With a heavy sigh, she climbed onto her knees and dug through Laoise’s leather satchel. Her hands shook as she found the herbs, each clustered together in its own individual pouch.
I see you found a way to hide from me. For a time.
Reyna’s fingers tightened on the herb pouches.
Did you think I would never return? You cannot drink me away, Reyna Darragh. I will always be here, inside of you, until I claim your life. And it looks like that will not be long from now.
She gritted her teeth as a terrible heat swept through her body, burning her up from the inside out. “You can’t kill me that easily. You said it yourself. Seelie’s powers are keeping me alive.”
Not anymore, Namhaid. You’ve used it all up.
Her heart almost shuddered to a stop. Mouth dry, she pushed up from the ground on unsteady feet. “What do you mean?”
Did you truly believe Seelie had blessed you with unlimited magic? Your great god bestowed enough power within you to destroy the thing you hated most. Me. The more you used that power, the less you had, until now there’s nothing left of it.
“This doesn’t make any sense,” she argued, knowing full well how deranged she must look, shouting at the darkness all alone in the middle of the barren ash. “I’ve scarcely used Seelie’s powers. Even if you’re right, even if it’s not infinite…”
But there she was wrong. Shehadbeen using Seelie’s powers all this time. The magic had kept her from dying from the Ruin trapped inside of her. And it had protected her from death without her owl familiar by her side. Seelie’s powers had been doing their damnedest to keep her alive for so long that there was nothing left of them now. She could feel it in her very bones. She had for days now.
All the magic was gone.
With shaky hands, Reyna ground the herbs and dropped them into her open mouth, hoping swallowing them down would be enough to stop the Ruin’s taunts.
I die with you, Reyna Darragh. In the end, we both win.
She closed her eyes, waiting for the herbs to do their magic. “Why didn’t you tell me this before?”
And give you a chance to change the course of our future together? I was brought into existence to kill you. And now I will.
Reyna’s fingers curved against the ground. She’d gone into the birthplace of the gods to ask for help. She’d begged for a way to defeat the Ruin. In the end, she had gotten what she’d asked for, but not in the way she’d thought.
“If you being inside of me can kill me, then why did Seelie only give me limited magic?” she whispered. “The whole point was that I could survive you. Wasn’t it?”
Perhaps Seelie knew you are the Namhaid. The destroyer of everything. The scum of this world. The—
“But that doesn’t make any sense.”
Reyna’s heart pulsed inside of her as the effects of the herbs finally numbed the pain and guilt. The Ruin’s voice faded away, leaving her alone with nothing but her own thoughts. Relief shuddered through her, but it was short-lived. The Ruin might be silent for now, but it was not gone. It would be the thing to kill her in the end.
How much longer did she have?
A familiar flap of wings snatched her attention away from her dark thoughts. Hope jolted her heart. She tipped back her head and looked up. White wings speared the night sky.
With tears in her eyes, she launched to her feet. “Wingallock!”
Waves of emotion crashed over her. She stumbled forward, reaching out toward the skies, desperate to feel his talons against her skin. She’d known he was still alive—she’dfeltit—but seeing him brought so much relief that she almost crashed to the ground.
He let out an agitated hoot and continued to soar through the skies, casting a single glance at her face as he did. Frowning, she followed after him, her feet still bruised and aching from running through the night.
He led her across the Misty Wastes, the intensity of his flight increasing with every moment that passed. Soon, sunrise streaked across the skies, transforming the darkness into red-drenched fields of ash.
Wingallock slowed. In the distance, Reyna spotted two forms trudging through the mist.
“Nollaig!” she shouted, picking up the pace. “Commander Segonax!”
She spotted no army behind them, but in that moment, she did not care. She needed to see their familiar faces. She needed to hear their voices, and wrap her arms around that silly, ever-present cloak. It was the only thing that could keep her going.
The forms solidified as she raced toward them. One of them—the taller and wider of the two—pulled a sword from his side. They would not know she was a friend and not a foe.
