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When a fresh mug was delivered, Niall studied it, turning it round and round. “The name, Vidar, sounds familiar.” He ran through lists of names in his head hoping for a clue. “Got it! You’re named after the god of the northern hunt.” Vidar shook his head and smiled. “No?’

“No. I’m not named after anyone. I am god of the northern hunt.”

Being a narcissist through and through, Niall found himself seated across from someone who might be worthy of his company. He smiled. “Why would you be here? In a small tavern in a nearly nameless Irish town.”

“Why does that seem hard to accept? Since the beginning of time, gods have mingled with mortals.”

Niall barked out a laugh. Though he was mortal, he’d never really thought of himself that way. It might be fun to chat with a fella who looked down on him.

“That much is true. Still, if I were in your boots, I doubt I’d find myself here.”

“Why not? You’re prince of the land. Yet here you are.”

“Again. You are right. Some might think it odd.”

“Some might. Not I.”

“I send your question back your way, Vidar. Why’s that?”

“Sometimes, the mightiest of creatures craves a taste of ordinary.”

Niall nodded slightly. “There is wisdom in that. But ‘tis no’ the reason I’m here.

Might say I’m celebratin’ freedom. Just finished a sentence imposed by that human judge.

” Though Niall’s inflection of “human judge” left no doubt how he felt about the magistrate, he turned his head and spat on the ancient floorboards for good measure.

Though Vidar spent most of his time alone in the wilderness, or maybe because of it, he had an outsized appreciation of civilization.

Rather unusual for Vidar’s Norse contemporaries, who had little use for gentle social conventions.

In his mind, the first tenet of civilization is manners.

He’d given Niall a chance to earn his respect, but the boy was failing fast.

“You were sued,” Vidar said matter-of-factly.

“Yeah. By a kelpie. Indirectly.”

Vidar wasn’t sure how one might be indirectly sued by a kelpie, but he pretended to be interested. Getting Niall to open up had been a bit like pulling the chain on a windup toy. Once he’d started talking, the prince had quickly morphed into a chatterbox.

Sitting quietly through Niall’s telling of “keeping” the kelpie confined, the “unjust” details of the court case, then the trials and tribulations of being exiled to the highlands where the Scotia queen’s brothers live, Vidar grunted occasionally, nodded occasionally, and otherwise made a point of maintaining eye contact.

“’Tis my story of late,” Niall concluded.

“Well, congratulations on being a free man,” Vidar posited.

“Right you are. To freedom.” He held his mug aloft in a gesture inviting Vidar to join him in a toast to himself.

“To freedom,” Vidar said as his mug touched that of the prince. “So, what’s the next adventure?”

“Adventure?” Niall repeated, sounding as if the idea of a plan hadn’t occurred to him.

“Yes. What’s the plan for how to spend your days now that you’re free to choose?”

“Em. Well. Can no’ say I’ve formulated an actual plan.

” It couldn’t be said that Niall was deeply daunted by the idea of being caught without a plan, but he was slightly embarrassed.

For some reason, he found himself not wanting Vidar to think less of him.

“My plan was to take a short while to celebrate and then make a plan.”

“Sound thinking. And nothing wrong with that.”

Vidar was in the process of standing to go when Niall stopped him.

“Before ye go, tell me…”

“Yes?”

“Do you, em, always have a plan?”

“Mostly. I do best with a little structure. Not that every minute must be accounted for, mind you.”

Niall was nodding. “No. No. I understand completely.” Vidar was pretty sure Niall didn’t understand at all. “Maybe I’ll find a way to get my kelpie back.”

In Vidar’s eyes, that was confirmation of what he’d already suspected. Niall wasn’t too bright. “You could do that. But there’s a very good chance you’d face a harsher sentence next time.”

“Me mum would no’ like that.”

“I don’t imagine she would. But I’m sure she didn’t like seeing yourself in court the first time either.” Vidar leaned back and pursed his lips. “Other than keeping deranged kelpies as pets, what kinds of things interest you?”

Niall stared blankly, Vidar got the sense that it was a question Niall had never entertained. “Nothin’ comes to mind.”

“I see. Do you like music?”

“Has its place.”

“Do you play an instrument?”

“Gods no. ‘Tis for servants. You have to spend an awful lot of time by yourself learning to play. And for what?”

“Right. Do you, ah, have a female friend you spend time with?”

Niall made a strangled sound, leaving Vidar with the sense the prince wasn’t much interested in dating. Given his proclivity for meanness, Vidar was thinking that was just as well for Eire’s population of lasses.

“You’re meanin’ a relationship that lasts longer than an hour?” Niall asked with a lascivious grin.

Vidar did his best to disguise the deep breath he inhaled. “Yes. That’s what I mean.”

Though the need to answer had been suspended due to further clarification, Niall answered anyway. “No’ interested.”

“No music. No girls. What about governance? I understand your family is into it.”

Niall wobbled his head. “My da and brother are into it. ‘Tis reason enough for me to know ‘tis no’ for me.”

Not being able to help himself, Vidar had to ask the obvious follow-up. “You know you wouldn’t like it because your father and brother do?”

“Aye. Does that sound dúsachtach?”

“Your feelings are your feelings.”

As if Vidar just uttered the most profound wisdom of the ages, Niall nodded solemnly and said, “’Tis very true.”

“Well…” Once again, Vidar moved to rise.

“Hold on.” Vidar did as he was told and paused, looking curious on the outside, smiling broadly on the inside. His plan was coming to fruition. The kid was hooked! “What’s your plan?”

“The Argonauts’ seas still exist in Greek faerie. Not like here, where the land underneath has been claimed for farming. Some of my cousins and I are planning to recreate a sailing trip from the Golden Age. We’ll do all the physical stuff ourselves. No magic. Just like humans.”

“Ah. Would ye go on?!?”

“You know, when you’ve lived a long time, new experiences are a prize above all else. I’d invite you along, but some of my relatives can be boisterous. Detrimental to the health and well-being of fae, you understand.”

Niall nodded. “So, do you?”

“Do I what?”

“Do you have a wife? Or a ready female?”

“No wife. But I’m quite fond of the Scandinavian queen.”

“Ilmr? You bloody devil! She feel the same?”

Vidar gave Niall a knowing grin. “There’s no doubt of that.”

“What other new experiences are you plannin’?”

“A few things,” Vidar said thoughtfully. “Haven’t worked out the details.”

“Like what?”

“Well. For instance, I’ve never been inside Eire.”

Niall sat up straight looking suddenly sober. “I can help with that.”

Vidar made himself look interested. “Why, Niall. Running into you here might’ve been a stroke of good luck for me.”

“Let’s go!”

“Now?”

“What else are ye doin’?”

Vidar chuckled. “Lead the way.”

Of course, one of the nicest perks of being a demigod was that Vidar could appear anywhere he wanted, anytime he wanted.

But an invitation to be a guest of a member of the royal family made things so much easier.

It would give him the chance to poke around.

Who knew? Perhaps he might even encounter a baby dragon.