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She tisked lightly. “Both you and your brother have been educated to the best of my ability. Both of you are adept, albeit in different areas. I will assist you, though I feel I must warn you of the severity of what you seek to do. This is no game.”

“I know, Mother.”

“There is no turning back.”

“There is no other way.” They stood in silence a long moment, each wrapped up in his or her own thoughts. Finally Fionn said, “I must go to the princess. Soon the servants will come to wake me and I’ll leave. Time is short. Look, please. See with your spirit. You know she weakens rapidly.”

Silence.

“Mother I am sorry to include you, but following this path, forbidden or not, is all I know to do.”

Lady Glain placed her steady hand on his arm, the gentle pressure comforting, soothing. “I trust your judgment, son. I know you would not do something so rash with another’s eternity, nor would you compromise innocence, but I am still confused. You do not need me to summon one of the stones. You have the skills. So why call me here?”

“I can summon the stone easily enough, but that will not hold. I need Daire’s guidance and blessing to bind her.” His mother’s shock cascaded over him with a chill breeze. Yet he pressed on. “I have to have it.”

“What makes you believe this merits the goddess’s personal blessing?”

“My powers are human and weak, corruptible even by love. Probably, mostly by love. I do not want to perform this sacred ritual and somewhere through error or purposeful slight corrupt the process. She is too special. I cannot mess this up. I cannot hurt her. I will not. Therefore, I cannot bind her to me in any fashion.”

“In no fashion?”

The darkness had begun to get to him. Fionn felt as if slimy, slithering things brushed his legs. “None. It would be unpardonable. She needs to be saved and I know of no other means by which to do this.”

“Hmm.” His mother weighed his words.

“Please. You feel her sadness and fright. She will not tell me what has bound her to this darkness. She has not divulged her location, and I know with your power, you feel the evil surrounding her. You even commented on it when you arrived. Mother, my will alone is not strong enough to sustain her through whatever trials she must endure, particularly when my hope is so thin. A blessing by the goddess would ensure the intent and power of the spell.”

Though he fought it, a tear slipped from the corner of his left eye. Then another. He refused to acknowledge the offensive gaffe. Instead, he squared his shoulders, ignored the moisture on his cheek, stared straight ahead.

“Though I am bound by honor and name, though I have given my oath to Father and the people of Uavonia, both you and I know the futility of the action I am about to take. However, I will keep my word. I’ll present myself as a Hopeful to the royal court of Yadderwal. And I will accept whatever is to be.”

She nodded slowly. “It must be done. Even the most wise cannot see the outcome of this meeting—believe you me, many a Seer has tried—but it is for the greater good of all Yadderwal that you do this. We know that for certain.”

“I am not the soul match for the princess of Yadderwal, Hafwyen of the Flowers. Despite that notable fact, I will honor my word. I’ll go, but…” He heard the distant sound of the servants in his bedchamber, stoking the fire, opening his wardrobe. His gaze still searched the expanse of darkness—the ragged breathing and weeping had calmed. Now he heard measured breaths and shuffling in the distance. A heavy clang of metal and sloshing of water. “She needs me.” He gestured away from them. “Tannah. Her name is Tannah and she needs me. Oh, sure, she would be loath to admit it, but she does. She needs someone’s help. And I’m it. I’m her contact.”

“There are no others?”

He paused. Jealousy questioned, but his heart answered. “No.”

“You feel you must do this before you leave?”

“Aye. The darkness grows in her weary soul, and her spirit deteriorates. I cannot physically see her body any longer but her spirit is clear. And every day what precious little hope she has left, a little bit of that dies. If I cannot be with her myself, if I cannot set her free from whatever hellish confine she’s bound by, I can hold and protect that which is most dear.”

“Her soul.”

“Yes, her beautiful spirit.”

“It is indeed the most delicate treasure in all the worlds.” His mother stepped close, looking over his right shoulder into the sea of black. Her hand held, palm outward, pressing light into the darkness. In the far, far distance, a woman’s form became visible—silhouetted. She sat, her head in her hands, long dark hair cascading around her face, brushing the glistening stone floor. A slight quiver shook her shoulders. “That is she?”

“Aye.”

“A beautiful name, Tannah. Queen of the Unseen.” It was an old tale of the people who walked Yadderwal. The Unseen—people who did mischievous acts but were rarely glimpsed. The lavish tales told of a people emboldened with magic and beauty. Their queen’s name was reportedly Tannah Vaynah, the Gracious Queen. His mother lowered her hand, making a fist. She then opened her hand, revealing a clear crystal radiating much the same blinding glow as her face. “I give you this with the blessing of Daire.” Lady Glain stood silent for a moment, then added, “Tannha is The One, is she not?”

He accepted the translucent stone, feeling the power surge through his veins as Gilbert, his manservant, shook his physical shoulder. Half in the DreamWorld, half awakened, he whispered. “Aye, Mother. She is The One.”