Manannan inclined his head politely. "We seek your guidance regarding a prophecy you gave at Princess Shannon's birth." He gestured towards me as he spoke.

Scota's dark eyes narrowed as lines appeared between her brows. "I don't recall being at the birth of a princess."

"She is Maeve's daughter, married to Prince Elatha of Fomora, and consort to Prince Loki of Asgard," Manannan clarified.

Scota's frown deepened as she met my gaze, then looked me over. "Maeve's daughter is only six or seven years old. This cannot be she."

Manannan's nostrils flared while his eyebrows lowered and mouth turned downward. He gave a disgusted grunt. "Dylan gave her to a mortal family on Litaui to raise. She grew up there."

"Really?" A dark eyebrow rose. "That must have been a shock when you found out you weren't human," she said, meeting my eyes again.

I inclined my head. "Indeed, it was."

"Married to Prince Elatha, consort to Prince Loki?" Pulling her gaze from mine, her dark eyes narrowed and lips pressed together tightly as she turned to take in Elatha, Elada, and Taliesin. "None of you are the Black Prince." A slender, but well-muscled arm gestured to the three of them. "Is one of you Elatha?"

"I am," Elatha answered, dipping his head in a slight acknowledgment while not taking his gaze from hers.

"Interesting. You are the one the Queens hand-fasted to Shannon on her first birthday?" Scota asked, tilting her head.

"Yes," he agreed, stepping closer to me and placing his hand on my lower back.

Scota waved a hand dismissively. "I recognize you, Taliesin. Who are these other two?" she asked, indicating Mist standing beside me and Elada on the other side of Elatha.

"Valkyrie Mist of Asgard and Prince Elada of Fomora," Manannan answered.

She eyed them both for a few minutes, mouth pursed as she seemed to take in their stance and weapons. "You remember the way to my home?" Scota asked, turning to look at Manannan.

"Yes. Thank you for allowing us on your island," he said, with another inclination of his head.

She gave a small nod. "I'll see you there then." Backing away without turning or taking her gaze from us, she stepped into a shadow and disappeared.

"That's an interesting ability," Mist said, voicing my internal thought.

"Yeah, no kidding!" I agreed. Some form of teleportation like Loki, perhaps? Or does she manipulate portal energy the way Aidan does?

Manannan grunted and started walking. "Scota is a fierce and deadly warrior. If she takes a liking to you, she'll train you. If she doesn't, you'll never see her coming before she slits your throat. I'd recommend not pissing her off," he advised as he led us down the beach.

I looked at Mist and raised my eyebrows, flashing a hand sign. Scota was impressive. Mist nodded and signed her agreement. We'd see what we could learn from Scota while we were here.

The island was larger than I thought in my initial impression. It took an hour of walking into the mountains to find her location by following a creek from where it emptied into the ocean. Scota's home was a series of large caverns surrounding a twenty-five metre high waterfall and large pool, easily ten metres across. Thick tropical vegetation covered the mountainside and created a lush oasis under the shelter of massive, sky-sweeping trees with broad leaves, and a plethora of ropey vines hung from the branches and rocky outcrops. It hid the opening of the caverns until we were almost upon them. A clearing under the canopy of the immense trees seemed to be her sparring and training area as weapons leaned against various tree trunks.

Like a silent wraith, Scota appeared out of the darkness of a cavern on the left when we reached the clearing.

"Do you need to rest first or do you have interest in sparring?" Scota asked, her head tilted and dark eyes gleaming with interest as she came to stand in front of Mist and I. "I am curious to see what skills you inherited from your mother. She is one of the few individuals I consider a friend."

"We would love to spar and learn from you," with a quick glance at Mist, I answered for both of us.

Scota flicked her hand in dismissal of the others, not even looking at them. A small smile lifted the edges of Manannan's full lips, amusement in his ocean blue eyes. With a nod of acknowledgment, he led the men away and into one of the caverns.

My full attention returning to Scota, I met her eyes. "Any rules or does anything go?" I asked as we walked to the centre of the clearing.

A small smile pulled up one side of Scota's mouth. "No rules, but let's keep it to you and I first. If I beat you too badly, then Mist can jump in to help you."

Mist moved back to one of the trees ringing the clearing. "Commence," she said when Scota and I indicated we were ready.

Scota was fast, darting in to slash with her sais, but I trained with Valkyrie daily and not just Mist. I parried with one and struck with my other. Scota's quick grin was a bright flash of white in her otherwise shadowed face. Speed increasing as we tested each other's reflexes, we were a blur of silver blades, flashing and spinning in the low light. The metallic scrapes and clangs of metal-on-metal as our weapons met filled the clearing.

She was too fast, and I wasn't going to get the advantage on the ground. Running up into the air, I attacked from above using the air step manoeuvres I'd developed and honed with Mist.

Scota laughed in delight, a rich, husky sound, leaping and spinning to counter my attacks, before breaking away.

"Wonderful! I've certainly never seen your Mother do that before. What are your goddess powers?" she asked with a wide smile, far more open than her previously closed and guarded expression.

"Forest and Seas. I'm an elemental," I told her.

"Your hand-to-hand skills are excellent, Shannon. What about you, Valkyrie Mist?" Scota asked, turning and arching a dark brow to face Mist, leaning against a tree trunk.

"I manipulate air and water vapour. Shannon has surpassed my hand-to-hand skills, but your stealth skills are amazing. If you are willing to teach us, I'd love to learn how to move like that," Mist told her.

Scota pursed her lips thoughtfully and nodded, her dark red curls bouncing. "Especially with your abilities with air, both of you should pick up the skills quickly, as you have the advantage of manipulating sound."

My eyebrows shot up, and I blinked. Damn. Why didn't I think of that? I don't know why that had never occurred to me, but of course she was right. Any manipulation of air would change the ability of sound waves to be transmitted.

"That would be fantastic, Scota," I agreed, nodding and eager to learn.

Over the next two days, Scota taught us to move on various surfaces without disturbing the ground or leaving footprints. Learning to muffle sound so we could walk even on dried leaves was fun, although it would take more practice before I remembered to automatically deaden the sound of my passing.

Scota also taught us how to best use shadow and light to go unseen. With our ability to manipulate air and water vapour, it was even easier to take advantage of shadows. Neither Mist nor I could travel using shadow the way Scota could, but we still learned a lot from her in that short period.

Although she seemed to tolerate the males' presence, Scota had little to no interest in interacting with them. It didn't seem to bother Manannan, Taliesin, or Elatha, but for some reason, Elada couldn't seem to stop trying to get a rise out of Scota. I wasn't sure what to make of Elatha's brother. It almost seemed like he had a death wish, given the fiery glares she continued to give him.

Yet as much as I valued Scota's teaching, I felt the press of time as a suffocating weight growing heavier and heavier, knowing each day we spent here with Scota brought me one day closer to Aidan's birthday and activation of that damn curse. I couldn't afford to delay any further. My son couldn't afford for me to delay any further.

"Scota, I really appreciate what you've taught me, but I need to know what the prophesy says," I said after our latest sparring session.

"Why?" she asked, brow furrowing.

She was cursing before I had even finished my explanation.

"Damn those stupid, slack-brained idiots! What in Danu is Badb thinking?" she growled. "I'll tell you the prophesy, but I don't know what it means."

Closing her eyes, she began chanting, with a sing-song quality to her voice.

"Black, silver, and white
Unite, bring back wisdom's light.

Darkest green, brightest gold
Heed desires, else war unfold.

Deepest blue, fiery red
Power over wind, bower's spread.

Only she, with aspects of three
Can save our heart's plea."

Repeating it to myself a few times, I memorized the lines. "Thank you, Scota. It's a bit different from what Taliesin had thought for the few lines he remembered. 'Black, silver and white'. It's clear why Queen Aine thought of the Fomorians right away."

"I wish I could do more, Shannon. I'm so sorry they are threatening your son. The only thing I can suggest is to talk to your great-uncle, Amaethon. He's the God of Luck and if anyone can come up with ideas as to what the rest of the prophecy means, it's him. Taliesin may be of some help as well, so I'd suggest you bring him along with you to meet with Amaethon," she said.

"I can't thank you enough, Scota," I said.

"Oh, sure you can. Get all these damn males off my island and we'll call it even." She smiled as she held out her forearm. "But if you are ever in the neighbourhood, you are welcome to visit again."

I clasped it and nodded. "Absolutely."