The Awakening

Breen is having a hard time believing where she is and compares Talamh to “some sort of Brigadoon” (182). Morena is of the Sidhe, a faerie clan, and has wings. She takes Breen through the Welcoming Tree, which is a portal back to Ireland, then lifts Breen and flies her to her cottage. Breen wonders if she is dreaming, but the dog is there, and Morena says Marg sent him. Breen tries to make sense of what happened by writing in her blog. She then realizes “she’d always known. However fantastic, however opposed to the practical bent of her life, part of her had always known” (189-90). She starts writing a children’s story about the dog and returns to her routine. One morning, her grandmother and Finola walk out of the woods.

Marg brings Breen her father’s wedding ring. Breen shares the picture of her father Eian with his bandmates, who were also from Talamh. Breen tries to understand: Marg is one of the Fey, the Wise, a witch who uses her power to heal and defend. Finola is of the Sidhe, a faerie who tends the earth, the air, and growing things. Talamh also holds elves; trolls; weres, who have a spirit animal; and mers, who live in the water. When witches were persecuted on Earth, Talamh chose to separate. Marg says: “Machines became a kind of god, technology a kind of sorcery—and the true magicks faded to shadows. The Fey of Talamh chose to preserve what they are, choosing the magicks over this progress” (199). Breen’s mother was human, but Breen has gifts like the ability to make flowers grow.

After she spends a few days writing and thinking, Breen goes to the Welcoming Tree and through the portal to Talamh. She meets Aisling’s children and visits Marg, who adds a room to her house for Breen.

Marg takes Breen to visit her father’s grave, and together they plant flowers. A flying man dives from the sky and captures Breen. A man on a dragon appears and kills the attacker. Marg introduces Keegan O’Broin, the man on the dragon, who is the Taoiseach of Talamh. The attacker was a dark faerie sent by Odran, Breen’s grandfather, who kidnapped her when she was three.

Marg explains that when she was 18, that she, Marg, became Taoiseach. She was seduced by and married a handsome lover and then learned, after she bore a son, that he was draining the baby’s soul to gain his power. He waged war to try to steal Eian, and many died. Grieved, Marg returned the sword to the lake for another to be chosen. Eian became Taoiseach in time. When Breen’s mother insisted they return to earth, Eian returned often to Talamh to make sure the guards against Odran remained in place. Marg’s companion, Sedric, a were who takes the form of a cat, came to summon Breen. She recognizes him as the silver-haired man. They felt it was time for Breen to awaken, and he came to Philadelphia to help her discover the money.

Through Marg, Breen sees what happened when Odran kidnapped her and the war that followed. Eian, as chieftain, had to fight his own father to keep him from harming Breen. Kavan, Eian’s best friend and Keegan, Harken, and Aisling’s father, died in the battle. Breen realizes her father was a warrior, a leader, a hero, and also a demi-god, as Odran is a god. Marg explains that Breen’s unique bloodline makes her powerful and Odran wants that power. She asks Breen to stay in Talamh so Marg may teach her and help her wake. Because her laptop won’t work in Talamh, Marg gives Breen a quill that can write her thoughts and a pitcher with an endless supply of hot water so she can bathe.

Breen takes a walk beneath Talamh’s two moons and encounters Keegan riding his dragon. Keegan says she needs to learn to fight so she can protect Talamh, and he will be her instructor. The next morning, Breen makes tea and tells Marg about the two books she is writing, a children’s story about her dog and an adult fantasy novel. Marg teaches Breen how to start a fire using her will and her breath. Because of Breen’s bloodline, Marg warns, Odran will seek her power. He killed Eian and he could kill Breen, but first he will drain her dry. Marg gives Breen a crystal called a dragon’s heart that will protect her.

Breen takes a walk and observes the residents of Talamh—elves, weres, trolls, and a mer in the water—as she talks with Morena. Breen learns about herbs from Marg. She asks if she can try to live in both worlds, to keep her life in her cottage with her writing, but visit Talamh to learn and spend time with Marg.

Breen learns from Marg to make charms and spells. Keegan teaches her to ride a horse and takes her to the Lake of Truth where he dove for and found the sword. She visits with Finola and her husband, Seamus, and rides with Morena, who tells her the legend behind the lake: It was made by the tears of the goddess Finnguala, daughter of Lir of the Tuatha Dé Danann, who was cursed to live as a swan (287). The goddess crafted the sword and the staff so there would be one to dispense justice and judgment, and swans guard the lake still.

Breen learns healing spells from Aisling and Keegan begins her training. She doesn’t want to fight, and the violence upsets her. She wonders: “Was this the price of power—of self?” (299). Keegan is worried Breen will not learn enough before Odran attacks. Breen casts a spell with Marg and has a vision of Odran on a black stone cliff sacrificing a boy on an altar.

Marg explains to Breen that Odran was cast out of his realm for performing blood sacrifice. It is a crime to use magick for harm. It hurts Breen to realize that such evil exists in the world, alongside such beauty. Keegan teaches her to fight with a sword. When he provokes her, Breen throws power at him with her hands. Keegan flies through the air, then says Breen is waking at last. He shows her how she can create a ball of light in her hand. As Breen walks back to her cottage, Morena asks if she has a romantic attachment to anyone, and Breen says no. Keegan flies his dragon to the Capital of Talamh to visit and make love to another woman, Shana, though he really wants Breen.