Mark Paren

Hearing that it landed with the right weight rather than feeling forced is exactly the reassurance I need. And about the Bresnahans …. Thanks for the thoughtful comment.

They will both feel the separation. Cianàn spent millennium alone and a few months, though painful, can be endured. Hayden isn’t used to being separated from someone he loves, but he does have other loved ones to find solace in. Thanks for commenting.

Four months and fifteen days Is a long time for boys in love.

Thank you. Your comment warms my heart.

The morning of August sixth arrived clear and warm, the sky a pale and cloudless blue that stretched from the ridge to the horizon without interruption. Aiden was up before anyone else. He stood in the garden in the early light, the dew already burning off the grass, and looked at the ridge. The specific point on the Bricklieve Mountains was exactly where Cianán had shown him weeks ago from this same spot, his arm alongside Aiden’s, his finger tracing the line. The sun would reach it tonigh

There is more to came. We haven’t seen the last of the decendants of Bres (the Bresnahans). Thanks for commenting.

This was intended as a breather chapter. I’m glad you picked up on it. Thanks for commenting.

I’m happy you picked up on this. It is an important chapter for Aiden’s character arc.

Four days. Thanks for commenting.

Breakfast was bacon and eggs and toast with marmalade, which Cianán had discovered early in the summer and approached with the same focused reverence he brought to everything Rowan put in front of him. Declan read the paper. Rowan refilled cups without being asked. The morning was ordinary and easy in the way the mornings had become. Afterward, while Rowan cleared the plates, Aiden looked at Cianán across the table. “Come up,” he said. “I want to show you my room.” Cianán followed

Prescient questions which we will know more about in the next few chapters.

I’m glad you’re enjoying it. Thanks for commenting.

Cianàn is afraid of the loneliness. His love for Aiden saved them both. If Aiden entered the otherworld he may never have returned.

Though mythic, Cianàn possesses human weakness. Thanks for commenting.

The morning after Strandhill felt easy in the way that only mornings after genuinely good days could feel. The heat had broken overnight, leaving the air clear and cool, the hills sharp against a sky that was purely, uncomplicatedly blue. Aiden came downstairs to find Rowan already at the Aga and Declan at the table with his notebook, and neither of them said anything about the previous day beyond Rowan asking if his shoulders were sore from paddling and Aiden saying no and meaning yes.