“I know what happened in that pit. She choseSeelie. She chose the dark god. Reyna Darragh will destroy the world.”
A tiny part of Tarrah’s mind wondered if she was wrong. Unseelie had given her so much truth, but he had also given her lies. Teutas was dead. Desperately, Tarrah tried to grasp onto that memory, even as it tried to slip through her fingers like sand.
Nollaig turned to Reyna. “I fear the power here is getting to her mind. She is not being herself.”
“It’s in her blood, and Unseelie gains strength through blood,” Reyna said softly. “But yes, the power is strong here, too.”
You must kill her, Unseelie whispered into her ear, every word drenched in anger.She chose the wrong god. The evil god. The one that twists minds and spreads lies about my power. I told you about him. You must kill her.
Tarrah stared at Reyna, her heart in her throat.
“No,” Tarrah mumbled. “No, I won’t. Teutas—”
Teutas was a test. One you failed. If you’d passed, I would have returned him to you.The hiss grew louder in her mind, so loud that she had to clamp her hands over her ears.I will give you one more chance because I am a gentle, kind god. Teutas will be returned to you if you kill Reyna Darragh. If you do not, she will destroy the world. And you will never see Teutas again.
This was it, Tarrah realized as she gazed across the forest at Reyna. This was Tarrah’s choice, her test. She had chosen wrong before. She had trusted those she shouldn’t have. She had listened to sweet words and smiled at false smiles. She had been tricked and used and tempted to stray from the truth.
Unseelie whispered all of this into her ears, and Tarrah knew. Teutas would give her the seed for the babe who would cross the impassible sea and conquer the Fomorians. It would all happen just as Unseelie had said. But she had to prove her faith.
“You chose wrong!” she shouted at Reyna, trembling as she grabbed her bow and drew an arrow from her back. In an instant, she had her aim. Her arrow was pointed right at Reyna’s heart.
“What the hell, Tarrah?” Nollaig asked, shocked.
“Reyna Darragh chose wrong. She chose Seelie. The god of blood and death.”
42
Reyna
Reyna stared down the center of the iron arrowhead. “Tarrah, you know I can dodge those. You’ve seen me do it.”
“What are you doing, Tarrah?” Nollaig hissed angrily.
Tarrah shifted on her feet, swallowing hard. Reyna ought to be angry that the shadow fae was pointing an arrow at her heart, but she wasn’t. Instead, she just felt sad for her. All these years, she’d been living with the constant hum of Unseelie in her blood. Tarrah’s mother had given a part of her soul for his power. It had twisted her, and in turn, it had twisted Tarrah, too.
No one could survive that and come out whole.
“Tarrah,” Reyna said softly. “If you want to shoot that arrow at me, then go on and do it. And then let’s put down that bow and try to talk things through.”
Lorcan let out a low growl, a verbal display of exactly how he felt aboutthatplan. He’d seen her dodge plenty of arrows and yet he held onto his protective instinct like a shield. It had pained her to see his face when she’d climbed out of the pit. His dark eyes had sparked with love and concern. The strength of his arms around her had been so familiar and so wrong. She did not know how to tell him what she’d given up.
He would never forgive her.
The power of Seelie felt like lightning in her veins, filling her up with life. Everything was clearer now. Colors glowed brighter and deeper, and the sounds of the forest were loud in her ears. She swore she could hear the crackle of a branch from miles away. It felt as if she had been born anew.
“Go on then,” Reyna said to Tarrah, knowing that nothing she could do would harm her.
Tarrah roared and loosed. Reyna ducked without even focusing on what she was doing, and the arrow splashed into the pool behind them. She distantly wondered what would happen to it now. Would the gods snatch it into their grasp and use it on an unsuspecting passerby? Would they stab it into someone else’s heart?
Trembling, Tarrah nocked another arrow.
“Tarrah, honestly, this is ridiculous!” Nollaig threw up her hands and stalked toward Tarrah. “I’m going to put a stop to this right here and now.”
Tarrah shifted her aim toward Nollaig’s heart. Without hesitation, Reyna threw herself to the side, slamming Nollaig hard into the ground just as the arrow whizzed passed the cloaked fae’s head. Reyna rolled off of her at once and jumped to her feet, leaping in front of Lorcan in case Tarrah decided to turn her attentions onto him.
But she was fumbling with the third arrow, clearly growing flustered. Tarrah had never been fond of battle.
Nollaig brushed off her cloak and stood. “Tarrah, I cannot believe what you have just done. After everything I have done for you. I am not your enemy, and neither is the princess. Stop this nonsense now!”
