This is Cailean. I wielded this sword in battle when I was your age

Rowan and Aislann returned to the castle in silence while Isolde finished a sweet pastry she had purchased on their way out of the square. A distance had formed between Aislann and Rowan, and if Isolde were aware of it, she said nothing.

The guards were far more pleasant than earlier. The king and queen must have given the orders to treat Aislinn and her friends as honored guests because they even returned Aislinn’s bow and Isolde’s axe. Three maids showed them to their rooms and offered them whatever they wished. For their part, Rowan and his friends wanted to go to bed.

Rowan’s room was twice the size of the living room in his house. Comfortable sleeping attire was prepared for him in advance of his arrival. Rather than marveling at everything, he simply changed and lay down to sleep.

Sleep did not offer much rest for him. Rowan found himself back in his time, floating above a burning city. The demons launched their attack and massacred everyone in their path. Screams of pain and despair reached him, but he could do nothing for them. His heart sank when he saw his father leading his mother and sister away from the devastation, only to come across a group of demons.

“Aislinn! You have to help them!” Rowan pleaded. “Please! You’re the only one who can!” He shut his eyes to the horror and only heard his family’s last cries.

Rowan’s eyes shot open. He quickly sat up in bed, gasping for air.

“Whoa!” Aislinn stepped back, avoiding an accidental headbutt from her guest. Rowan shut his eyes from the morning sun. “I came to wake you, and I heard you calling for me. Did something happen?”

He shook his head to clear out the sleep. “Just a nightmare,” he admitted with a grim look on his face.

Aislinn offered a warm smile. “Well, the first light of the morning banishes nightmares,” she assured him. “Come, the cooks have already prepared our meal.”

Rowan watched her walk away and called out to her. “Wait!” She turned around, confusion clear on her face. He threw the blankets off and approached her. “My nightmare made something clear to me. I’ve been looking to you to solve everything on your own. I’ve been putting too much pressure on you, and I’m sorry.” His first instinct when he saw demons was to call her rather than try to fight.

Aislinn smiled and shook her head. “Don’t pay it any mind. You’ve already helped me plenty, and I have no doubt you’ll insist upon being there should we face any demons,” she extended her hand. “We’ll save our people together.” Rowan took her hand once more and solidified their bond. He was worried that things might be awkward after their kiss last night and her completely rejecting him, but his fears did not come to pass.

Aislinn waited outside for Rowan to change, then led him to the royal dining room. Large windows let in brilliant morning light, illuminating the large selection of delectable food set out for them.

A well-built, regal man with long hair as black as night sat at the head of the table. “Good morning, Rowan. My queen has spoken of you, our guest from the future.” He stood and waved his hand at a seat near him. “I am King Fionnbharr. Please, join us.”

Rowan took his assigned seat, and Aislinn sat beside him. Isolde sat across from him, already eating her meal. Sitting beside the king, Sorcha gave him a warm smile in greeting.

“As I said, my dear Sorcha has informed me of everything. You have my deepest sympathies for your loss,” Fionnbharr began.

“Thank you,” Rowan simply replied. He immediately recalled his nightmare and took a sip of juice to focus on something else.

“We will do our utmost to avert the calamity foretold in your book. Whether that averts the calamity in your time, I cannot say. My wife was quite correct when she said that fate is not so easily overturned,” Fionnbharr continued. “That said, I would prefer that you keep your origins a secret. Time is both fragile and overbearing. Manipulating it can often have dire consequences, which is why Mairwen and her great spirits strike out against any such attempts that do not have their blessing.”

“Mairwen’s blessing?” Aislinn was stunned by the revelation.

“Rowan was blessed by the goddess?” Isolde questioned the rulers.

Sorcha seemed uncertain. “Whether Mairwen herself blessed his travel here, that she nor her great spirits have intervened means that he has her approval.”

“Regardless, Brenin Llwyd — the Grey King of the Mist — sent him here. He is one of Mairwen’s neutral children,” Fionnbharr informed them. “But enough of that. Let us start the day properly. The demons have yet to appear, and we have a banquet before us.” Though he seemed like a kind and jovial immortal ruler, there was an undeniable hint of great wisdom and power hidden in his silver eyes.

Fionnbharr and Rowan discussed the future at length as they finished their meal. Like his wife and granddaughter, Fionnbharr was concerned for the safety and welfare of the Danans and Ossorians. “I would speak with this Professor Patrick Riordan. It seems he has kept the ways of magic alive.” The king mused.

“I’ll talk to him if or when I manage to get back home,” Rowan promised.

A soldier rushed into the dining room just as the maids were clearing away the plates and utensils. “My King and Queen, the Leòideach family had begun to tamper with multiple corrupted lakes. The plants and creatures of the forest have become quick with rage,” he breathlessly reported.

“We’ve seen that before,” Aislinn recalled. She silently prayed for the beings living in the forest.

Rowan quickly stood up and turned to the king. “Can the lakes be used to create demons?”

“Yes,” Fionnbharr confirmed his suspicions.

“The first stage of corruption makes people and animals feral. They will seek out victims and mindlessly attack them,” Sorcha elaborated. “This, in turn, imbues those victims with Aonghas’s darkness.”

“Like a plague?” Rowan was alarmed.

The queen continued her explanation. “Correct. Stage two makes them stronger and faster and gives them the ability to wield dark magic. Anyone who draws near them would be affected without the need for direct contact or violence.”

“Stage three is as you imagine,” The king finished.

“They become demons under their god’s control?” Isolde asked, though the answer seemed obvious.

“Yes. They will work tirelessly to weaken Mairwen’s seal and release Aonghas and his first-generation demons.” Sorcha replied.

“We’ll stop them before that happens,” Rowan declared, volunteering himself and his friends for battle. Aislinn and Isolde confidently stood up and turned to the king and queen for approval.

Sorcha and Fionnbharr shared concerned looks, but they relented. “Very well. I’ll add my personal guard to your party,” the king announced. He then turned to Rowan. “I’ll also give you a proper weapon. I’m told you’re quite the fighter, but a sword can do wonders against monsters.”

Five warriors entered the dining room. “Allow me to introduce Ceallach, the finest swordsman in Annfayn. Sèitheach forges his own axes for battle. Guirmean’s spear has never missed his target. Bríd’s magic is second only to Sorcha’s, and not just among the female mages. Finally, Eimhir’s as swift as the arrows she fires from her bow.”

The color drained from Rowan’s face. “Wait, those names, they’re Aislinn’s party from Twilight of Princess Aislinn.”

Fionnbharr nodded in confirmation. “Yes. It’s no mere coincidence. They’ve fought beside me for centuries. For security purposes, few know their names. That they appeared in your book has made me very curious.”

“It’s nice to be remembered even a thousand years from now,” Bríd commented, a confident grin on her lips.

Guirmean was more suspicious than his comrade. “I don’t like it. Who wrote that book anyway?”

Rowan shook his head. “I don’t know. It was an anonymous submission, and the proceeds were donated to forest preservation.”

The king approached Rowan with a sheathed sword in his hands. “This is Cailean. I wielded this sword in battle when I was your age,” he carefully handed the blade to Rowan. “My father forged it with his own hands and prayed to Mairwen that it would see me return home. I offer the same prayers for you.”