Chapter Seven #2
“Oh, hell, no. Pull back, everyone.” I ushered Tiernan out of the forest and into the relative safety of the bare field. “Sit down, T.”
“I'm fine, Seren.”
I cupped Tiernan's cheek and peered into his eyes.
They weren't empty as Thenris' were, but there was something wrong.
“Are you enchanted?” I let my uncrossing magic seep from my fingers into his cheek, the lavender glow seeking anything that may have been left behind by that dark rope.
But it returned to me in seconds, finding no target.
Tiernan took my hand and eased it away from his face. “I'm not enchanted. It . . . I felt a pull.” He frowned. “I felt . . .” He glanced at the knights.
“Give us a minute,” I said to the knights. “Keep an eye on the blight. Shout if it moves.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.” Riosel motioned the other knights away from us and over to where Thenris stood, just a few feet away from the forest, staring at it.
“What did you feel, T?” I asked.
“I'm not sure.” His face twitched. “Guilt, maybe. It was as if it the blight entered my heart, searching for pain.”
“Pain?” I whispered and glanced at Thenris. “And did it find any?”
Tiernan's jaw hardened as he looked away.
My chest tightened. “Tiernan?”
“We all have regrets, Seren.” He met my gaze, but his was cold.
“What the fuck?” I whispered. “Tiernan, what did it do to you?”
He frowned. Blinked. “Sorry, my love.” Sighing, he pulled me into an embrace. “I don't know what it did. It was darkness searching for darkness. I know shadows, Seren, but this was more than a lack of light.”
I leaned back to look at him. “What the fuck is this thing?”
“I don't know.” Tiernan looked back at the forest. “But I will find out.” He started toward our guards.
Keeping pace with him, I asked, “Are you sure you're all right?”
“I just needed a few moments to collect myself.” He glanced at Thenris. “I'm guessing that the longer it has you, the longer it takes to recover.” He stopped and took my hand. “Falcas was right. If you hadn't been there, I'd be as lost as Thenris was.”
“I think our son is developing psychic abilities like Rowan.”
“I agree, although I wish he weren't. Knowing the future is not easy.”
“No, it isn't. But today, it saved you, and I'm grateful for that.”
“Yes, I'll thank him later.” Tiernan tugged on my hand. “But right now, we need to get the rest of our soldiers out of there.”
I narrowed my stare on the blight. Was it moving?
“I have an idea.” I stepped away from Tiernan and covered myself in Light. “Stay behind me this time.”
“Oh, I will.” Tiernan motioned at our knights. “With us!”
“Yes, Your Majesty!” The knights hurried to fall into place behind Tiernan, who walked behind me, shielded by my Light.
Actually, it was Anu's Light, and as I considered that, I realized that it may be the only reason it worked on this blight.
If the darkness consumed Fey emotions, maybe it consumed Fey magic too.
Or maybe the emotions it fed on protected it from Fey magic.
I wasn't sure what it was, but it had to be something to do with the Fey connection, and that connection had worked against Tiernan.
I stepped into the forest. Light hovered just above my clothing, ready to spring.
I waited until I was five feet from the blight, still needing the control of proximity, and then I launched my attack.
The blight withdrew, sucking itself out of trees, plants, and the soil.
It reminded me a little of Tiernan's Shadowcall but his shadows didn't feed on emotions.
That was closer to what Daxon did with the Tromlaighe.
What was this thing? Where had it come from?
Deeper and deeper I went, driving the blight back, until I found another heap of glossy black ropes.
Blasting the mass with Light, I freed a Seelie soldier.
Then I came to another and another, all of them coming out of the darkness with a strange calm.
Each soldier was escorted out of the forest as I pushed ahead, directed by Thenris.
Thenris, who showed no reaction to the freed men and women. He was the knight in command of the regiment. He should have felt responsible for his soldiers if nothing else. But he remained stoic, and they were just as unaffected, walking away without showing any reaction.
It was after I found the fourth knight that I came to the clearing. Although it was still day, it was dark in the meadow. Clouds had gathered above, blocking out the sun. No problem. I had my own sunshine.
Once again, I pushed the darkness back, but this time, it didn't retreat into the forest. It went down into the ground. I hurried forward, pushing and pushing with the Light to send the blight back to where it had come from. It vanished completely, like water draining through sand.
Movement lifted my head. I gasped as I looked around the meadow.
Anthousai and Seelie soldiers spotted the grass, all of them coming awake to sit up and look around with calm curiosity.
No, curiosity implies interest. There was no interest in their expressions.
They were merely noting their surroundings.
Stoic soldiers were one thing, but Anthousai were flower nymphs.
They liked to garden and frolic. These were not the type of fairies to take a beating and brush it off. Seeing them like that was chilling.
As if clearing the blight below affected what was above, the sky cleared, and the sun shone down.
I released the Light. It winked out in my palms. I narrowed my stare at the Anthousai and did a quick headcount. “That can't be all the Anthousai from the village.”
Tiernan's silver gaze swept the meadow. “No. I'm guessing the rest abandoned their homes before the blight could take them.” He looked down at the spot where the oily black had disappeared. “These fairies should probably leave as well, just for the time being.”
“I agree. I drove the blight back, but I don't think I destroyed it, Tiernan.”
“Neither do I.” His jaw set and his eyes twitched. “Very well. We'll take them out of here, see them safe, and return to the castle.”
“To the castle?”
“Yes.” He looked at me. “We can't fight this if we don't know what it is.”
“And you think we can find out at the castle?”
“I hope we can. Honestly, I've never seen nor heard of anything like this, Seren.”
“It was hungry, whatever it was.”
“Yes. If we can't figure it out on our own, we'll need to request aid from Danu.”
“All right.” I was back to staring at the men and women dressed in silk and flowers. Wilted flowers. They were beautiful, all of them, but empty of the brightness Anthousai were known for. “First, we need to talk to the victims. All of them.”