“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 theGarden 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.”
