The Morrigu and Brigda had been inventive in the Oath that they had crafted. Inventive enough that they gave even Loki and Coyote pause. They had followed the Oracle’s advice and created an obvious trap, something that Loki eventually pointed out.

He had acted exactly as expected, and the revised Oath that he and the rest were willing to swear, the real Oath that we had planned for in the beginning, was sworn to with little further argument.

They believed they had bargained to wake one Tuatha de Danaan from Sleep if I succeeded and stopped Zeus and Odin’s usurpation of the Divine from happening. But they had agreed to so much more.

The Oath demanded that they wake any Tuatha de Danaan of our choice. The operative word was ‘our’. I had made sure to have enough Sidhe witness their Oath, enough people gathered that the ‘our’ they had agreed to amounted to one God per person.

Each of the Sidhe who had witnessed the Oath was part of the collective, and when the time came to claim the reward, each of us would name one God. The Oath would be honored. One God. Each. Enough to wake almost the entire Pantheon.

“Tybalt!” His consort, wife, and Queen yelled, demanding his attention. A demand he ignored, his eyes and aura concentrated completely on his daughter and me. She had railed against sacrificing one of her children to what she felt was a mad scheme. Not even the words of the Oracle could dissuade her.

Tybalt would pay a price for his decision. Her anger at him may escalate to the point that he would have to replace her as Queen of Cats. It would depend on her, on what measures at revenge she engaged in. But she was Mother, Queen, Woman, and Cat, and to piss any one of those identities off as badly as Tybalt had been either the bravest or stupidest thing he had ever done.

Things had progressed well enough after the meeting with the Oracle. The Twelve Houses that I had created to help rule the Tuatha de Danaan faction had been informed of the quests I had received, and that it wasn’t certain when or if I would be back.

I felt certain I would, but not so sure that I would leave my throne empty. The Twelve would work together as regents until my host bond with Saor o Shlabhraidhean was severed. In that event, I had left instructions for the next ruler of my territory to be selected by the Sithern.

Anyone capable of creating a new host bond was capable enough to rule. And the Sithern was better able to judge an individual’s true motivations than the Sidhe. We were all too good at treachery and self-aggrandizing. The Sithern could see to the heart of our true self, the bond a connection between one soul and another.

It might be possible for the Sidhe to confuse the truth, to lie without lying, but that obfuscation was impossible when one was communicating within the realm of [Soul]. The lie would not be sustained within that realm, and a person’s true nature would shine for the Sithern to see.

Tylia, Tybalt’s wife was furious because of a restriction required for travel, one that was of Gwyn ap Nudd’s making. And even he was following restrictions placed on him by Fairy, System, and the Summerlands.

He would open the roads, allowing me to pass through the magic of Summerlands to the Universe where Zeus and Odin warped the tapestry of creation, where they had perfected a vampire technique that drained Divine energy instead of life force.

But only for me.

The Cu Sith wasn’t an issue, I was bringing Ag, a powerful Alpha from the first pack I had ever encountered. He was related to Beag, Ryu’s companion, and was well trained in shadow. Forming a companion bond with him was easily accomplished. And as my companion, he was considered an extension of me.

The problem was the Cait Sith. Tybalt must have known this issue would arise. The Oracle wouldn’t have been so sloppy not to have informed him that for the Cait Sith to travel with me, she would have to form a companion bond just as Ag had.

As a Ranked: King I had earned three bonds, and two of those were now filled. I had bonded with Meala, my mount, years ago. She was a cross between honey badger and bear. She and I had meshed well together from the moment we met. Ag was an acceptable addition; I had known him and his pack for decades. We had hunted together at times. So, the bond was easily offered and easily accepted.

But Tia was more than a cat, she was a person. A Sidhe with enough intelligence that she understood what a lifetime bond between the two of us would mean. Both of us could effectively live forever, even if we could be killed, and Tia was the daughter of the King of Cats. It was within the realm of possibility that she might be Queen herself one day.

If I died, she would be freed. If she died, she would use one of her nine lives to be reborn, and the bond would remain. I refused to mention that I had a System perk that allowed me to be reborn once every year, so in truth, I may have many more lives than her or any of the Cait Sith.

That would have probably infuriated Tylia even more. To know that there was no escape, that the bond between us would last until the last Star flickered and died was more than she might be able to bear. She was intelligent enough to see there was no recourse but too emotional to care.

Gwyn ap Nudd was the Huntsman, and he would not and could not be diverted or bargained with.

But to allow her daughter to be effectively collared? To allow her to enter into a bond of companionship without any recourse? For that was how she and most Cait Sith saw the companion bond. Too often, their people had been caged and collared in their cat form. Forced to pretend to be pets and ornaments. They had developed a natural abhorrence at even the suggestion of being tamed.

“It has been decided,” Tybalt said, speaking to his daughter and not his wife. “They [Oracle] has seen and given [Prophecy]. I regret what I ask of you, but I ask as your [King] and not your Father.

“If this foul technique to steal the Divine powers of other Gods is allowed to stand, then Fairy will die. The Sidhe will fade. And the Tuatha de Danaan will become nothing more than whispers of dreams before eventually, even those dreams fade beyond all remembrance.

“Gwyn ap Nudd has agreed and set conditions. Needs must, Tia. Every good ruler knows that at times, you have to sacrifice what you love most, for what your people need most.

“And I think you will find the chafing against the bond, or the bonds of slavery your mother believes the companion bond to be, are nothing but gossamer threads when those bonds are shared by a person of honor.

“King of Tuatha de Danaan, Teigh Mac de Beleros y Cyronax, Prince of Seelie, Prince of Unseelie. Lord of Sun. Lord of Healing. Protector of Kelpie. Zeus’ Bane. Odin’s Bane. Slavery’s Bane. His very titles speak of his honor.

“Would the person who became Slavery’s Bane become so lost to his own sense of justice to wield the lash? Would this person hold tight the bonds of mutual companionship as a weapon?

“You know he would not,” Tybalt concluded, turning his attention from Tia to Tylia. “He has proven he can be trusted. His actions when resolving Paradox stands as a testament to that proof.”

Before Tylia could refute his words, Tia accepted the companion bond that I had offered earlier, and whatever she had planned on say, those last words objecting were moot.

There would be five of us following Gwyn ap Nudd today, and before any more words, accusations, or recriminations could be said, Gwyn opened the path and we stepped forward, striding across the metaphysical realms that separated each Universe. Ignoring the pain and cries of a mother certain she was seeing the last of her daughter we took that first step that the Summerlands made possible.

Meala, Ag, and Tia each now firmly ensconced as part of my soul. Each tethered to me with a golden companion bond that merged the four of us into one astral being. Four plus one more. For no matter where I went, Caraid would go.