The Battle of the Trees - Sword, Ring, and Crown Book Two

Chapter Thirty-Seven

"Do you know which way I should go next?" I said just as my sword jerked to the left. 

"The sword seems to be telling you to keep following the path you were traveling."

"The sword led me through a hallway of dolls. I don't trust the sword anymore."

"Yes, and it also led you to me."

I ignored its jerking for a moment and focused on Iodha. "Not sure if that's a good thing because I am used to Trees lying now."

She didn't respond to my jab. Instead, she said, "Since you are injured, you have the right to drink of Bran's cauldron. It will heal you. You will also get your vision. "

"Heal me of... everything?" Would it heal me of my unstable roots, the weakness, the taint?

As though she read my mind, which she probably did, she said, "The taint and the roots... those can't be healed. They are spiritual sicknesses and may be healed in the third trial."

"Straif wants me to bring you back." I studied her response to that. 

She only laughed. "The Straif can pay the toll to have me back himself because my daughter is too precious. Tell him that when you see him again."

"Do you know what he is planning? Are there any visions?"

Her lips curled. "No. Straif seems to defy all attempts to see him. Be careful, if you are here because of him, it's because he didn't remember that you are my child, and Brigid was your surrogate mother.  Things would be different if he truly remembers." She shook her head.

"What? What would he have done?" I turned to her.

"He would have never let you out of his sight, and he would have happily seen Aleria freeze over for all time. After all, the cold is nothing to the Emperor of Tears. And now? He might still gather you up and lock you away, if he knows you are not just my daughter. Pray he remains oblivious."

"I understand. Now that I'm in the middle of all this, I can't just stop. I've grown to love Aleria because it's the home of most of my new friends." I thought of the psychopath that was also threatening that world and hoped she could help.  "Any tips on how to kill Ios?"

"You can't, not yet, but you must get the ring from him. That will turn the tide of the war, although the outcome is still uncertain to me. You have to finish the third trial."

"Pry the ring off his finger. Great. That's not hard at all." I laughed bitterly.

"Not many good things are easy, Madeline. I want to do one other thing before you go. When you drink from the cauldron, ask for your true name. I want the pleasure of seeing your naming, and the cauldron is one of the three cauldrons of wisdom throughout the Tree realms. Duir holds the other two."

My naming ceremony. I would finally have my true name, and with it, I would have a gift I could bestow on those I loved and trusted best - the right to know it. They would have power over me in the knowing, but it would be a power shared since I would know theirs as well. I nodded to her and approached Bran's cauldron. I took the ladle and dipped it into the pot; then, I took a long drink of the draught. It tasted like the coldest glass of water on a sweltering day. And, she was right. The wrongness I felt in my body after the pregnancy disappeared, as well as the injuries I sustained in the doll hall. However, within me, the taint and the upheaval in my roots remained."

When the water settled again, I saw my reflection, and I looked refreshed, which I was glad for since I would have to face Joseph. A name appeared on the surface of the water, and it read, "Mataleine Trocaire De Striodach."