“You two have been waiting for this moment for a long time.”
“Biding our time.”
“Are you even a shadow fae, Nollaig?”
She hissed. “I am more a shadow fae than anyone else here, and far more than your father ever was.”
Lorcan did not know what that meant, but he did know that he couldn’t spend any more time asking questions. The city was under attack on two fronts. Three, if he included his father. He needed to make a decision. There was no more time to think. He needed to act.
Nollaig cocked her head, listening. “The wood fae are coming, Your Highness.”
Lorcan let out a growl. He hated this. Everything about it. It felt wrong. The city was burning because of his father’s actions, and Bolg was only showing signs of getting worse. If someone did not step in and stop him, there would be nothing left of the shadow realm to save.
And yet...
“Your Highness, what is it you wish for us to do?”
“This is madness,” he said, his stomach in turmoil.
“Madness is a king sending thousands of his people to die.”
Lorcan winced. It was true, all of it. Nollaig had suddenly placed the future of the realm in his hands, and he did not know what to do. He’d never wanted this kind of power. His princedom had been forced upon him by a father he’d never even met. He’d gladly gone to the Air Court to spy, if only to escape these barren lands.
But he had made a vow back in the mountains. He’d promised himself that he would return to Findius, find a way to stop Bolg Rothach, and become the king himself. This was his chance to right his father’s wrongs. To save the people of this crumbling kingdom.
Lorcan fisted his hands. “Fine. I will go to the castle to carry out your godforsaken plan. But I amnotleaving Reyna here to fight the Ruin alone. First, I’m going to help her in any way I can, and then together we’ll fight the wood fae threatening to tear this city apart. Then, and only then, we will go rip my father off his throne.Afterour enemies are defeated and not before.”
Nollaig sighed in disappointment. “I truly am sorry about this, Your Highness.”
He frowned. “Sorry about what?”
Pain flared through his head, and then the world went black.
48
Reyna
The wind was harsh and brutally hot. Her hair was a storm of silver, slashing at her face and neck. Gritting her teeth, she flicked her gaze down the street. Lorcan and his warriors vanished around the bend, ducking out of the path of the Ruin. The storm above could grow and expand and consume the entire city whole. But for now, they were safe. The Ruin was nothing more than a bulbous cloud wide enough to destroy a single city street.
And so she could finally focus on her greatest enemy and keep it drawn to her side. She needed to give Lorcan a little more time to get his warriors to safety. The last thing she wanted was to get others caught up in this, particularly Nollaig and Segonax. Lorcan was immune, but they weren’t. She couldn’t bear the thought of losing anyone else.
She dropped back her head to glare up at this dark thing that had haunted her for so many years. It wantedher, she understood now. It had ravaged the ice kingdom, all in search ofher. It had followed her to the Air Court. And now it was here. Little did it know, she was finally ready for it.
She opened her arms wide as the black flecks fell heavily onto her cheeks.
“What do you want with me?” she shouted into the storm.
But the storm was silent, save the whistle of the harsh wind and the drumbeat of near constant thunder. More ash rained from the pulsing cloud, a steady torrential downpour. Reyna stood still, closing her eyes against the onslaught. The wind tugged at her tunic, and black sand rushed against her legs. But she held her ground. There was nothing the Ruin could do to her now.
She reopened her eyes, smiling. “For dark magic, you certainly don’t seem very smart. Haven’t you figured it out yet? Your godforsaken ash doesn’t do a damn thing to me!I’m immune.”
That certainly seemed to get its attention. She swore she heard a low growl rumble from deep within the pulsing storm cloud. The dark flecks ceased at once, and the wind vanished so quickly it was almost as though it had never even been there. A few lingering flakes fluttered to the ground, slowly, gently, softly.
Reyna stood in the middle of the ash, hands fisted. Around her, she could already see the devastation the Ruin had wrought. Buildings had been reduced to charred remains, smoking black pits of destruction. There was no sign of bodies, though it would be difficult to tell if anyone had died in this place. There would be no bones or flesh left behind when this storm was done with them.
The Ruin reduced everything to ash.
Reyna called upon the power deep within her, gently testing the strands of each one. There were six in total, all unique and far different than the magic she’d felt from the wings she’d sprouted on her back. These six, these were the elements. She felt ice, as familiar as breath. Beside that was air, powerful winds that would knock her off her feet. Next was sea, followed by wood. She was not certain what those would do. Finally, fire and shadow pulsed quietly together. Darker elements but just as powerful as the others. She held all of that inside of her and more.
