I rubbed my temples in a vague attempt to ease the pain. “That was not what I’d expected.”

“Talking to the old gods never runs the way you expect.”

“You say that like you’ve done it.”

“I did once, in Greece. It’s not an experience I want to repeat, but then, he was the god of war and, well, warlike.”

He offered me a small, uncapped flask. I took a swig and immediately started coughing. It was whisky, not water, and it burned all the way down even as it chased the worst of the tiredness away.

“I called Darby when you were thrown back from the stone,” he continued. “She’ll be waiting for us both at the parking area.”

A smile tugged at my lips. “She could be waiting a while. I’m not sure either of us are in a fit state to walk back down.”

“With the spells gone, it should be far easier to go down than it was to come up. Besides, she’s still at least half an hour away, if not more, given she wouldn’t have been able to leave the elven compound straight away. What happened with the standing stone?”

“I talked to Eithne.” I frowned. “At least I presumed it was her. She never actually said her name.”

“Did she say anything useful?”

“Do old goddesses ever?”

He laughed. “More riddles, then?”

“Kind of.”

I quickly updated him, and he said, “Meaning the goddess’s gifts Alinda mentioned wasn’t referring to the Eye itself, but rather the Triune it’s apparently a part of.”

I nodded. “Did Mom ever say anything about it?”

He shook his head. “It’s a term that’s generally used in conjunction with the holy trinity in Christianity. As far as I’m aware, it’s never been used in our family.”

“And you’ve never seen Mom use this codex she mentioned?”

“No.” His frown deepened. “I do remember walking in on an argument between Mom and Aunt Riayn not long after Gran died. If memory serves me right, it was over a small, leather-bound book.”

“She left us not long after that,” I commented. “Maybe that argument was the reason.”

He nodded. “It’s also possible she took it with her when she left.”

I wrinkled my nose. “Why would she have, though? Mom was the first-born female—the gifts of the old gods were hers to inherit.”

“Aunt Riayn never did have a high opinion of that particular inheritance law.” His voice was dry. “It’s why she tried to buy Gran’s share of the tavern multiple times before she’d died.”

I raised my eyebrows. “But she hated the tavern.”

“She hated the thought of Mom inheriting everything all the more.”

“But she didn’t—Aunt Riayn did get the bulk of Gran’s other investments, including her property in Galway.”

“Yes, but our history in Deva lies within the very walls of the tavern.”

Because it had been in the family for three very long-lived generations. It had witnessed births, deaths, and everything in between. The building’s structure sang with generations of love, laughter, and grief. It was far more valuable emotionally than all those other investments combined.