A good old-fashioned fairy tale. Well-written and enjoyable.
A swan witch (remember them, the girls who turned into swans and fly?) is held by her father. Any who enter his castle may live like kings for seven days and try to win the lady Eithne, but to prove it she must ask them one true question and he must give a true answer. But, the lady has refused to utter a word and her father has beheaded twelve suitors and decorated his castle with their heads.
Eithne may not leave, but searches every night in swan form for her mother, whom her father has imprisoned for many years - his desire to possess her stronger than his love for her. Eithne cannot allow any suitor into her heart, she must remain cold, else if she speaks, even to save one of these gallant's lives, Sheelin, her father, will steal her voice and use its magic to enter and rule the realm of the Swan Maidens.
There is something special about wounded warrior Bron mac Llyr, and unlike the others, he seems to see beyond the illusory richness of the castle...but Eithne is afraid to trust anyone with her search or her secrets.
A swan witch (remember them, the girls who turned into swans and fly?) is held by her father. Any who enter his castle may live like kings for seven days and try to win the lady Eithne, but to prove it she must ask them one true question and he must give a true answer. But, the lady has refused to utter a word and her father has beheaded twelve suitors and decorated his castle with their heads.
Eithne may not leave, but searches every night in swan form for her mother, whom her father has imprisoned for many years - his desire to possess her stronger than his love for her. Eithne cannot allow any suitor into her heart, she must remain cold, else if she speaks, even to save one of these gallant's lives, Sheelin, her father, will steal her voice and use its magic to enter and rule the realm of the Swan Maidens.
There is something special about wounded warrior Bron mac Llyr, and unlike the others, he seems to see beyond the illusory richness of the castle...but Eithne is afraid to trust anyone with her search or her secrets.
