“We salted the ground, and Bran did a cleansing.” Riley shrugged. “And that was that.”
“So we won that round. We have to go back to the search,” Sawyer said. “We have to get moving on it before she figures out how she’ll come at us next.”
Sasha picked up her wine again. “No.”
“What do you mean, no?”
“We go as six or not at all. Until you’re strong enough to dive, it’s not at all.”
“Jesus, I can handle a little swimming. Another little boost from Bran’s magick potion, I could do a triathlon.”
Saying nothing, Doyle leaned over, gave Sawyer a light punch on the shoulder. And Sawyer saw stars.
“Fuck!”
“You’re on the DL, brother, until you can take a love tap without whining.”
“Love tap, my ass.”
“The stars have waited centuries,” Bran pointed out. “They can wait a few more days. When she does come again, we need you.”
“I can tell you when having sex causes him no pain.”
“That’s a good benchmark.” Kicking back, Riley gestured with her beer. “And maybe you should be specific. Like what kind of sex.”
“And how long he lasts,” Doyle added, and made Riley grin.
“They’re messing with us, Annika. Kidding.”
“I’m absolutely serious.” Riley cocked her head at Doyle. “You?”
“Deadly. Keep us updated, Gorgeous.”
“I will. And when he’s healed, we’ll find the Bay of Sighs. We know we must be close because I heard them again.”
“What? When?”
“When you were bringing me back. Didn’t you hear them sigh, hear them sing?”
“I . . .” He cast his mind back. “I thought it was you. I did hear something. Jesus, I did.”
“And I’ve got something,” Riley put in. “Since you’ve been in your magickally induced coma, I’ve been able to spend more time on it. I’ve got some nibbles.”
“And now you tell us?” Doyle demanded.
“I got the nibbles right before Sleeping Beauty here woke up. I was coming out to report. There is a legend. I know a guy who knows a guy who knows. But the guy who knows is currently on a retreat, so I can’t tap him for more data for a couple days. Meanwhile, I’m digging on my own. Like most legends, it has a lot of variations, but the one that strikes me connects the Bay of Sighs to the Island of Glass.”
“Interesting.” Bran leaned forward. “What do you know?”
“Know, not much. Speculate, a lot more. In the version I’m leaning toward, at one time, long ago, the bay and the island were connected. And like the legends regarding the island, the bay moved, and could only be seen by a chosen few.”
Since she’d swapped research for lunch, Riley helped herself to some pasta.
“Then we’ve got a race of people who shared the island. A race that could live on land and in water, and did so peacefully. All’s happy and joy until some dude—names vary, but most common is Odhran.”
“That’s an Irish name,” Doyle said.
“Got that. So Odhran decided, hey, we can live on land or in the sea, why shouldn’t we have everything? They’ve got that fancy castle on the hill. Maybe I want to have that. And we’re better and stronger than they are.”