Keeper of Storms (The Fallen Fae #3) - Jenna Wolfhart Page 0,102
everything it touches.”
Only for a time. Whatever dies now can be remade. Life will return to these lands, even if it ceases to exist for a moment.
“So, you’re destroying it…to save it.” The logic was missing, but the Ruin was not a living, breathing thing the same way she was. It was an entity, a power, a magic built for one thing and nothing else. It didn’t have a soul. It didn’t have a heart. It could not understand the difference between light and dark. If it could, it would not have done the things it had.
Footsteps echoed through the cavernous space. Reyna knelt down and pulled her owl into her arms, keeping his soft, warm body close to hers. Several armed figures strode into view. Wood fae, donned in head to toe shadowsteel armor they’d painted with their own sigil. They all held bows in their hands, notched with iron-tipped arrows.
Those arrows were pointed right at her head.
A stone path shuddered out from the wall, linking the platforms over the molten river. Several wood fae strode forward, their eyes narrowed down their aims. She clutched Wingallock tighter.
“What are you doing? Stay back.”
The nearest wood fae sneered. “Or you’ll what? Kill us with your owl?”
“Maybe,” she shot back the lie. She wouldn’t let Wingallock get anywhere near those fae, not when he was even weaker than she was.
The wood fae chuckled as another platform slid out behind Reyna. More warriors crossed the space, trapping her. They were both behind and ahead of her now. She had nowhere to go but down.
“You’re coming with us.” The blunt end of the sword slammed against her skull. All went black.
Something kicked her in the face. Pain lanced through her skull as daylight pierced her vision. Coughing, she cracked open her eyes to find the emerald-haired king looming over where she was spread across the ground. Her gaze drifted past him, landing on the throne. It seemed to thrum with barely-contained power.
“Princess Reyna Darragh, we meet again.” He knelt before her and spit into her face. Saliva splat against her cheek and dripped down her chin. “You look like shit.”
“Thanks. So do you.”
He fisted her tunic and yanked her up from the ground. Her feet dangled beneath her. “Where’s Lorcan?”
Relief shuddered through her, despite her situation. The wood king hadn’t gotten his hands on Lorcan yet. Thank the gods. “I don’t know where he is.”
He let go and strode away from her. Body trembling, she tried to catch her breath, casting her gaze around for Wingallock. She found him in the arms of a nearby warrior, caged and unconscious. Just like she was. Unable to keep herself upright, she slid to her knees.
“You were found wandering the Misty Wastes. What were you doing out there?”
“Trying to get the hell away from you, for one.”
He whirled back toward her, eyebrows raised. “You didn’t find your lover out in those fields?”
“Nope. You’re barking up the wrong tree this time, Molt. I don’t know where Lorcan is. I haven’t seen him.”
“And yet you don’t seem surprised to find out I’m looking for him. Didn’t you watch me kill him? Didn’t you scream like your soul had been ripped apart?”
Reyna’s heart thumped. “Why would I be surprised? You didn’t do a very good job of keeping it a secret. You’ve been searching the city for days trying to find him.” At that, she smiled. “The throne won’t accept you as long as he’s alive.”
Ulaid Molt’s thin lips twisted into a cruel smile. “It’s only a matter of time before I chop off his head. I know you’re protecting him, Reyna Darragh. You can lie, the same as the rest of us. Been feasting on blood yourself, have you?”
Reyna wet her lips and swallowed hard. “I don’t know what you mean.”
“These godforsaken lands are free of the bloody Tir Na Nog curse, so long as you’re a shadow fae or you feast on blood and bone.” He smiled at the look on her face. “But you clearly didn’t know that. You might be able to lie, but you’re terrible at hiding the truth. It’s written all over you.”
“What do you want, Molt?” she asked through gritted teeth. “Why have you brought me here?”
He stalked toward her. “I want you to tell me where Lorcan Rothach is hiding. The coward. Too afraid to take me on himself? He has to rely on a bloody ice fae to do his dirty work for him, eh?”