Chapter 2
CHAPTER TWO
The next week was one of the strangest and most incredible of Theo’s life.
Calum accepted him with wide open arms and no hesitation, something Theo had been too afraid to hope for.
Calum moved Theo into his townhouse, and they spent the next week sequestered from the prying eyes of the university.
Calum’s friends and colleagues dropped in to say hello or chat with Theo, but for the most part, the two brothers spent the next seven days making up for lost time.
Calum told Theo stories of their parents and their sister, keeping their memories alive and giving Theo snapshots of the people they’d become.
Theo told Calum all about everything he’d been studying—he was a history major at university, much to Calum’s delight—and what life had been like for him growing up.
Calum managed to hire some loyal water sprites to help strengthen the wards around his house, so it was the safest place for Theo to be.
He managed to start getting caught up on the sleep he’d been missing, as well as being granted the privilege of wallowing in a hot bath without wondering if a kelpie was going to pop up from the bubbles, Freddie Krueger style.
It was stressful being cursed by the queen of the banshees, especially when that curse involved avoiding water at all costs… in Scotland.
Still, the reprieve had to come to an end.
It would do Theo no good to stay trapped forever inside Calum’s townhouse.
Fae didn’t do well in captivity. After a week, Theo was itching to hear Calum’s plan.
Before Calum left for work, he told Theo they’d discuss it over dinner and left Theo to explore the library for the rest of the day.
By the time he heard the front door open and realized Calum had returned, he was ready to jump out of his skin with anticipation.
Theo bolted down the stairs like a child on Christmas morning, ready to jump into action. He was more hopeful for an end to his curse than ever before, and he could barely contain himself.
“Theo!” Calum called out from the entryway, kicking off his shoes and turning around. “Oh, there you are.” He grinned, not realizing Theo was already coming to greet them.
“You’ve brought friends.” Theo smiled, giving a small wave to Pippa and Emmett.
“They’re here to help,” Calum held out his arm and directed everyone towards the dining room. “I’ve had the staff put out a light dinner, if we want to—”
Pippa held up her hand, cutting Calum off with a smirk.
“No point in waiting for dinner. It seems that everyone’s eager enough to get on with another curse-breaking adventure, hmm?
” Pippa winked at Theo. He thought he might fall over in relief.
He was still getting to know Calum and didn’t want to insult his hospitality, but he was chomping at the bit.
Calum chuckled, looking between Pippa and Theo. “All right. I see someone’s eager to get started. Let’s go to the study instead.” Pippa and Calum took the lead, chatting about something related to the university, while Emmett and Theo followed.
“How are you doin’?” Emmett clapped Theo on the back, nearly making Theo stumble.
“It’s a lot,” Theo admitted, looking up at the massive wulver. “But Calum has been amazing, you know? I really wasn’t sure how he’d take the news. Not every heir is excited to learn about the spare.” Theo grimaced at his awkward attempt at a joke. Emmett smiled warmly.
“Calum is. He’s been treating everyone around him like a younger brother his entire life.
There isn’t a single person in our world who doesn’t have a story about a time Calum helped them.
” Emmett paused, stopping outside the study.
“I think he knew about you on some level. Not consciously, or he would’ve burned the world down trying to find you.
But somewhere, in his soul, he knew he had a little brother out there, waiting.
Next to Fern, I can already tell you’re the greatest thing to ever happen to him. ”
Theo stared at Emmett, slack-jawed and misty-eyed. He wasn’t expecting that emotional declaration, and it nearly sent him to the floor.
“Well, come on then,” Emmett piped up, his tone changing, “Let’s go see about squashing that beastie of a banshee, shall we?” Emmett started whistling as he ducked underneath the door frame and stepped into the study, leaving Theo to collect his thoughts for a brief minute before following.
“What’s the plan, boss?” Pippa was leaning against the mantle, tossing a dagger absentmindedly in the air. Calum scratched at his beard, waiting for Emmett and Theo to take a seat before he began.
“I hope you don’t mind, Theo, but I’ve asked Emmett and Pippa specifically to help us with this. A smaller group is going to draw less attention, and a good portion of this plan relies on Cliodhna not being able to find you.”
“What he means to say,” Pippa laughed, “is that we’re your quest buddies, Theo, so buckle up, buttercup.”
“Pippa.” Emmett sighed, but there was no heat in it. His eyes lit up whenever he even so much as glanced at his mate. Calum cleared his throat and continued.
“The answer to every curse is in linguistics.” Calum braced his elbows on his knees. In the brief week that Theo had spent with his brother, he knew this meant Calum was about to go down a rabbit hole.
“Which leads us to one of our main problems: we don’t know exactly what the curse said.” Calum continued. “Without the exact language Cliodhna used to curse Theo, we can’t examine it for loopholes.”
“So, it’s hopeless.” Theo deflated, dropping his head into his hands.
“Oof.” Pippa made a tutting sound. “That sort of attitude is going to get you nowhere on the road.”
“Theo,” Calum chided gently, “we’re not giving up. I didn’t say we were. May I continue?” Theo picked up his head and nodded. Calum had already perfected the ‘big brother’ voice.
“We don’t have the original language, which means we need to find it.” Calum looked between Pippa and Emmett. “This is where you two come in. You’ll join Theo, and all of you will go and petition the Blue Men of the Minch.”
Theo had only heard of the Blue Men of the Minch in passing, but based on Emmett and Pippa’s stunned expressions, it unnerved him. It was almost a full minute before Emmett spoke, looking directly at Calum.
“You want us to go ask the Blue Men of the Minch?” He repeated the words, the hesitation in his voice betraying his concerns over the plan. He was careful not to contradict Calum outright, but Emmett’s initial response didn’t encourage Theo.
“Yes.” Calum sounded confident. “They retained some of their abilities after the fall. One of those abilities includes a predisposition to curses and the ways of gods and goddesses. If we can get them to talk to you, they should be able to give you the details of the curse.”
“The fall?” Theo interjected, unable to keep up with Calum’s more extensive knowledge.
“The Blue Men of the Minch are fallen angels,” Pippa explained, her grip tightening on her knife hilt. “They fell alongside Lucifer but were caught by the sea. Apparently, the sea found them useful and decided to keep them.”
“And by the sea, you mean what exactly?” Theo raised a brow.
“Manannán, obviously.” Pippa shrugged.
“Of course. Obviously.” Theo stuttered, his cheeks flushing red. While he’d known about magic his entire life, since most of his years were spent in secret, he’d started to feel like he was learning all about it for the first time.
“We can’t ask Manannán for help?” Theo posed the question, looking at his brother. Calum shook his head.
“It would be an all-out war if Manannán decided to go against Cliodhna’s wishes. He may support us and give you gentle guidance or boons during your journey, but it’s too risky for all of Ireland and Scotland for the gods of the sea to start quarreling.”
“How are you going to get the Blue Men to answer our questions?” Emmett interjected. “They’re notoriously tight-lipped.”
Calum sighed and straightened his shoulders, his expression sobering further.
“I’m prepared to offer them access to Scotland’s inland waterways in exchange for the information.”
The entire room fell silent.
No one even dared to move. Pippa and Emmett were looking at one another in shock. Calum said nothing further but crossed his arms over his chest, his posture absolute. Theo wasn’t entirely sure what the magnitude of the offer was, but he could tell it was severe.
“Calum…” Emmett started quietly. “You have thought about this?”
“I have.” Calum seemed unbothered. He was speaking as a prince who’d already made up his mind.
“The Blue Men themselves are not any more violent than the kelpies, the selkies, or even the maighdeann-mhara. People are only afraid of them because they’re associated with the fall of Lucifer.
Well, I’m not. It’s an old Christian prejudice that keeps them sequestered in the Minch, and I’m prepared to do away with that. ”
Emmett smiled. “It’s admirable. I think we can all get behind that thinking. What about the rest of the magical population?”
“I think I’ve earned enough goodwill with our people for them to give me a little bit of trust when it comes to how I govern. At least, I hope so. They got over my inclusion of baobhan-sith. They can get over their prejudices against the Blue Men or go elsewhere.”
“But, Calum…” Theo’s voice was quiet. “I can’t ask you to do this. It’s too much. That’s quite an offer to make the Blue Men, on the off chance they can give us the prophecy.”
“They can definitely give you the prophecy.” Calum interrupted, his voice firm. Theo sighed and held up his hands in surrender.
“Okay, so they give us the prophecy. That doesn’t mean it’ll give us any clues as to how to break the curse.”
“It’s more than what we have now.” Calum refuted. “Besides, it’s something that should have been done a long time ago. It should be done either way.”