SOLVED. Celtic standalone fantasy novel (with some romance but not a romance novel). A warrior and a serving/slave girl go on a quest for something; it turns out the girl is a badass magic user but no one knows why. Spoilers ahead. [s]

[Mena]

I read this book about 6-8 years ago and I can't remember the main plot of the book, but I remember a lot about the beginning and the end of the book. It really doesn't help that I was reading cup of the world at the time and I have no idea why a chalice keeps popping up in my head, but from what I remember of the beginning of the book it has nothing to do with chalices.



Some spoilers/plot points below:

















































There's a warrior whose the best in the area and he's sleeping with the queen and meanwhile there's a serving girl that's trying to escape from the life because she's an orphan and her life sucks. Somehow the warrior is kicked out (most likely for sleeping with the queen) and he joins the serving/slave girl on some quest. They run into a bunch of stock Celtic myths like elves or will-o'-the-wisps and the girl saves the warrior guy a bunch of times but the girl and the warrior have no idea why.

[Martini]

Did they find out why the girl was so good at magic in the end? Or was the book part of a series and the reason revealed in a later book?

[Sue]

The Magic Cup by Andrew M. Greeley?

"In this novel of legendary Ireland, Andrew Greeley takes you back into a long-ago time of mists and magic, faith and love. Here you will meet Cormac MacDermot, the young king destined to lead Ireland out of paganism to Christianity; his aged father, now on the throne, and the seductive witch-queen who holds the country in thrall. Here also is the lovely slave girl Brigid. As light-footed as an Irish pixie, she will help Cormac seek the magic cup that will confirm his right to be High King of Ireland.

Over mountain and river they will journey, beset by perils. But when their enemies capture Brigid, and Cormac strives to save her, he will see that the little slave girl is a great deal more than she seems."

[Mena]

omg yes thank you so much! you have no idea how much this had been bothering me!

[Kris]

Glad you found your book, Mena. Here's the link for Sue's find - The Magic Cup by Andrew M. Greeley.