“You've already taken from Tiernan.”
“That was just a taste. He still holds much pain. His pain is our tribute. As is yours. Give it to the Garden or all will suffer.” His dark stare shifted to the village. “You have seen the good that a pruning can do.” He met my gaze again. “And you are in great need of a pruning, Queen Seren. So, here is my offer. Come to me. Give yourself to me, and I will make you into a glorious queen. All that holds you back from greatness and joy will vanish. I will take it from you. Give to the Garden and the Garden will support you.”
My flesh ran cold. I could end the blight right there. Part of me wanted him to take all my guilt. But despite what I had said to my father, it felt wrong while his counsel felt right. Everything was tied to my emotions. Even this decision. The guilt may hurt, but it was the pain of truth. Without that guilt, I wouldn't hold back, and everyone I loved would suffer.
“Look upon your fairies.” The dark king waved at the village. “See what the Garden can do for you. We are not evil. We long to serve. In my arms you'll find only relief.” He opened his arms.
It felt sexual. Maybe because my life was so centered around sex lately. Sure, my perspective could be off. But that's how it felt when he opened his arms—as if he wanted to be my lover. And I had enough of those, thank you very much. So, not only did he creep me out, but he also pissed me off. I wouldn't use my heart to make this decision. Nope, this time, I'd go with my gut.
“No deal, King Somber. Go back to your garden and tell the other talking flowers that I'm coming for you. Either you stop attacking my people, or I will burn your garden to the ground and salt the fucking earth!”
The King of the Somber Ones held my stare, utterly unaffected by my threat. “Very well, Queen Seren. There will be no truce.” He stepped back and became one with the shadows.
Trembling, I crouched to pick up my phone, keeping an an eye on the forest. I would not show fear. I couldn't. But damn, it was nerve-wracking to turn my back on the dark and walk away. I could feel that thing watching me.
Inside my chest, in a heart full of guilt, I resolved to destroy the Garden of Regret. Whatever repercussions arose because of my actions, I would accept. I was not a woman who made idle threats. Nor would I back down when someone threatened me.
Chapter Eighteen
Thanks to my visitor, I was delayed in scrying Raza. First, I had to tell Tiernan about the King of the Somber Ones—a title which I thought was lacking some panache, so I switched it up to King Crybaby. Tiernan did not enjoy my humor. He was a little distracted by the fact that King Poopypants had made it past our sentries and had stood there talking to me for a good five minutes without the trained warriors of the Seelie Kingdom noticing.
So, the night watch was doubled, and I had to go over every detail of my talk with the King of Whiners (it's a working title) with Tiernan. Finally, I told T I needed to scry Raza. Tiernan offered to do a check on our guards so I could have our guest room to myself for a few minutes.
“King Raza Tnyn of Unseelie,” I called out.
The crystal remained misty for a long time. I was just about to give up when Raza's face appeared.
“Yes, Seren?” He glared out of the crystal at me.
My initial reaction was to tell him to shove his attitude up his thick ass, but I took a breath and tried to see things from his perspective. What helped the most was remembering howpoorly I treated him when he was drawn to me by Danu. Great Gods, I'd been awful.
So I relaxed my face and calmly met his glare. “Thank you for answering.”
His face twitched and he cleared his throat. “I'm busy. I'm on—”
“The Isle of Danu,” I finished for him. “Yes, I heard about you defending me. Thank you, Raza.”
Raza grimaced. “Keir.”
“Yes, my father told me.”
“Look, Seren, as I said, I'm—”
“Raza, I'm sorry!”
He took a deep breath. “I know, Seren.”
“But that's not enough. Babe, you're too important to me for me to keep radio silence.”
“I don't know what that means.”
“It means I'm going to scry you over and over until I handle this situation over here, and then I'm going to Unseelie to handle the situation between us. I'll do whatever it takes to earn your forgiveness.”
“Seren, this isn't about you groveling.”
“Isn't it? Because I know Killian told you how I tried to guard myself against—”
“Yes,” he cut me off. “He told me how you tried and how Tiernan succeeded.” Raza narrowed his golden eyes at me.
