The Heartbreak Show (Bound By Ravens #3)

PROLOGUE

The Tale of Cian from Irish Mythology

Once upon a time, there was a Fomorian king named Balor who could destroy entire armies when his one, evil eye opened. Many feared him, for good reason, including his enemy, the Tuatha Dé Danann. There was no way to defeat this monster except through a prophecy: he would one day die at the hands of his grandson.

Since he didn't have a grandchild, he didn't fear death.

He did have one child, though, a beautiful daughter named Eithne.

To safeguard himself, Balor imprisoned Eithne when she was very young in a tower made of glass, one built on an island that was reachable only by magic. Then he selected a staff of women to care for the princess's every need, but only if they agreed to his bargain first.

Eithne was never to know what a man was and, thus, they were never to speak to her of men.

As Eithne grew, she spent most of her time peering out to sea atop the glass tower. And, every night, she dreamed of a beautiful face unlike any she had ever known—one that first appeared to her as a woman. She dreamt of them so much, she ached to meet the person whose face bewitched her sleeping hours. But when she described this strangely beautiful face to the women, they remained silent.

For every night, Eithne dreamed of a man’s face.

Across the sea, in Ireland, dwelled a god from the Tuatha Dé Danann named Cian. He was a mighty warrior, born of the Great Physician and Danu the Mother Goddess. Despite his parentage and feats, he was best known throughout the clans for Glas Gaibhnenn, a magical cow of prosperity and fertility who appeared during times of famine and need.

A cow his brother, a blacksmith, once owned and bound to Cian through an enchanted bridle.

A faerie cow whose milk never ran dry.

Everyone desired to own Glas Gaibhnenn, none more so than Balor. The Fomorian king often followed Cian about in disguise, scheming how to steal this wondrous cow. But Cian was aware of Balor's plans and took every precaution to protect Glas Gaibhnenn from his enemy.

But not every precaution.

While Cian met with the very blacksmith brother who had bound him to Glas Gaibhnenn, he left the Cow of Plenty to another brother’s care. An unfortunate mistake Cian would regret for the remaining days of his life.

Balor appeared as a redheaded boy to the brother overseeing Glas Gaibhnenn and shared that Cian planned to hoard all the new weapons for himself. Furious, the brother left the cow with the redheaded boy and stomped off toward the blacksmith's shop.

The evil king quickly absconded back to his land with the magical cow.

In a wild panic, Cian sought out a well-known druidess to help him steal back Glas Gaibhnenn.

It so happened this druidess knew of Balor's prophecy, though she didn't share the details with Cian. Instead, she declared that to retrieve his cow, he would need to kill Balor. But such a daring plan would require Cian to first travel to a guarded island through the mists. Desperate, Cian readily agreed to her plan.

So, the druidess disguised him as a woman.

She then conjured a magical wind that blew both her and Cian across the sea, through the veil of mists, to the glass tower's very shores where Eithne lived.

The druidess knocked on the bolted door and shouted, "The Queen of the Faeries accompanies me! We seek shelter from the enemies who pursue her!"

The women opened the door and, as soon as the druidess entered, they fell under a short sleeping spell.

Cian climbed up the stairs in search of armed guards. Instead, he found a woman with long black hair who peered out over the sea. The moment his eyes locked onto her wistful form, his heart fell for her extraordinary beauty and sadness. And when Eithne looked upon him, she was astonished to see the face who had visited her dreams since she had blossomed into womanhood.

Cian married her with only the sea and stars as witness and then made love to her in the tower.

As the days stretched on, Eithne and Cian fell deeper in love. But the druidess grew increasingly afraid of Balor and announced they must leave. Cian begged the druidess to take Eithne back to Ireland with them, but she feared Balor would bring war to retrieve the princess. Before Cian could change her mind, the druidess conjured the magical wind and returned both her and Cian to the mainland, leaving Eithne behind.

And his magical cow.

Eithne was heartbroken and took to her bed. She grew more and more despondent when the face she loved more than any other didn't return for her, not even in her dreams. Her grief eased, however, when discovering that she carried Cian's child.

Months later, she gave birth to triplet boys.

Balor, learning of this, seized her sons in a rage and threw all three newborns into the unforgiving sea.

Eithne's keening wails shook the glass walls and filled the oceans.

The god of the sea was moved by her unending heartbreak, though, and rescued a single babe. A lad with hair as candescent and golden as the sun. To keep the boy safe from Balor, he personally delivered the child to Cian.

The very moment Cian gazed upon his son’s bright, shining countenance, he fell in love and ensured the lad had the best training, leaving him to the earth goddess Tailtiu to foster, as was the practice of the Tuatha Dé Danann in that time.

He named the boy Lugh for his shining hair.

Lugh grew into great power and magic and, when a man, became both the God of the Sun and Light, Master of all Crafts, and King of the Tuatha Dé Danann—the very grandchild prophesized to end Balor’s life.

Though Balor did eventually die at the hands of his grandson, Cian never did see his true love again.

Or his magical cow.

“Gods and Fighting Men” by Lady Gregory, 1905, retold and abridged by Jesikah Sundin, a folktale adaptation of “The Fate of the Children of Tuireann ( Oidheadh Chloinne Tuireann ),” from “The Battle of Magh Tuireadh ( Cath Maige Tuired )” in The Book of Invasions ( Leabhar Gabhála éireann ),” The Mythological Cycle , 11 th century, Ireland.