Keeper of Storms (The Fallen Fae #3) - Jenna Wolfhart Page 0,17

a war drum. None of these fae would survive. And they had come all this way because she’d begged them for help.

It’s your fault they’re here, the Ruin hissed.

“I can kill it,” Reyna announced. “With Seelie’s magic. I can freeze the water around the Coinchenn. It’ll freeze him, too. He can’t survive that.”

“You can do that?” one of the drummers asked, a younger male with dirt-caked cheeks and mussed brown hair.

“Aye, we saw her do it, too,” Fiona said as she pushed up from the floor. “She turned fire into ice.”

The floor tilted beneath her feet as the sea creature bashed against the ship once more. Barrels tumbled through the hull. The wood fae cried out, grasping for each other, eyes pinched and cheeks blanched a deadly white.

Duff clasped her shoulder. “You sure you can do this, princess?”

She blew out a breath. “I’ve cast ice against enemies before. But I’ll need to go above deck.”

“Come,” he said with an encouraging nod. “We’ll go together.”

On unsteady feet, they climbed the ladder and pulled themselves through the hatch. Reyna’s fingers slipped on water as she hefted herself onto the deck, only to find it wasn’t water at all. Blood painted the wooden floorboards, illuminated by the glow of the twin moons. Reyna’s stomach turned.

“We must hurry,” Duff barked, pushing her toward the stern’s raised platform that jutted out past the edge of the ship. No one was there. She twisted to glance behind them. No one was on the bow’s platform either. And then she looked up at the empty crow’s nest.

The Coinchenn had killed them all.

As they rushed onto the stern, a burnt orange tentacle slipped over the side of the ship. Reyna shuddered, stumbling back. It was the size of a towering yew tree and just as poisonous. If the tentacle did not squeeze the life out of her, the venom would.

The tentacle crept closer, a milky liquid oozing from its pores. Where it hit the wood, charred pockets were left behind. A second tentacle slammed onto the deck behind them. Duff tightened his grip on her arm.

“Maybe I should take flight and draw it away,” she whispered, keeping her eyes glued on the writhing creature.

“It won’t work,” he murmured. “These creatures yearn for ships. They don’t care about things in the skies.”

“Dammit,” Reyna muttered. “I’m worried about freezing the water beneath us when I try to freeze him. If I do, we’ll be just as stuck.”

“But you have Seelie powers, do you not?” he asked. “Not just ice. You have wind to blow us away from him, and fire to melt any ice. Just whatever you do, do it now. Before it pounds this ship to shreds.”

Reyna nodded, swallowing down her fear and panic. She approached the edge of the stern and peered down into the choppy waves. The Coinchenn was just below the surface, glaring up at her with glowing red eyes. He opened his mouth, revealing two rows of teeth like swords. Her heart nearly burst from the shock of it.

“Fuck.” She shook her head and fisted her hands. “Okay. You can do this, Reyna.”

The Ruin hissed. The madness is filling your mind. No one sane speaks to herself out loud.

“Shut up!” she screamed, throwing out her hands as the fear and rage charged through her like a boar. She focused it all on the shifting waters, on the flashing sword-like teeth, on the tentacles that crept ever closer.

But nothing happened.

No ice. No wind. No fire.

Reyna held her hands up before her eyes, fear dripping through her. What was going on? This was just as she’d always done it before. The ice had always come to her, almost as if on its own accord.

Growling, she threw out her hands once more and forced the ice from her fingers, calling upon her ancient Seelie power. The ice hurtled through her. She could feel it, yearning to break free. But then it sizzled when it reached her fingertips.

You made a very bad mistake. The Ruin laughed inside her mind. You sent your familiar away. Your body is giving up, and Seelie’s magic is desperately trying to keep you alive. So much so that you cannot access the rest of your powers until Wingallock returns to your side. A shame, really. These wood fae seem nice.

“NO!” The word ripped from Reyna’s throat as horror sliced through her gut like vicious teeth. She fell to her knees, her hands splayed against the bloodied deck. Her shoulders slumped. All the fight went