Camulus was aghast at her appearance. "Morrigan? What are you doing here? This doesn't concern you."
"Oh yes, it does." Her grandmother transformed from a little old lady into the beautiful war goddess Talon had met in his days as a mortal man.
Talon went cold.
Sunshine sputtered. "Excuse me? What is this?"
Her grandmother looked at Sunshine apologetically. "I didn't mean for you to find out this way, Little Bit, but Acheron and I had to stop them from unleashing Apollymi. And to get Talon free, we needed the two of you here to face Camulus."
Talon gaped.
Ash had known all about this? Why hadn't he told him?
The Morrigan turned back to Camulus. "Sorry, Cam. For once you forgot to read the fine print. You agreed with Bran to let Nynia be reborn to mortal parents for your scheme. You never specified that her grandparents be mortal too.
"Since I couldn't help Speirr escape your curse and his bargain without declaring war on you and Artemis, I figured the least I could do was return his wife to him in the body of someone you couldn't touch. Nynia now reborn as Sunshine is flesh of my flesh, blood of my blood. When Speirr drank from her neck, he took my blood into him and now he, too, has my protection."
Camulus cursed.
Her grandmother wrinkled her nose. "It just reeks, doesn't it? You can't kill her or him unless you want to fight me."
Talon exchanged a stunned look with Sunshine.
"One day, Morrigan. One day..." Camulus flashed out of the room.
The Morrigan took a deep breath, then turned around to face them. "Congratulations, kids."
"I'm free?" Talon asked, still unable to believe it.
The Morrigan nodded. "With your Dark-Hunter powers intact."
Sunshine hesitated. "Is he still a Dark-Hunter?"
"No," her grandmother said. "Artemis released him from his vow when she gave up his soul. Once psychic powers are bestowed on someone, they remain with them forever."
Sunshine smiled. "So he can go out into daylight now?"
"Yes." The Morrigan looked suddenly uncomfortable. "By the way, there's something I need to tell you two."
"What?" they asked in unison, both of them afraid of what she might say.
"Because of the way our pantheon works, the two of you are..." She bit her lip and wrung her hands.
"We are what?" Talon prompted, terrified of what was coming next. When dealing with a god, one could never be too careful.
"You're immortal unless you renounce it."
Sunshine blinked. "What?"
Her grandmother cleared her throat. "You and your brothers were born immortal, sweetie. It's why you still look like a baby even though you're pushing thirty."
"Does that mean Mom's immortal too?" she asked.
"No. Since your father isn't, she decided that she would give up her immortality to age with him. But since it was my blood that gave her immortality, it was passed on from her to you and then from you to Talon."
Joy ripped through Talon. "You mean I never have to watch her die again?"
"Never. Not unless you choose to."