Keeper of Storms (The Fallen Fae #3) - Jenna Wolfhart Page 0,105

swept across the ice fae lands. The Ruin.”

Reyna’s heart pulsed. She had not realized that Laoise had known exactly what lived inside of her. With a shuddering breath, she nodded. “I pulled it into my body that day in the Fomorian Square. It was the only way to stop it from destroying the entire city. Ever since then, it has been tearing me apart, piece by piece.”

Gods, it was a relief to speak it out loud.

“Do you know what it is? Where it came from?” Duana peered at her with watery eyes as a scream rang out in the distance. Reyna focused on Duana, understanding at once what that scream meant. The Wood Court had killed another shadow fae, sacrificing their life to Unseelie.

“The Dagda created it when he first came to these lands. He had visions of a future enemy, someone who used Unseelie’s powers for her own aims.” Reyna swallowed hard, knowing that when she spoke of the enemy, she was speaking of herself. She was the dark thing the world should fear. “The Ruin was put here to destroy that enemy…I’ve only been able to withstand it because of a gift I got from another god…it’s a long story. But basically, the magic I used in Fomorian Square was a gift given to me, a power and a strength to survive even with the Ruin inside of me. But now that power has run out.” Her gaze drifted to the left, toward the back of the erected gallows. They could only see a wooden wall from where their cages sat, but Reyna knew all too well what would sit on the other side. Ropes. Axes. Death.

Duana furrowed her eyebrows. “Can you use the Ruin yourself? Let it out of you and use it like a weapon?”

Yes, can you use me, Reyna Darragh? The Ruin laughed in her ears. Even after all this time, even with her death hanging before them, he wanted her to let him go so that he might sweep across the realm.

“I could, but I’m not strong enough to control it,” Reyna whispered. “It will kill everyone it touches.”

“You need to use it,” Duana said, her eyes lighting with a feverish intensity. She gripped the bars tight, flinching when the iron bit her skin. “Use it against the wood king. He’s this enemy you speak of. He has to be.”

Reyna’s lips flattened. “I had my own questions about that, but the wood king doesn’t fit the visions.”

“How can you know?”

“Because I know. I’ve seen all the visions myself.”

“Then, who does fit the visions?”

Reyna sighed and closed her eyes. “Me.”

Suddenly, a guard rounded the corner of the gallows. He strode right for Duana’s cell, his boots squelching in the muddy ground. Duana shrieked and scrabbled back to the opposite end of her cage, her body shaking like a leaf. A knife of horror slipped into Reyna’s gut with a sharpness that made her gasp.

“Stop. Leave her,” Reyna said, pressing up onto all fours. “Take me instead.”

The guard snorted. “This isn’t some kind of either-or situation, princess. You’ll both be coming with me.”

Several more guards rounded the corner, surrounding the two cages. Reyna’s hands fisted, and her mind began to whirl with thoughts of an escape. Maybe if she slammed her fists hard enough, she’d knock them out. Or she could grab one of their weapons before they got their hands on her. All she needed was a sword. She might be weak, but she hadn’t lost her skills.

She hoped.

But just as soon as they opened her cage, they slammed a rock against her head.

Reyna peeled open her eyes as pain flashed across her forehead. Blearily, she gazed out at a silent mob of shadow fae that had been corralled into the square beneath the gallows. They all peered up at her with horror-stricken faces. Some sobbed. Others sagged against each other, all the fight and hope gone from their eyes.

Reyna’s hands were bound behind her back by rough rope that bit into her skin. The Ruin was silent, but she could feel its pleasure. As she glanced around, she noted the guards on either side of her, the rope hanging just above her head, and the wooden platform beneath her aching knees.

Wingallock sat beside her, his eyes shut to the world. She could still feel his life force pulsing between them, but he was slipping away. Tears filled her raw eyes. If only he could live. If only he could stretch his wings wide and