’t here.”
    Aodhan rose and handed me a scabbard before sliding one of the swords into a strap across his back.
    He cast a look at Bláithín.
    “In English, Bruidhean means Fairy Palace,” she said. “It’s the home of the King and Queen.”
    I nodded as I flipped the dagger in my hand. I wasn’t sure what I’d be able to do with it.
    “You never know what they’ll do,” Aodhan said, his voice thick with disdain. “It’s best to be prepared.”
    I followed them out of the room, muttering to myself. “I guess I could poke someone just as well as anyone else.”

    The sky in Tír na n’Óg was bluer than I’d ever seen it at home. It was like stepping into Oz and I was Dorothy. Everything here was richer, more vibrant than I could have imagined.
    Niamh’s house was built into a low hill. The windows and doors were round and merry like an oversized hobbit hole. The lush flowers I’d seen through the window covered everything, making it nearly impossible to see what the actual house was built from.
    I found it hard to focus on the fact that Liam’s life was in jeopardy or that my mother and Ethan had been kidnapped by a psychotic faerie. Everything in Tír na n’Óg was mesmerizing.
    The sound of the Danaan’s boots hitting the dirt directed my gaze to the dusty path they walked. I took a deep breath and quickened my steps to catch up. Rich, moist air filled my lungs leaving a sweet taste like honey on my tongue.
    Movement on the side of the path caught my attention. The grass and bushes swayed, but with more of a natural grace than by a breeze or wind. I brushed my fingertips along a flowering vine that hung between two low tree branches. I gasped—I could actually feel life pulsing from not only the vine, but the tree it hung from.
    It was enough to alert the others several yards ahead. Aodhan’s hand went immediately to the hilt of the sword at his back. He hurried over to me, and gave me a knowing look when he saw my fingers splayed across the vine.
    “It’s a bit of a shock, no? This realm is utterly different from ours. The plants, the wild creatures, they’re all... aware. ” He glanced again at where my hand had been. “They won’t harm you. They’re simply curious, I think.” He reached out his hand to stroke the delicate leaves on the vine, then titled his head toward the others. “Come on. Time to go.”
    As we continued over the top of a grassy hill, I could see a valley with a sparkling river snaking through it. Beyond the river, the land was rippled with green hills, and speckled in each hill were doors and windows, similar to Niamh’s. Farther along was a steeper hill, or maybe a low, green mountain.
    “It’s always just as breathtaking,” Aodhan said, quiet enough that I could just make out his words.
    “Is that the br—I can’t remember what you called it.” I could feel the flush rising to my face. “Is this where the king and queen live?” I rephrased.
    “Yes, that would be the Bruidhean,” Aodhan said over his shoulder. He continued walking after the others down the hillside, leading me toward god knows what.

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