Chapter Thirty-Six
Tiernan and I turned into each other's arms. Relief shivered through me.
I had nearly lost him and myself. More than that.
I could have lost everything if the King had taken me and control of Fairy.
But we were safe, and I was back. Full throttle, all emotions firing.
How could I have ever thought that pale imitation of happiness was better than this?
Yes, I was full of pain. My soul kept a record of heartaches, betrayals, and regret.
But those dark emotions made the good ones shine all the brighter.
The darkness strengthened and guided me.
It taught me. One was nothing without the other.
I eased back to look at Tiernan. “Are you all right?”
“Yes. You? Are you whole?”
“Yes.” I stepped back and looked at the Shining Ones who waited around us. “Are you whole, Honored Dead?”
In unison, their voices came, “You have healed ancient wounds today, King Tiernan Shadowcall and Queen Seren Firethorns. We are whole, and so is Seelie. We reclaimed everything taken from our people and have released that which is not ours to those who were not here to reclaim their share.”
“You mean the fairies who have been attacked? They're whole again?” I asked.
“Yes, Queen Seren. All is whole.”
“Thank you.” I thought of the Licho and mourned for them, but their darkness belonged to them alone.
Tiernan bowed, and I hurried to do the same.
“Thank you for your help, Shining Ones,” Tiernan's stare shifted to his father. “You have healed me as well. Please, return to your rest with the thanks of the Seelie Kingdom.”
“And all of Fairy,” I added, my stare skipping over to Uisdean. I nodded to him, and he smiled back with a hint of mischief.
The Shining Ones bowed and began to disappear, fading into the shadows until only one remained.
Diocail Shadowcall stepped forward. “Son, I'm so proud of you. I've watched you become a wonderful king. And you have a son now as well. He is magnificent. I know you will be a better father than I was.”
Tiernan went to meet him halfway. “Father, I . . .”
“Death brings clarity. I see you, Tiernan. I'm sorry I didn't see all of you while I was alive.”
“It doesn't matter now. I'm glad you're with the Shining Ones. I'm glad you're well, Father.”
“Tell your mother and sister I love them.” He opened his arms.
Tiernan embraced his father, Diocail's glow intensifying between them.
He whispered something to Tiernan and then faded away.
Tiernan bent forward with his father's disappearance, and his head hung.
The only light left in the cavern was his sword, lying where it had fallen when the King knocked Tiernan into the wall, and my armor. They cast him into grave shadows.
“Tiernan?” I laid my hand on his back.
He lifted his head and looked at me over his shoulder, the tears in his eyes shimmering in my light. “Seren.”
“I know.” I moved around to his front and reached for him. “He's at peace and serving Fairy. You should be proud of him.”
“I am.” Tiernan's expression went grim. “I'm happy my father's spirit is still here. We were at odds for most of my life, but I still love him. It's not seeing him that has upset me. Seren, his last words to me weren't about love. They were a warning.”
I grimaced. “The King of Regret was telling the truth?”
Tiernan nodded. “My father said that Fairy is reacting to Danu's absence. Without her influence, the primal magic of the planet is rising.”
“Rising? Fairy is always flooded with magic.”
“This isn't the harmonious magic that infuses our world.
It's the stuff at its center. The primal forces that aren't meant to be unleashed.
They are what give our world life. What moves it.
That's what is rising. Like a broken dam, the magic is rushing forth without restraint. It hit Seelie first and awakened the Garden of Regret. We stopped the Garden but not the tide of magic. It will flow into the other kingdoms now.”
“Did your father say how it would attack the other kingdoms?”
“It's not an attack, Seren. It's divine magic unleashed. It flowed into the Garden of Regret because that was the easiest path for it. It will flow into whatever paths open for it in Unseelie and Twilight.”
“So, we have no idea what it's going to do.”
“No. All we can do is keep watch.”
I sighed and sat down on a boulder beside Tiernan's discarded sword and withdrew the Light from it.
He picked up the weapon and sheathed it.
I felt true to my name in that darkness—a star lighting the night.
But the dark didn't bother me. I knew what it held.
Or rather, I knew what it didn't hold. The cavern felt peaceful now that it was clear of regret.
Tiernan sat down beside me. “At least the blight is over.”
I knocked my shining shoulder into his. “You will go down in Fey history as the King who healed the Shining Ones.”
He made a soft snort. “I didn't know there were so many of them.”
“Shit, I didn't know evil bastards could join them. I thought there was a morality requirement. I mean, they're the Shining Ones. Aren't they supposed to be the best of us? What the fuck was Moire doing with them?”
Tiernan laughed. “And Uisdean. Fuck me, they must be atoning for their sins.”
“Or maybe they didn't see their actions as sinful, and so their souls weren't tarnished.” I shrugged. “It's all in perspective.”
“No, Uisdean was an evil motherfucker no matter how you looked at his deeds.”
I snorted. “He did kill my mother and try to force Bress to rape me.”
“My love, not to make light of those things, but Uisdean did far worse than that.”
“Yeah. And yet, I was kinda happy to see him. At the end of his life, I saw him as a man in love, doing anything he had to do to protect his wife, and it made me feel sympathy for him. I was glad to see him with Rue. Glad to know they're together. Is that messed up?”
“No.” Tiernan put his arm around me. “It's called grace. You are divine in your capacity for forgiveness.”
I grinned. “And in my capacity for vengeance.” I lost my smile. “Maybe I should call on Anu when I go to Hell.”
Tiernan stiffened. “You're still going?”
“You thought I'd change my mind? Tiernan, it's clear that I won't find any peace until I heal Hell. I have to do this so we can return to normal.”
“Yes, both planets need healing. I just thought you might stay here until our world was healed first.”
“If there was a known threat I could deal with, I would. But there isn't. All of you can keep watch without me, and I can return in seconds if you need me.”
Tiernan sighed and stood up. “Will you at least reconsider going alone?”
I stood up too. “I may have been a little woo-woo for a while there, but a lot of what I said made sense. Shit, it was all sense. This is how I regain your trust.” I lifted a hand when he drew breath to speak.
“Don't tell me you trust me. I know you want to, but this thing with Star has put doubt into your heart. I have to go alone so I can prove to all of you and myself that I can be trusted around Astaroth.” I took his hand.
“Tiernan, I really believe that Star and I have been pushed together by outside forces.
He's just not the kind of man to push himself on a woman.
And I'm not the kind of woman to chase after a man when I'm happily married to five.
This isn't us. And I know that more now than ever, after seeing the real me laid bare.
If we can just be freed of all influence, our attraction for each other won't be an issue.”
“And to be freed, you have to go to Hell.”
“I have to accept my destiny. You'd think I'd learn by now that destiny can't be ignored.”
As if my words summoned it, a chiming came.
I frowned, looking down at myself. But my scry phone was back on the battlefield with the remnants of my clothes and my Demon sword. The chiming came from Tiernan.
He let go of me to pull his scry phone out of a pocket and swipe a finger across the crystal. Huddling together over the phone's light, we waited for the mist to condense.
It was Severriel.
At first, I smiled to see him. But then I noted his expression. “What happened?”
“I need you, Seren! Now!”
“I'm coming!”
Tiernan snapped his phone closed and met my frantic stare. “Go!”
I kissed his cheek. “My phone and sword are in the field.”
He nodded. “I'll fetch them. Go, Seren!”
“I love you!”
Tiernan summoned a light orb and set it to float above him. “I love you too. Scry me when you've handled whatever this is.”
“What fresh hell is this?” I quipped but also grimaced as I stepped back.
“I have a feeling Hell has nothing to do with this,” Tiernan muttered.
The angelic wind swept his voice up with me, echoing it around me as I laruked to Sever.