Tiernan nodded and backed away, motioning to his guards to do the same. Once everyone was clear, I held my hands out toward the ground. Light blasted from me, radiating the ground with magic that shouldn't be in Fairy. A shriek came, so high-pitched that Tiernan and his knights hissed and covered their ears. I couldn't cover mine, not with Light streaming from me, but the sound didn't hurt me. Not physically, at least. It saddened me.
Even more shocking was the blight's physical reaction. Instead of burning away as expected, the black pulled back as if it were a living substance. And this living substance gathered itself even after it had dispersed into the earth. It retracted from the Light, and as I moved forward, a path of clean land was revealed. The shrieking continued as I cleared the entire area up to the trees. I stopped there. I'd gone far enough to see that my assumption was correct.
A man lay before me, covered in black ropes.
As I knelt, I heard footsteps behind me. At that range, I could direct the Light onto the glossy ropes alone, and I did. Instantly, they withdrew like tapped tentacles. The shrieks came again, and the body of a Seelie knight was revealed.
“It's Sir Thenris. Oh, dear Goddess.” Tiernan knelt beside me and touched the man's shoulder.
Thenris opened his eyes and blinked. As immortals, Fairies always appeared to be in the bloom of health and youth. This man had hollow cheeks and sunken eyes.
“Thenris?” Tiernan slowly laid his hand on the knight's shoulder.
Thenris blinked again, his eyes shifting about before focusing on Tiernan. “Your Majesty?” He looked around again. “Why are you here?”
“You're going to be all right, Thenris.” Tiernan waved his knights over. “Help me move him.”
The other knights rushed forward to lift Sir Thenris and carry him away from the forest. Tiernan and I retreated with them, casting looks at the dark lurking within the trees. It wasn't just on the ground. I could see streaks going up tree trunks and permeating the undergrowth.
They laid Thenris on the harvested land, wheat stubs cushioning him, and he stared up at the sky. His eyes were the color the sky should be and were empty of all emotion.
“Thenris.” Tiernan knelt beside him. “What happened? Where are the others?”
Thenris frowned and sat up. Everyone leaned back. He took a breath, looked around, and then focused on the forest. Still, he didn't say anything.
“Sir Thenris?” I crouched and angled my head to meet his gaze. “Are you well?”
He met my gaze. “I'm tired, Your Majesty.”
I glanced at Tiernan. “He's in shock.”
“Sir Thenris, I need you to tell me what happened here,” Tiernan tried again. “Where is the rest of your regiment?”
A crease appeared between Thenris' eyebrows. “In the forest. They're in the forest, Your Majesty. It came from the ground.” He stood up.
We got to our feet with him, all of us watching him.
“Go on,” Tiernan said.
Thenris pointed to the darkness in the forest. “There. They're in there. It rose from the soil and took us. Nothing worked against it.” He looked at Tiernan. “It's the will of Fairy, Your Majesty. We must accept it.”
A chill ran down my spine. “What do you mean, Sir Thenris?”
“I feel stronger. My mind is clear.” Thenris stretched his neck and then started for the village.
“Sir Thenris!” Tiernan shouted.
“Your Majesty?” Thenris stopped and looked back.
“Where are you going?”
“To the castle, Your Majesty. I must return to my duties.”
Tiernan and I shared a worried look before he said, “Your work is here, Sir Thenris. We are going to find the rest of your regiment, and then we will return to Castle Seelie.”
“Yes, of course, Your Majesty.” Thenris bowed. “I will show you where they are.” He turned and headed toward the forest.
“Danu protect us,” one of the knights whispered.
