Beyond the Pale: A Thin Veil Novella (The Thin Veil Book 3) by Jodi McIsaac

ashes and purge the land of the coming poison.’”
    Kier repeated the prophecy softly to herself. “A dyad?” she asked. “Like a…a two-in-one? And what ashes does he speak of? Will Tír na nÓg be destroyed?”
    “I do not know exactly what it means, my lady. I do not even know if it is referring to this particular time in our history or another time that has yet to come. However…” He leaned in close, his large round eyes only inches from hers. “You know that a poison is spreading in the hearts of our people. The lust for revenge. Perhaps…these poisons are one and the same.”
    Kier leaned back, stunned. Could he be right? Could the malice that Lorcan was spreading be the very thing that was causing the plants to die and the rivers to dry up? If she could stop him, could she save both Ériu and Tír na nÓg?
    “The dyad that should not be…” she repeated. “Who is this? How do we find him or her?”
    “I do not know who the prophecy refers to,” he said. “Or even that it refers to a person.”
    “What else could it be?” Kier shoved her chair back and started pacing around the perimeter of the room. “Two-in-one…someone with two abilities? But there are many like that, and it’s perfectly natural. It says ‘should not be’—what kind of duality should not be?” She kept pacing, mindful that Eolas had closed the book and returned it to its home on the shelf. Then she stopped. “Someone born of a human and a Danann,” she said. “That would fit.”
    Eolas frowned. “But such a thing is not possible,” he said.
    “Which is why it fits! ‘The dyad that should not be’!” she exclaimed. She felt her heart clench as a new thought occurred to her. “Oh,” she said, feeling the blood rush from her head. She wavered on her feet, and Eolas flew to her side.
    “My lady, are you all right?” he said, helping her back into the chair. She sank into it, then put her face into her hands.
    “Of course,” she muttered.
    “Of course what?” he asked.
    She lifted her head. The least she could do was sit straight in her chair, though her legs didn’t yet feel like they could support her. She looked Eolas in the eyes, daring him to contradict her. “Nothing. It’s nothing.” But inside she was reeling. What if the dyad was Brogan’s child—with his human lover?
    “A child born of a human and a Danann is not possible,” the librarian said again, as though reading her thoughts. She wondered if he too knew about her husband’s affair. “I only mentioned this prophecy because it seemed to speak to our present problem. But now there is nothing to do but wait for it to be fulfilled.”
    Kier looked at him steadily. “No. If this prophecy means we can stop our land from dying and defeat Lorcan, waiting is not an option. We need to find that dyad. Now .”
     
    * * *
     
    Kier hurried back to the Hall to tell Brogan about the prophecy. If they could find this dyad, perhaps they could avoid war after all. She ran ahead of her guards, who stayed outside once she entered the royal living quarters.
    “Brogan!” she called, before almost running right into him. He looked surprised to see her, and a strange expression crossed his face. “What’s wrong?” she asked.
    “Nothing,” he answered quickly. “Were you not going to spend the day at the library?”
    “I was, but—” she started to answer, then paused. “Are those…herbs?” Clutched in Brogan’s hand was a large cloth bag that smelled distinctly of oriendal leaves. “Where are you going?”
    “Just taking these…to Felix,” Brogan muttered.
    There was the sound of breaking glass from behind them. Kier turned to see the shards of the goblet of Manannan mac Lir lying on a side table. Brogan swore. “I forgot that was there,” he said. “I mean—”
    “Apparently I should be grateful that Ruadhan left it here,” Kier said, as the truth began to sink in. “Where are you really going?”
    Brogan looked nervously at the