He burst out laughing. “Too right. It’s the least those unseelie bastards can do.”
I gathered all the crumpled notes in the bag, smoothing them out and tucking them inside my notebook. When I pulled out the bag of coins, I held it out to Nua. “Here.”
“What’s this?” He hesitantly took it, then his eyes widened when he heard the jangle of coins.
“My rent.” I smiled at him.
His eyes bulged when he opened the bag and peered into it. “Ash, this is—”
“I don’t need it,” I interrupted. “Seriously. I don’t need it or want it. Please take it.”
He shook his head. “Ash, this is so much money. Where did you get it?”
I just shrugged, grinning when Gillie leaned forward to peer in and choked on a breath.
“What the fuck, lad?”
I laughed. It felt like I hadn’t laughed this much in months. “It’s yours.”
I woke up the next morning filled with determination and confidence that I could navigate my new life. My new world. I’d snuck back onto unseelie land right under the Carlin’s nose and taken my stuff, for god’s sake. Fuck her and her sons. I wasn’t going to let them make me hide in fear for the rest of my life.
When I joined Nua and Gillie in the kitchen after getting dressed, I helped them make breakfast and didn’t speak up until we were sitting down to eat.
“I want to find Ogma today. Get my second name.”
Gillie’s brows jerked up in surprise as he cut into his fried egg. “Really?”
I nodded, gulping down some coffee before licking my lips. “I want to get it done. I’ll feel safer.”
Even Nua nodded in agreement, and he was usually the most cautious. “It’s a good idea. If the Carlin’s guards are still looking for you, word may travel back to the seelie court.”
I looked at Gillie. “So how do I do it? You… you mentioned magic mushrooms before, right?”
My apprehensive tone made him laugh.
“That’s right.” He reached over to tap lightly at my temple. “You’re going to unlock a special place in that big brain that will let you see her.”
I flushed. “But… so… how will I know what’s real and what’s just a hallucination? They make you hallucinate, right?”
He shook his head. “Nothing you see will be a hallucination. They don’t affect us in the same way as mortals.” He paused with his toast lifted halfway to his mouth. “Youwillsee some strange stuff, besides Ogma. But it will all be real.”
Shit, that sounded more terrifying than hallucinations.
“Like what?” I asked apprehensively.
Gillie gave a little shrug. “Just other creatures that you normally can’t see. They’ll leave you alone, though. And you won’t even actually see Ogma. She stays in her little hut. You’ll whisper your new name to her through the opening.”
“Okay, so tell me what I have to do,” I said firmly, wolfing down my breakfast in case I would need my strength for whatever it was.
“I’ll give you the mushrooms. You go outside and take them. And then…” He shrugged. “They’ll guide you to her.”
I stared at him. “What? How?”
“They just will.” He chuckled. “This is the method my family has used for millennia, Ash. Don’t worry. It’ll work.”
I decided to trust him. “Alright, so… what do I do when I find her?”
“You pick a second name, and you tell her your new name in full. She’ll record it in her book.”